1. Send gift certificates and gift cards for presents. Phone in the order – no shopping, no wrapping, no exchanges. This options also helps reduce clutter because the gift recipient is able to purchase exactly what they want, rather than receiving a gift that is never used, but lingers out of obligation to the gift giver.

2. Buy bagged salad greens and rotisserie chickens, two cornerstones of quick, healthy dinners. Add shredded chicken to casseroles, salads, soups, and pastas. At my local grocery, fresh, hot rotisserie chickens are available twice a day.

3. Ask for the earliest appointment. The later in the day you book a doctor’s visit, a haircut, or a meeting, the greater the chance it will be delayed.

4. Keep a stash of all-purpose birthday cards on hand, at home and in the office. If you have kids you’ve likely received a birthday invitation on Friday for a party on Saturday, so keep a stash of girl and boy birthday gifts for those last minute birthday party invitations. This strategy saved us loads of time when my kids were younger.

5. Put a list of movies you want to rent and books you want to read in your wallet or Smart Phone. Better yet, purchase an e-reader like Kindle Wireless e-Reader by Amazon, where you can preview, download and read books totally in electronic format. For movies, grocery stores and McDonald’s in most large cities now have Red Box kiosks where you can get a one night rental for $1.

6. Make kits containing supplies that you use all the time (scissors, tape, reading glasses, cleaning supplies) and place in strategic areas of the house (i.e., by a phone, or in a desk or night stand). At least, place a kit on every floor of your home. This will prevent extra trips up and down the stairs for minor projects.

7. Apply for your car license tags online and if you live close to toll roads, apply for an electronic tag to quickly go through toll booths.

8. Invest in a wireless handheld e-mail device (such as a BlackBerry). Keep in touch with friends during unexpected downtime.

9. Sign up for automatic bill paying at your bank’s website and purchase postage stamps online. This one is a huge time and money saver! I haven’t purchased postage stamps, checks or envelopes for years!

10. Buy a case of your favorite olive oil, wine, or cute notepads so you don’t have to make last-minute trips for hostess or birthday gifts.

11. Buy movie tickets in advance at AAA or by using Moviefone or Fandango to avoid wasting time on lines.

12. Whenever possible, double a recipe. Eat half right away, and freeze the rest for a future meal.

I’d love to hear your time-saving tips! Please add your comments below.

Source for some of these ideas: Real Simple

PS – coming soon … Time Management for Busy Moms e-book

Originally posted 2010-04-17 09:02:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

5-column grid design

I think one of the best features of the BUSYBODYBOOK design is the grid design with 5 spacious columns to schedule, organize, and coordinate up to 5 individual family members or projects, side by side.

Summer cover - 13 mo. Academic style (Aug 2010-Aug 2010

Spring Cover - 13 mo. Academic style (Aug 2010-Aug 2011)

Fall cover - 12 mo. style (Jan 2011-Dec 2011)

Winter cover - 12 mo. style (Jan 2011-Dec 2011)

With BusyBodyBook planners, managing your and your family’s time is a breeze! BusyBodyBook family calendars provide each family member with their own column to organize and track their schedules and activities while coordinating with each other side by side. There are so many great features of the BusyBodyBook planners, but the grid design is what makes this planner/calendar far superior to a traditional block style calendar that forces one to fit all daily family activities into a small square block.

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The BBB Personal & Family Organizer is 7″ x 10″ in size and is available in two formats:

• Academic year (13 month) – Aug 2010 – Aug 2011
• Calendar year (12 month) – Jan 2011 – Dec 2011

Here are more great features of the BusyBodyBook planners to keep you organized:

2 Monthly Planners:
One planner to record birthdays & anniversaries! Another to note next year’s appointments and future events.

Full Page Months-at-a-Glance too:
Now full page Months-at-a-Glance will give you the big picture to plan for holidays, vacations, or special events. This is a new feature with the new 2010 release.

Key contact pages:
2 Pages for your emergency contact information, doctors, coaches, babysitters…

Removable shopping lists:
Perforated pages for creating handy grocery or gift lists. My clients love this feature!

2 Inside Pockets:
Inside front & back covers provide a deep pocket to hold important papers, receipts, coupons…

Bookmark:
Easily flip to the current week with this unique bookmark that grabs the spiral.

Notes Sections Galore:
A full page each week for notes, to do’s, lists, or alerts. Plenty of notes pages in back of BBB too to record and keep important information.

Sturdy, Clear Plastic Covers – Provide BBB’s beautiful covers with even more protection.

The column grid style is so versatile too – you can use columns to record and track school subjects, personal goals or an exercise routine.

Visit THE SIMPLIFIED HOME to learn more and to order.

There are a couple more BBB designs to let you know about, in future posts. Or visit here to learn more about the BusyBodyBook Wall Calendar, great for putting on the frig. where all family members can see.

Originally posted 2010-07-11 17:09:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Filing is a big part of most any office, whether it be a medical, insurance, daily correspondence, ongoing projects, accounting, personal, fax copies, incoming mail, research items, reference lists and a multitude of other needed items-all dependent on the need of the office.

Here are some tips to keep your office organized:

1. Develop a consistent naming system for electronic copies so you or anyone in your absence can easily locate files, as needed.

2. Name your documents, spread sheets and presentations something easy to recall for immediate and future reference, and save them in folders with like documents.

3. Keep a folder for current projects in a convenient place, like in a desktop file box, somewhere you’re able to check it daily.

4. Keep a cabinet within reach and set aside time daily for filing anything you need in a hard copy form.

5. Label notebooks, shelves and cabinets so you can quickly and easily access important resources.

6. Maintain a master index, a key to all your computer documents that allows quick access in locating needed files.

7. Purge documents on a regular basis, so information is current and easy to find.

8. Dispose of duplicate information, keeping the final copies only, allowing for room to accommodate new work and projects to be filed.

9. Follow retention guidelines so you’ll know how long to keep each file.

10. Date papers so you can quickly determine if they are outdated-keeping the newest/most recent dated pages on top.

These tips can help you keep an organized filing system, both hard copies and electronic formats. With the multitude of paper created by everyone today, it’s best to switch over to an electronic system as much as possible. This will both eliminate the excessive need for physical space, as well as help the environment with eliminating over use of paper. When possible recycle purged files to help the environment. And the best part for everyone is less paper equals less hassle equals less stress, and the ability to be more efficient overall.

Originally posted 2011-03-05 17:41:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The secret isn’t always in how to get organized - it’s in wanting to get organized and committing yourself to taking consistent action. Once that is achieved, everything will fall into place. Wanting to without action won’t get you anywhere. You can organize as well as the next person if you have the desire and take the action to get it done. There are plenty of resources available to you to learn the skills, including Professional Organizers in most major cities throughout the world to guide you through the process. Simplified Spaces (my company in the Indianapolis Indiana area) is available to work with you personally and virtually.

Your system of organization should fit you and your lifestyle personally. It should be tailored to your style, your schedule and your motivation. I have to take all of these variables into consideration when I begin working with a new client. What works great for one client, may not work at all for the next. Some of us are day people; some are more productive at night.

I’m convinced that anyone can achieve an organized lifestyle if they learn the skills of organization, if they have the desire, seek out the resources to learn the methods and principles of organization and take the necessary action to move forward, at whatever pace works for their personality.

Don’t be discouraged or beat yourself up if it’s a slower process than you’d like. The clutter didn’t appear overnight and it won’t go away overnight! You’ll get there, as long as you take consistent action!

So go forth and simplify ….

Originally posted 2010-10-07 11:22:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Find reliable contractors and doctors when you join Angie’s List today –
Use promo code LOCAL to save 15%.

********************

By Angie Hicks (Founder of Angie’s List)

About this time each year, professional organizer Janet Nusbaum sees an uptick in business. “Folks start to set new goals for the year, and getting organized is always in the top 10,” said Nusbaum. Owner of Simplified Spaces in Carmel. “They have an influx of new stuff that comes in during the holiday. Often, when I get the call, they’re feeling very overwhelmed, and they’re reaching out for some solutions.

The new year represents a fresh start and a chance to purge the old, unnecessary items in your life to free up valuable space and reduce clutter. Organizing a home office, garage or basement can be a family project that you do yourself or one in which you hire a professional like Nusbaum.

“The first step is to define what the purpose is of that space,” Nusbaum said. “If you see conflicting stuff there that doesn’t meet the purpose of that space, it needs to leave, pose of that space, it needs to leave, so all you have in that space are things that meet your vision for what you want to do (there).”

Some other things to consider before beginning a reorganization project:

• Make a list of the tasks you want to accomplish and prioritize by putting the tasks most important to you at the top of the list.
• Start small and allot an hour or two dedicated to one area to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
• Buy to replace, not to add.
• If it doesn’t fit or it’s out of fashion, donate it. If you’re reorganizing your wardrobe closet, hang pants long ways, rather than fold, which takes up twice the space. Use stacking hangers that can hold multiple garments. Organize your closets by color or by type.
• Keep only what is necessary to accommodate your family’s needs. Keep in mind that round containers take up more space than square containers.
• Purchase several large plastic storage bins with lids. Organize items according to their use and label the bins accordingly.

Nusbaum also recommends storing items closest to their point of use. “If your coffee maker is on the kitchen counter, it’s more efficient to store everything relating to making that cup of coffee right together,” she said. It saves you steps.”

Carmel resident and a Simplified Spaces client, Julie Bowen, is a self-proclaimed “neat freak” who has hired Janet to organize her home, garage and basement. Organizers can also help organize bills and other paperwork that often gets lost in the shuffle.

Bowen keeps systems in place so she, her husband and two children know where to find things when they need to put up and where they are when they need to use them.

“Our home is easier to maintain because everything has a home, Bowen said.

HOME OFFICE - AFTER

HOME OFFICE - BEFORE

Fritz Klooz, owner of Innovative Garages in Avon said his company can maximize garage space with overhead storage, cabinets and grid wall systems and pulley systems.  “The idea is to get everything up off the floor of the garage so you can power wash your garage or sweep your floor a lot easier, Klooz said.

You don’t have to throw away and create additional waste when you purge. An environmentally savvy organizer will look to recycle whenever possible. Also, donations to authorized charities can be used as a tax deduction.

Angie Hicks is an Indianapolis resident and founder of Angie’s List, a national provider of consumer ratings in more than 500 categories of service.

(Because they wrote this great article about my business, I’m returning the favor by passing on their 15% coupon code)

Find reliable contractors and doctors when you join Angie’s List today – Use promo code LOCAL to save 15%.

Originally posted 2010-05-07 12:26:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter