Register Today! New Mini Workshop: Creating a Family Management Center

Your First Step to a More Organized Home!

It’s not too late to register for my new mini workshop tomorrow night!

This light and quick, 1-hour workshop offers the perfect way to launch you and your home towards an organized way of living. During this workshop, you will learn to take the first step toward a more organized home by creating a Family Management Center. The Family Management Center is THE go to place for any active family. It can include your calendars, schedules, quick access files (incoming and outgoing papers and communications), meal plans, cleaning schedule, Home Management Notebook and Launching Pad. You will then learn to adapt these general ideas to your specific household needs and functions. This can be your first step in living a more organized life, as you take control of your time, your calendar and the endless stream of paperwork coming in and out of your home.

Date:  Thursday, March 18th

Time: 7-8 pm

Location: Westminster Senior Center, Westminster, MD

To Register:  Call 410-386-2103 or register online at:  Carroll County Recreation and Parks Program Guide

Your Trash, Their Treasures

I am currently working with a client to organize her craft room. Now, she is a crafter from way back. She is a women who has seen trends and styles come and go, and has been in the forefront of many of them. Aside from crafting for her own enjoyment, Ruth is a craft teacher to many, a mentor to some and a Stampin Up representative to the masses. If you are in need of any Stampin Up supplies, Ruth can be reached at 410.751.8818.

She keeps up with the changing times, and so do her craft supplies. Over the years, her craft supplies have managed to take over her craft room. Despite the fact that Ruth is an organized soul, and had some great organizational systems in her craft room, the space had become unruly.

During our first organizing session together, Ruth was able to part with many craft supplies that have become obsolete to her. This truly is the 1st and most essential step in any organizing project.

Treasures Ready for Donation

You can’t organize clutter! And clutter is anything that you don’t love, anything that doesn’t bring you joy, or anything that you simply don’t need or use anymore. These are items that can be in perfect, pristine, and wonderful shape. They may be “in style” and current. But, if YOU don’t love them, if they don’t bring YOU joy, or if YOU can’t use them anymore, they become your clutter.

Ruth donated specific items to specific friends who she knew could use and would want them. Other items were boxed up for Goodwill. Finally, we had several boxes filled with art and craft supplies that she donated to Elmer Wolfe Elementary School. These included items that could be used for arts and crafts, as well as items that could be used as teacher prizes.

Both the teachers and the administration were thrilled and

For the hardworking teachers.......

thankful for Ruth’s generosity. The boxes were brought into the teacher’s lounge and the art and craft supplies were distributed to all. What an awesome gift Ruth was able to give the teachers at Elmer Wolfe Elementary School. Her trash truly did become a treasure and a blessing to others. Thanks Ruth for taking the time and the energy to bless another!

How might you be able to bless others with your “clutter”?

Happy (and organized!) days!

Cheryl

IKEA and Baltimore NAPO Join Forces

NAPO Baltimore Members

A great day was had by all this past Saturday as our NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) Baltimore Chapter joined IKEA Baltimore in offering customers  two simultaneous, mini seminars covering closets and wardrobe systems organization, and home office/home businesses organization. This was part of Get Organized Month  – a national event sponsored by NAPO each year that is designed to highlight the benefits of the association and working with NAPO’s professional organizers.

Cheryl Helping In The Closet and Wardrobe Systems Organization Workshop

It was the perfect partnership as our NAPO members were able to teach customers the “how to” in putting to work IKEA’s  excellent organizing products and systems.  IKEA is known for their stylish and affordable home and office solutions.

If you haven’t taken a trip to IKEA recently, it’ s definitely worth the effort. With 2 locations in Maryland (College Park and Baltimore), and locations throughout the USA (and world wide!), you may just find a store near you. Check out their store directory. If there isn’t an IKEA near you, try IKEA Home Shopping, where you can order online.

Their stores are filled with smart and affordable ideas to furnish your dream home. You can easily make a day of it for the family! Bring your kids and they can play in the supervised playroom while you shop or you may choose to try out the furniture together.

Cheryl at the IKEA - NAPO Baltimore Organizing Event

Don’t forget to fuel up on energy at the IKEA restaurant for a meal, a snack or just a quick cup of coffee. Their restaurants offers you a relaxing atmosphere and a menu that satisfy most every taste at a price that satisfies every budget. You will also find special kid’s meals as well as baby food. And on your way out, stop by the Food Market and pick up some traditional Swedish specialties.

Happy (and organized!) Days!

Cheryl

Join NAPO Baltimore at IKEA THIS Saturday for National Get Organized Month 2010!

All month you have been learning about paper management. For the past few weeks, many of us in the Mid-Atlantic Region, have been snowed in and have had the opportunity to get our files, and our home offices in order. Right?

Now you have the perfect opportunity to join NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) Baltimore, as we participate in Get Organized Month  – a national event sponsored by NAPO each January that is designed to highlight the benefits of the association and working with NAPO’s professional organizers. This year, NAPO Baltimore, whose members service the greater Baltimore metropolitan area, will make a difference during Get Organized Month by volunteering their services and teaming up with IKEA in Baltimore on Saturday, February 20, 2010.

The event will consist of two sessions with two simultaneous, mini seminars covering closets and wardrobe systems, and home offices /home businesses.

IKEA is known for their stylish and affordable home and office solutions and NAPO professional organizers will be showcasing their closet and home office/business organization products and systems. So if you’re struggling with organization, stop by IKEA Baltimore, located next to the White Marsh Mall at 8352 Honeygo Blvd, Baltimore, MD at 11:00AM and 12:00PM on February 20, 2010.

To learn more about this year’s GO Month event, visit the website at http://www.NAPOBaltimore.org

I’ll see you there!

Cheryl

Paper Management, Part 5

File Tips, Tricks and Ideas

As I recommended in Part 4, Developing a Simple and Effective Household Filing System:

• Make your system as simple as possible. You are much more likely to keep up with it.
• Start from scratch. You will find it is much easier than trying to revamp your previous system. I don’t recommend purchasing a pre-designed filing system. It WON’T be simple. At least not for you. You will have to spend time fitting your categories into their categories. It is much easier to create your own categories, with titles that make sense to you.
• Opt for a system based on subjects rather than filling alphabetically.  Filing alphabetically is way too much to remember. Is my VW Bug filed under V for Volkswagon, B for Bug, A for Auto or C for Car? It’s way too much for this pee brain to remember! If on the other hand, my filing system is separated into the 3 main subjects of Family, Personal, and Possessions and Finances, my car will be very easy to locate. Within the subject section Possessions, I will have a hanging file titled Automobiles. Within this hanging file I will have a manila folder for each of my Automobiles. Simple and easy to find!
• Locate your filing system in a place that is both convenient to use and located away from the hub of the home.
• Color–coding of your broad categories can reduce miss filing and stimulate your thinking. Again choose categories and colors that make sense to you!
• Straight-line filing, with the tabs one behind the other, is not only easier on the eye, but also simpler to maintain than alternating tab positions.
• After you complete your new filing system, make an outline or list of your system and use it until you are comfortable with it.

Purchase Basic Supplies

Invest in a sturdy filing cabinet.  Check out any office supply store.  The choices are limitless. Consider where you will be doing your filing.  Will you be in a home office where aesthetics are not an issue, or will your files be located in your family room for all to see? Will you need to roll it into a closet after use, or will it be a permanent fixture in your home?  You can purchase a mobile file unit that can rolled into a closet or a basic 2 drawer metal cabinet for as little as $50. Or, you can purchase a furniture grade cabinet for as much as $500. You can even purchase individual file boxes, which can be stored on open shelving. Ultimately you need to remember that if they are not easy to access, they won’t be, and your filing won’t get done.
Make sure you have plenty of uniform, sturdy hanging files and manila folders.

A Work In Progress.......

As you are developing a new system, use post-it notes as labels until you have your entire system complete. Use 2 different colors; one representing your hanging files and the second representing your manila folders. This enables you to quickly and easily change category titles, and subject titles as your system evolves.

When your filing system is complete, take the time to clearly and neatly label your files.

To label your hanging files, you can use the clear vinyl tabs included with them. I generally use 3 1/2 inch plastic tabs and label them with my brother label machine. This makes for easy to read and uniform labels. Alternatively, you can simply use a thin black marker to label your inserts.

To label manila folders, I generally use inkjet/laser file folder labels, and print them from my computer. Again, this makes for easy to read and uniform labels. Alternatively, you can simply use a thin black marker to write on your file folder labels and then stick them on the manila folder or you can write directly on the folder.

Remember, your filing system is dynamic and ever changing. Your interests, responsibilities and possessions will change, and so should your filing system. Don’t be afraid to drop and add categories as your needs change. Set aside time each week or month to actually do your filing. Then set aside time each year to purge and revamp your system. Don’t forget to use a Document Retention Guide, available online, and check with your attorney and/or accountant while purging.

A Job Well Done

Yes, setting up and maintaining a filing system takes a bit of work on the front end, but you will save yourself many hours of searching and much frustration in the long run. That, my friend, is priceless!

Happy Filing!

Cheryl

Paper Management, Part 4

Developing a Simple and Effective Household Filing System

Managing the piles of paper and multitude of important documents in our “information age”  is a major home organization challenge for most people. It’s time to tackle that challenge and your Basic Household Filing System. It’s time to change your thinking a bit, get organized, and simplify. Does it sound like a daunting task? It doesn’t have to be!

You should be able to retrieve any paper or important document in less than one minute—if that’s not the case, it may be time to revamp that old system and start anew. Unless you already have a system that’s at least 75 percent effective, I recommend starting from scratch. Then incorporate your old files into your new system.

If you can retrieve any paper in less than a minute, you have an organized and effective filing system and you can stop reading. Congratulations!

The first step in developing an effective household filing system is to understand both what it is and what it is not. These files are different than your Quick Access Files, which hold information that you need to access often and quickly. Many times, quick access files are used for a season and then discarded or updated. Occasionally, if they contain documents or information that you will want to keep in your permanent files, they can be transferred to your basic household filing system. Some examples of information found in your Quick Access Files are invitations, schedules, announcements, appointment reminders, and take out menus. You need to access these files daily and quickly, and for that reason, they should be kept in the hub of the home. Check out part 2 of my Paper Management series,  “Quick Access Files: Don’t Live an Organized Life Without Them!”

Your Household Filing System, on the other hand, does not need to be accessed as often. These files are your basic household working files, which hold current, important documents and records used for routine activities like bill paying, tax and financial statement documentation, medical information, and home maintenance. They need to be accessible, but not located in the hub of the home. Generally, when you are writing bills or dealing with your household paperwork, you need a bit of quiet. For this reason, consider finding space in your home office, or even a quiet corner of your bedroom.

The secret to a good filing system is to keep it simple. Whatever system you use should make it easy to find what you need, be easy to maintain, and make sense to everyone who may need to use it. If it isn’t simple and effective, it won’t get used.

Filing is not about storage, but rather it is about finding what you need when you need it. Instead of trying to figure out what you can toss, determine what you need to keep. There is a huge difference! 80% of the papers that we file away will never get looked at again. If you aren’t sure what to save, ask yourself the following questions – if you don’t answer yes, toss it.

• Are there tax/legal reasons to keep it?
• Will it help me complete a project I’m working on right now?
• Do I have time to do anything with this piece of paper in the future?
• If I ever needed it again, would it be hard to get from someone else?
• Is the information up-to-date?
• Would my work/life change if I didn’t have it?
• Is the same information easily accessible online?

Document Retention guides are available online. Just google household document retention guides, and you will find a number of them to choose from.  Use them as a guideline, and be sure to check with your accountant or lawyer to get advice about a particular situation or document.

“Man’s best friend, aside from the dog, is the wastebasket”.      Business Week

Remember this truth and always have your friend with you when dealing with paperwork!

With these tips in mind, let’s begin!

First, separate your filing system into 3-5 basic subjects: I generally use 3 Main subjects: 1. Family and Personal, 2. Possessions, and 3. Finances. You can separate each category by placing them in separate drawers, by using separate color hanging files for each subject area, or by simply staggering the location of your filing tabs (Family and Personal to the left, Possessions in the center, and Finances to the right).

Your next step is to assign broad categories within each subject, and place each broad category in it’s own hanging file.

Family and Personal – Create Broad Categories for: Each Person in your family, Medical Insurance, Each Pet or Animal in your family, and Each Organization that you are associated with.

For example: Within the subject of “Family and Personal”, I may have hanging folders for the following broad categories:

• Family Members (1 hanging file for each family member)
• Pets (1 hanging file for each pet)
• Relatives and/or Contacts
• Memberships
• Insurance
• Church/Ministry
• Volunteer Organizations

Possessions– Include anything you OWN – Create Broad Categories for Automobiles, Home Purchases, Home Improvements, Large Appliances, Small Appliances, Large Electronics, Small Electronics, Your Current Home, Home Utilities, Home Services

Finances – Include anything having to do with your finances – Create Broad Categories for Bank Accounts, Credit Accounts, Investments, and College Savings Plan

Finally, assign specific categories within each broad category and place each specific category in it’s own manila folder in the hanging folder. For example: Within the broad category of each family member, I place 3-4 manila folders labeled; Personal, Health, Education, and Employment. The Personal file will hold birth certificate, social security card, passport, and other important certificates. The Health file will hold important health records, dental records and immunization records. The Education file will house permanent test results, transcripts, degrees, letters of recommendations, awards, and any other permanent records. Finally, the Employment file will hold resumes, contracts, benefits, retirement information, and social security records.

Of course your family filing system will change as your life changes. You won’t have an Education or Employment file for your newborn, but can add those as the need arises in the years to come. Likewise, you may have additional files for the family member(s) who are in the workforce for a long period of time. You may have categories of Employment, Past Employment, Future Employment Goals etc. The beauty of creating your own, personalized filing system is the ability to tailor it to your own needs.

For this reason, I do not recommend purchasing a pre-designed filing system. It WON’T be simple. At least not for you. You will have to spend time fitting your categories into their categories. It is much easier to create your own categories, with titles that make sense to you so that you will be able to remember them. I also don’t recommend filing alphabetically. It’s way too much to remember for my pee brain! Is my VW Bug filed under V for VW, B for Bug, A for Auto, or C for Car?

It takes a bit of work on the front end, but your efforts in developing a household filing system will save you countless hours and frustration in the long run.

Happy Filing!

Cheryl

Paper Management, Part 3

Junk All That Junk Mail!

In an effort to take back and clear out the piles of papers in your kitchens and dining rooms, simplify our lives, and stop the excessive waste, we will learn how to “Junk all that Junk Mail”!  

The average American adult receives almost 560 pieces of junk mail each year. And they spend 8 months opening junk mail in the course of their lives! And we wonder why we are drowning in paper!

In an effort to “Get Organized in 2010″, we have been looking at the universal problem of overwhelming amounts of paperwork, and the resulting piles that usually end up in the kitchen. Together we have looked at how and why this problem is created in Help, My Kitchen is My File Cabinet, and have begun to create a plan of action to eliminate it, Quick Access Files, Don’t Live an Organized Life Without Them!
Today, we will learn how to ELIMINATE much of the problem by eliminating much of our junk mail. It takes a bit of effort, but the savings in time, energy, and waste are well worth it.

I wish I could give you one phone number to call, similar to the National Do Not Call Registry, but it hasn’t been completed yet. Check out the New American Dream site at www.newdream.org to see the progress on the “Do Not Junk” registries.

Until then, there are several steps you can take to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive:

• Get off the Junk Mailing List. Visit the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service. Go to www.dmachoice.org ,  and follow their instructions to stop getting the mail that you don’t want. The DMA estimates that listing with their mail preference service will stop 75% of all national mailings

• Eliminate credit card junk mail. Most credit card companies use a central service to screen out people who don’t want to receive their mailings. To avoid getting most credit card junk mail, call 1-888-OPTOUT (888-567-8688).

• Stop junk mail before it begins. Whenever you fill out a form or place an order, always write “Do not rent or exchange my name” or ask the order taker to please “flag your file” so that your information won’t be shared.

• Eliminate the extra papers and advertisements sent to you with current bills by signing up for automatic payment. This will eliminate paperwork, and save you time and save money on postage.

• Stop the Catalogs. Most catalogs have an 800 number that customers can use to place orders. Use this same number to call and request that your name be taken off of their mailing list.  You can also go to Catalog Choice at www.catalogchoice.org. This site allows you to type in whatever catalog or mailer you receive and opt out. Just be careful that you don’t sign up to receive more catalogs than those you opt out of!

Other helpful websites:

• www.obviously.com :  provides a free on-line do-it-yourself guide to stopping junk mail, emails and phone calls

Do you have more money than time? Then try one of the following services:

• www.41pounds.org will do the work for you. They are a nonprofit organization working to eliminate junk mail and charge only $41 for 5 years. That’s only $8.20 per year!

• Purchase the Stop the Junk Mail Kit developed by the Consumer Research Institute. Go to www.stopjunk.com. The kit is $13.95 for the printed version ($9.95 for additional kits) or $10.95 for the PDF version. This simple kit was researched and developed by a former junk mail copywriter. The kit includes simple stop by step directions as well as pre-addressed postcards to make the job of ending junk mail simple.

• www.privacycouncil.org will do the work for you. The Privacy Council describes itself as “marketers committed to privacy”. Their mission is simple: they strive to collectively put an end to unwanted junk mail, SPAM and phone calls. The Privacy Council offers a full removal service, which removes your household from call lists, email lists, and junk mail lists. The initial cost for this service is $9.

• www.stopthejunkmail.com is owned by a young family in Boulder, CO who are passionate about saving the earth and being able to bring their kids up in a better environment and be able to “Breath Fresh Air”! For just $19.95, to get started, they claim to be able to reduce your junk mail by 90%. Their services are 100% guaranteed.

This a only a drop in the bucket. A quick google search of  stop junk mail brings up nearly 10 million sites. So, use my suggestions, or research your own. But certainly do simplify your life by Junking all that Junk Mail!

This article was originally posted in February, 2009.  It has been updated and re-posted , as I know so many of us need another reminder to “Junk all that Junk Mail!”.

Happy (and organized!) days!

Cheryl

Organize in (Your) Style

I was recently in Santa Fe, New Mexico celebrating a special birthday. I visited a great store, KOWBOYZ , “A First-Class Second-Hand Western Store”, selling 5,000 pairs of new & happily used boots. It was pretty impressive!

Cowboy Style for Your Office

I LOVED their clever solution to organizing their desk. Kids cowboy boots put to use to round up their office supplies.

Boots, chaps and cowboy hats… nothin’ else matters.
Cowboy Proverb

Go, ahead. Get Organized. In Style!

Happy (and organized) days!

Cheryl

Paper Management, Part 2

Quick Access Files:  Don’t Live an Organized Life Without Them!

Last time in “Help, My Kitchen is My File Cabinet”, I referred to the universal problem of overwhelming amounts of paperwork, and the resulting piles that usually end up in the kitchen. A large part of the solution to this problem is the creation of Quick Access Files. Quick Access Files are just that……….files that you need to access often and quickly. Don’t let the word file in Quick Access Files throw you. These are files containing different information than we generally keep in our regular filing cabinet. Quick Access Files are files that you will need for a season and/or you need to access often. They are filled with the papers that are otherwise taped to our refrigerator, stuck on the bulletin board or, all too often, piled up next to the phone or on the kitchen table.

Not Your Mother's File Box!

To create Quick Access Files, gather up all the bits of information lying around and plastered to the surfaces in your kitchen. Then separate them into logical categories. Because each of our lives and habits are different, each of our Quick Access Files will be different as well. You may end up with:

• A file for each school, which will hold current phone lists, school calendars, announcements, and newsletters.
• A file for every sports team or club
• Or you may choose to create a file for each child in which you could place all their papers for their individual school, sports, and clubs.
• A file for volunteer organizations, which will hold current phone lists, announcements, schedules, and newsletters
• A doctor/dentist file with contact information and appointment cards (which you will drop in the file AFTER you write the appointment on your calendar)
• A file for prescriptions, which will hold patient information for any current prescriptions that your family members are using
• A file for take out menus
• A file for parties and invitations (which you drop in AFTER you write the appointment on the calendar)
• A file for coupons and gift cards
  

  Basic File Box by See Jane Work

For many of these categories you will also have a file in your regular file cabinet. For instance, each child will have an Education file in your regular files, in which you will place all their permanent records, report cards and testing information. Each person will have a Medical file, which will hold immunization records, surgery, allergy and all permanent medical records.

The papers, invitations, schedules, announcements, appointment reminders, and take out menus in our Quick Access File are generally used for a season and then discarded or updated. At the end of a school year or sports season, for example, most of the contents of the Quick Access File will be discarded. Any important or permanent information or documents, however, will be added to your regular long term filing system, and your Quick Access Files will be ready for the new season.

With the addition of just a few categories, with corresponding files, you will have a complete system to deal with your mail on a daily basis.

• To Do
• To Pay
• To File (anything that simply needs to be transferred to your long term filing system)

Now that you have created your own Quick Access Files, I suggest that you keep them in your main living area, which is usually the kitchen or family room. This is generally the place that you bring in and drop your mail, you walk in with files and papers from meetings and appointments, and your children bring you papers to sign, fill out and file away.

I have heard people say that they don’t want a file box sitting in their living area. May I kindly suggest, that a small, nice looking file box (think attractive and presentable) looks much nicer than a pile of papers in disarray!

Check out some of the links to file boxes and files in this article, or find your own. Be creative. There are 100’s of options available in every style. Find your own style.

A Cool Vintage File Box

If you have ever worked with me, attended one of my workshops,  or followed my blog for any length of time, this concept is not new to you. If you already have Quick Access Files, the New Year is the perfect time to revamp them.  Simply sort through each file and:

• First of all; decide if you still need each file
  

  A Beautiful Alternative to Manila!

• Toss any obsolete information
• File anything that should be transferred over to your Permanent Filing System
• Determine if you need to add any new categories – (do you have any new information hanging on the fridge or piled up on the kitchen table?)

It’s the perfect time for a fresh start!
Happy (and Organized!) days!
Cheryl

Paper Management, Part 1

Help, My Kitchen is My File Cabinet!

Take a quick look around your kitchen and dining room: the kitchen table, the counter tops, the buffet, and the surfaces of your refrigerator. Do you notice a re-occurring theme? Do you see the mounds of information needed to run your home and your life, spread hit or miss around your kitchen? Is the pile of junk mail, catalogs, and newspapers on your kitchen table blocking your view of your loved ones at dinner? If so, you’re not alone.

Do you realize how much paperwork enters your home on a daily basis? Most of us probably receive more mail on most days than our parents received in a week. We receive newsletters, magazines, bills, advertisements, million dollar offers, and letters, to mention a few. Along with incoming mail, many of us have school-aged children, who each bring home permission slips, completed work, tests to be signed, the dreaded fund-raising packets and letters from teachers and administrators. We receive the Daily Newspaper, and we carry in papers on a daily basis from work, meetings and appointments.

In my time as a professional organizer, I have come across a universal problem of overwhelming amounts of paperwork, and the resulting piles that usually end up in the kitchen. In our efforts to “Get Organized in 2010″, we will look at this all-too-common issue and outline simple solutions that can solve this problem and simplify your days.

Together we will create a plan of action. A place for everything and everything in it’s place! Clutter happens when we don’t have a place for something, or when it’s more difficult to put something away than it is to deal with it. The result is the inevitable cluttering up of our spaces and our lives.

As we create a plan for all the paper coming into our homes, we will ask ourselves some very basic questions:

• Who needs this information?

• Where will I/they need or use this information?

• How long do I need/want to keep this information?

• What time of day does most of this information come into the home?

• Do I have time to put it where it belongs?

The truth is, the majority of the paper coming into your home will NEVER need to be looked at again!
“Man’s best friend, aside from the dog, is the wastebasket”.           Business Week

Remember this truth and always have your friend with you when dealing with paperwork. That’s the first and most essential step! Until next time, I challenge you to quickly recycle or simply throw out that which you don’t need, won’t use, or won’t read (despite your best intentions!). Make it a habit, and your piles may actually start declining!
In the upcoming weeks, I will be posting a 6-part Paper Management Series, which will simply outline what to do with all that paperwork. From developing short term and long term filing systems, to “junking all that junk mail”, to practical filing tips and tricks; all of which will help you to launch into a more organized 2010!

Happy (and Organized) Days!

Cheryl