Category Archives: home office

Paper Clutter Organizing Tools

Are you always scrambling to find a pen and paper when you need to take a message while on the phone? Do you have a place to put those messages so you or a family member can find them? Or do those messages end up getting lost and someone, maybe even you, gets mad because the important message didn’t get the person on time?

If the above happens too often in your home it’s time set up an organizing system that is easy enough for the whole family to following.

I have been going through my “Cut Out The Paper Clutter” free e-course on the Facebook Page by the same name. Lesson 3 is about how to control and organize all those little scrapes of paper we use to write messages on. Since I suggest several kinds of products I thought I would show you examples of what I’m talking about.

The products listed below can be purchased through Amazon. The links will take you directly to those products. You may also find similar products at your local office supply store and some discount stores. None are very expensive and would be well worth it if they work for your household.

The time, money, arguments, and embarrassments that will be saved when you are organized are priceless.

 

This phone message organizer is great if you have family members or even yourself who have a tendency to lose those messages. They are inexpensive enough that you can keep one by most phones. The top copy pulls off and can be posted (see bulletin board below) in one central area. They create a carbonless copy so you always have a back-up. I used to use this tool when my boys were living at home.

 

This bulletin board is the size of two standard pieces of copy paper put together. That makes it small enough to hang on a wall in the kitchen or near the main phone. If you have a large family or take a lot of phone or other messages than you might consider using a larger board. One side of my refrigerator is exposed in a good area so we always used that spot for messages when my son’s where growing up. Now that it’s just my husband and me, I use the top of the stove vent near the main phone.

If you are always looking for a piece of paper and a pen or pencil to write a note then a desk organizer can help a lot. I have one that is similar to this one near my main phone in the kitchen. It makes it easy to take phone messages or grab a piece of paper to make out a shopping list. Since I have a lousy memory and tend to forget things I write notes to myself a lot. I’ll put these reminders up on top of the stove vent so I see them.

 

These are just a few tools that can help you and your family stay organized. They are inexpensive enough that if they don’t work well for your household you haven’t spent too much money. Organizing tools can make a world of difference but one size doesn’t fit all. Think carefully about any these or other tools before you buy them. You don’t want to add to your clutter. If you feel these tools will work then give them a try. If not then research other tools to see if something else will work.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

 

Join the Free e-course, Cut Out The Paper Clutter

This past week I decided to start a Facebook page devoted to paper clutter.  I wrote an e-course last year that gives one short lesson from each chapter in the eBook, “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”.  I figured the Facebook page would be a great place to discuss these lessons plus give even more tips on decluttering those paper piles.

I’m in the process of updating many of the links in the e-course.  The first 3 lessons are already done and the rest should be completed in the next day or two.  Since each lesson is sent every three days you can go ahead and sign up today and get the updated lessons.

I’m going to start discussing Lesson 1 (Junk mail) on Friday, January 20th (tomorrow). Since it will be on a Facebook page you can jump in anytime you want to. Here is a link to sign up for the e-course and to “like” the Facebook page.

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Cut Out The Paper Clutter e-course.

Cut Out The Paper Clutter Facebook Page.

Cut Out The Paper Clutter eBook

Since I started setting up the Facebook page and editing the e-course lessons I’ve found myself motivated to work on some of my own paper clutter. Yesterday I went through some file folders that contained a lot of instructional articles about setting up a blog and website.  Since mine has been set up for a few years now there was no reason to keep these printed articles. If I need help with some technical problem I can always look it up online again. A nice thick stack of papers went into the recycling bin!

Join me on theFacebook page and hopefully you too will get motivated to get rid of some of your paper clutter. Then once the clutter is gone it will be much easier to organize the important papers that are left.

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.  ~Hans Hofmann

The e-course is free. TheFacebook page is free. What have you got to lose except some paper clutter.

Take the e-course first and if you still need more tips and help with decluttering and organizing your papers then invest in the eBook for only $9.99.

To a lighter load along the way.

Janice

 

 

Will Yet Another Organizing Product Bring You Success?

This is the time of year where all those back-to-school and office supplies are on sale. Even if you don’t have school age children (mine are grown) it is easy to get caught up in believing that this organizing file solution or that 5 subject notebook will solve all our paper clutter or organizing problems.

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Guess what – it might work and then again it might not. How many different products or solutions have you tried over the years with limited success? I know I’ve tried many.

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What I have learned over the years is it’s not necessarily the product or idea that is bad it’s just that it didn’t work for me.  I’m sure you have had the same result at times.

So besides trial and error plus lots of money spent how can you determine if a product will help you?  That’s a hard question to answer. The best way is to take a look at what is currently working for you in any area of your home.

We all have some areas of our lives where we are relatively organized.

If you are organized when cooking in the kitchen pay attention to what kinds of organizing products and/or habits you are using that makes it work for you. Is your desk at work clean and organized but you desk at home is a disaster? Pay attention to what is working at the office and duplicate it at home if possible.

We are creatures of habit and each of us have different learning/organizing traits.  Some we are born with and some we learned when growing up or as adults. Even if we were born missing the organizing gene we can still find the right kind of products and solutions to help us learn to get more organized.

So when you find yourself tempted to try yet another product in hope that it will solve all your organizing problems stop and think about it first. The questions below will help guide you towards one that might work for you.

Ask yourself:

  1. Does this product work similar to other products I’ve used before?
  2. Have I been successful with using this kind of product?
  3. Do I already have a product or solution for this particular problem but haven’t taken the time to figure out if it will work or not?

As we are bombarded this time of year with all those ads for products to help get our children and ourselves organized we have to remember to stop and think before buying.  Most products can help but one size does not fit all.

Figure out your style (or your child’s) so it will be easier to match the product or solution to it. That will increase your chance of success.

Janice

Keep up with the current month organizing tips by signing up to receive the blog posts in your email.  http://organizebythemonth.com/sign-up-for-blog-posts/

Is Your Email Inbox Too Crowded?

Is your email inbox too crowded? Do you dread looking at it each morning?

I remember how exciting it use to be to see what the mailman left in the mailbox that day? A card from a dear relative, a letter from a friend who lived out of town, or a new magazine to read.

It also used to be fun to open my email inbox in the morning to see what interesting piece of information would be awaiting me. Now that I use email for most of my correspondence from friends, relatives, news, information (newsletters), and business information I have found that I dread opening the inbox. There are way too many emails that I’m not interested in anymore that are crowding out the few I want to read.

Several times a year I re-evaluate what I’ve subscribed to.

Many are the retail stores, both online and brick and mortar, where I gave my email address at the time of purchase. Although I rarely shop these stores I’m bombarded with special offers on an almost daily basis.

Sometimes I subscribed to a newsletter and find out it really isn’t what I thought it would be. But I take the time to open it just in case there is some tiny bit of information I could use.

It’s time to unsubscribe to the emails that are now clutter!

The following steps will help you keep your inbox to a manageable level. Take these steps every few months and you’ll start looking forward to opening your inbox daily.

Be sure to set a timer and only do so much time per day. It will keep you fresh and more objective when deciding what to unsubscribe to.

  1. Start with the easy ones such as retail stores you rarely shop at. Unsubscribe from the most recent email. Search for sender (each email browser is different) and delete all the old emails for that sender. Their specials are expired!
  2. Next look at what informational newsletters you have signed up for with retail stores. Most of the time you can find the same information on their website when you need it, not when they are trying to sell you something.
  3. Next look at the newsletters from individual smaller websites. Do their newsletters meet your expectations? Does the content add value to your life? Are there too many marketing emails sent in between the occasional newsletter? Only you can decide if it is worth it.
  4. Now look at your personal emails. Do you have certain friends or family that constantly forward those jokes, silly pictures, etc. If you are not interested in these email you can ask your friend/relative to please take your name off their forwarding list. Or you can set up a filter for those people and keep their emails out of your main inbox, away from your important emails.

Next time you subscribe to a newsletter or store email give it a month or two to decide if it is worth it. If not, then unsubscribe right away. You can always re-subscribe in the future.

Janice

Declutter and organize your piles of papers with the eBook “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”.

New E-Course on Paper Clutter

I now have my new e-course on paper clutter up and running. If you’re stuck inside because of bad weather then take advantage of this time to get control of your junk mail.

In the first lesson I give you some websites that will help reduce all those ads, credit card applications, and unwanted catalogs that come in your home mailbox. It does take a few months to get your name off the lists so if you start today you’ll begin to see a big difference by this summer.

The e-course is free so go sign up now!

http://cutoutthepaperclutter.com/e-course/

Other lessons in the course deal with magazine clutter, phone messages, photos and other paper memories, plus plenty more. All the lessons come for the eBook; “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”.

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So go sign up now for this free e-course. You’ve got nothing to lose but some of your paper clutter!

http://cutoutthepaperclutter.com/e-course/

Janice

P.S. Be sure to share this blog post with the link for the e-course with all your friends and family so they too can learn how to get rid of their paper clutter. Thanks.

http://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

Facebook: http://bit.ly/99D10k

Computer Crash–Safety Back-ups

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I enjoyed having my sons and daughter-in-law visiting during the week. I didn’t have much time to write any blog posts nor did my newsletter make it out last week. It really wasn’t because of visitors as much as it was because my computer crashed.

If you’ve ever had a computer crash then you know how frustrating it can be. I was having withdrawal symptoms all week. I was able to check emails on an old slow laptop but even that got frustrating. Fortunately my younger son is an IT guy and was able to save my computer. I have an external hard drive for back-ups so that helped.

Which brings me to the point of this post – do you have a back-up system in place? Whether you save important information on paper or electronically or both you should have some sort of back-up system. There are lots of ways to do this but it will take a little work on your part. Here are a few suggestions.

Important papers:

1. Keep the originals in a safe-deposit box and copies at home.

2. If you don’t have a safe-deposit box then keep the originals at home and copies with a trusted family member.

3. Make electronic copies and keep in the safe-deposit box or with family member.

Electronic (computer) information:

1. Make sure you back up information on an external hard drive, flash drive, or CD on at least a weekly basis.

2. Taxes, financial, photos, and any other vital information should be backed up on two separate back-up devices. Each time I back up my Quicken I alternate two CD’s plus it’s automatically backed up on the external hard drive each week.

3. A second copy of the information should be stored in a safe-deposit box or with a trusted family member. In case of a fire, storm damage, etc. you want to be able to reconstruct the lost information without a huge nightmare.

I still haven’t loaded all my programs back on the computer but each day I’ll take care of a few more. My son was able to restore all of my stored info on the new hard drive. I think I’ll take some of my own advice and buy some flash drives to keep an extra copy in the safe-deposit box.

We’re so dependent on these computers now. You just don’t know when they may crash! Good back-up systems can keep the panic level down to a manageable point.

Janice

P.S. I now have a Facebook page. Please become a fan to get more tips on decluttering and organizing. http://bit.ly/99D10k

http://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

"Cut Out The Paper Clutter" eBook

It’s finally arrived! The eBook “Cut Out The Paper Clutter” and it’s companion workbook are now available. You will be able to learn how to finally get control over those piles and piles of papers, magazines, junk mail, and lots more.3Debook_Clutter8 3dWorkbook_fixed5

You can read more of what’s in the books here.

Over the years I learned many ways to reduce the incoming papers. I have also learned how to keep the important papers organized. It’s taken a lot of hard work but is well worth it.

The past few months have been a real challenge for me. Due to my mother having a stoke this past May I have had to manage not only my own papers but also my mother’s papers and finances. Although she has a computer she had not set up any of her bills to be on auto-pay. Nor had she done any online banking. These are two ways to simplify bill paying plus cut down on some of the paper clutter.

I’ve slowly been setting up auto-pay on many of the monthly bills plus paying online. That reduces the checks (paper) I have to write, reduces the envelopes (paper) I have to address, plus saves money on stamps. All these steps helps me spend less time on bill paying and more time on other things.

So check out what’s in the eBook “Cut Out The Paper Clutter“. I’ve listed the table of contents so you can see the different chapters that will have solutions for your problem areas.

Janice

http://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

Small Actions Can Help You Get Organized

It’s hard to believe this month is almost over. January was “National Get Organized Month”. Have you been organizing your desk, office, or home? If you’re like me it’s takes a lot longer than one month to get organized.

I’ve been working at it for years and it’s an ongoing process. It’s like floating down a river in a raft, sometimes it is calm and sometimes you hit the rapids. When the papers and other clutter enter your home faster than you can put them away then it’s time to take small but quick actions to help you get control.

If the paper piles on your desk or counter have been piling up with bills from the holidays, tax papers, children’s school papers, etc. then you need to take a few minutes and organize them. You’ll feel better and more in control. Check out my article on Divide and Conquer Paper Clutter.

If you still haven’t put away the holiday decorations now would be a good time to do it. Take one room at a time or set a timer each day. Before you know it they will all be put away.

If all the new toys your children got for the holidays are still laying around everywhere it may be time to free up some shelf space for them. Go through their old toys and get rid of the ones they no longer play with.

When you hit the rapids of disorganization then think of what small actions you can take immediately to help you navigate the rough waters. Those small actions will add up.

Janice

http://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

National Clean Off Your Desk Day

Today is the official day to clean off your desk! If you desk is always a mess then today is a good time to start a new habit to keep you desk clean everyday of the year.

So how do you create this new habit? One babystep at a time! A good way is to take a timer and set it for 5-10 minutes at the end of the day (if you work there all day) or at the end of your bill paying/paperwork time.

File away the papers you have completed. The ones you are still working on should be put in a folder that holds current paperwork tasks. If possible this folder should be put on a shelf, basket, or in a file drawer at your desk. Your goal is to have the desk as cleaned off as possible for the next morning.

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A cleared off desk first thing in the morning will help put you in a brighter mood instead of feeling overwhelmed. Because you put the unfinished tasks in a folder you know exactly where to start working. No more digging through piles of paper to find what needs to be done.

Habits take time to develop but with babysteps you can have that cleaned off desk almost everyday. If your your desk is piled high with papers you’ll want to read my article on How to Divide and Conquer Paper Clutter first. It will help you organize those papers so you can put them where they belong.

If your whole office is a mess then consider organizing it in zones. This is also a way to help keep the desk cleaned off. Having a permanent home for the different papers will make it easier to put them away.

Do you have a tip on how to keep your desk cleaned off? Please let me know. Thanks

Janice

http://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

Home Office Desk Paper Clutter

It seems like the home office desk is the dumping ground for papers of every kind. We know if we put it on the desk we will eventually take care of it, plus there is less chance of losing the paper or bill. The problem comes in with trying to keep it organized with the constant influx of papers.

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When the desk is piled high it is hard to work efficiently there. It is easy to miss paying a bill because it’s lost in the mountain of paper on the desk. Permission slips for your children’s school don’t get turned in on time. You lose out on refunds because they expire before you get them filed.

With the holiday’s coming up you want to make sure your finances are in order before you set your budget for holiday shopping. Take some time now to declutter your desk so you can take care of your bills and other important papers. If you send out holiday greeting cards and you use your desk to make your list, gather your addresses, and write out your cards, then you will want to get it cleaned off. It will be hard to get them out in time otherwise.

My weekly newsletter is currently giving a 6 step plan to simplify the writing and sending out holiday greeting cards. You can sign up here to start receiving these free weekly newsletters.

I wrote any article on eHow about how to “Divide and Conquer” paper clutter. Check it out for a step by step process to helping you get control of you home office desk.

Halloween is just over a week away. If you haven’t bought my eBook yet, it’s not to late to benefit from all the tips on safety, decorating, and storage of your Halloween decorations and costumes. Get it here: How To Have A Fun, Safe, And Decluttered Halloween.

Janice

http://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors