Organize Your Briefcase, Organize Your Work

With your on-the-go lifestyle, your briefcase becomes your second office. It therefore behooves you to organize it to facilitate easier retrieval of documents, orderly arrangement of your accessories, and good first impressions, too.

To Place or Replace?

You should regularly check the suitability of your briefcase. Check the interior for sufficient compartments and the presence of stains that can put your papers and electronic devices at risk. Examine the exterior for chipped and cracked components in the leather and the hardware. You can choose to either continue placing your things inside it or start replacing it, depending on your assessment.

To Place Front or Back?

You should establish a filing system. You can make a folder for each type of document you use in a normal working day - "Personal Files", Client A Files", "Business Files", or however you want your files to be labeled. Just so long as you have a filing system!

For easier retrieval, you can assign front compartments for files that will be used first on your calendar, with the back compartments for later use. Or you can file based on immediate need - front for urgent documents and back for background reading. Or file it any wish you wish, so long as you know how your system works.

To Color or Not to Color?

You might find it easier to files documents in colored folders or attach colored post-its. This way, you can easily distinguish files without riffling through the folders. However, this might not be for everyone as a multi-colored briefcase might send the wrong signals. Again, just so long as you have an organized filing system, you can opt for basic brown and white or all the rainbow's colors for your folders.

A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place

You are no stranger to this adage. For your briefcase, always remember that the interior and exterior pockets serve a functional purpose, which you can actually use to keep your things organized and to keep you from losing them.

When you purchase a bag, look for one that has compartments for your electronic gadgets like cell phone, Black Berry, laptop, power cords and other high-tech toys. Also, you have to look for adequate compartments for your documents. If you have a filing system already established, look for a briefcase that will complement it.

Before dashing out from an appointment, you have to check if all the documents and gadgets are in their proper places. This way, you will avoid losing your things. Besides, it is better to be safe than sorry especially in this age of computer espionage.

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

Or orderliness, if you are not much for the religious connection. You have to schedule monthly clean-up and stock-up time for your on-the-go office. You should discard trash that tends to accumulate like paper, pens, and pencils and restock them, too. You should never run out of these writing implements as you never know when an important transaction needs signing or important information needs writing.

And should you find that organizing your briefcase is a tedious task you would rather not do, always remember that you will be the person who will most suffer for your own disorderliness.

A personalized business card holder and a silver business card case is a great addition to your briefcase. Find them all at ExecutiveGiftShoppe.com!

Organize Now: Organize Your Kitchen In 24 Hours

The kitchen is often a gathering place for friends and family to not only eat, but talk about current events and life in general. It’s a place to post notices on the refrigerator about chores and things to do during a busy day. It’s sometimes a place to feed pets and keep a collection of kid art, bills, assorted papers and magazines.

In fact, the kitchen can become a gathering place for lots of – junk.

Have you forgotten what your kitchen looks like?

Well, if you have, it’s time to dig through the clutter and get things organized so that you and your family can enjoy your kitchen again like it was meant to be enjoyed.

Before you can get organized, you need to decide what kinds of activities you want to use the kitchen for besides cooking and eating.

Do you pay bills sitting at the kitchen table?

Do you or any family members do craft projects in the kitchen?

Are the kids doing their homework in the kitchen?

Is it used for casual reading?

When you host parties, are guests allowed to roam freely in the kitchen?

These are all things to consider when deciding how your kitchen space will be used. Actually, your kitchen can accommodate all of the above activities, but you must organize things so that each activity doesn’t conflict with anything else you’re trying to do in there.

Grab some boxes or plastic bags and begin removing each item, section by section. You can label the boxes or bags i.e. appliances, bills, books, crafts, knick knacks, etc.

Now take a good look at the space and figure out how you want to arrange your kitchen into stations that can keep things neat and efficient. The first station, should be the cooking station. Appliances that you use frequently should be put within easy reach. Stuff you don’t use too much should be stored.

Utilize all of your storage space. Maybe you can purchase some dividers and racks to add to the space you already have in your cabinets. Figure out as many ways as possible to increase your storage space.

Next, if you pay bills in the kitchen, get a letter/bill organizer and place all of your current bills in there for safe keeping. This will help you keep track of what bill you owe and when you need to pay it. All older bill related paperwork should be filed away in a filing cabinet or thrown out if no longer relevant.

Likewise for crafts and things. Any loose craft items should be stored inside of a container or box. Pull items out and work at the kitchen table, then store them when you’re done.

If the kids normally do their homework at the kitchen table, keep supplies like pens, pencils, and paper handy in a separate container or box. Label it clearly so that the kids know where to find it. They should also put their supplies back when finished.

If you have a small place, the kitchen is often a gathering place for friends and party guests. You may want to invest in a rolling cart where you can easily store party beverages and utensils – that way you won’t have to clutter up your nice kitchen in order to entertain guests.

With the right organization, your kitchen can be a place to cook good meals, and also a multipurpose room that is warm and practical.

Hiring a Professional Closet Organizer

It may sound crazy, but some people actually make a living out of organizing other people’s closets! In fact, they are well trained in the art of closet organization and often have a certificate to verify their training. They can come to your home and assess your storage needs. They will come up with various layouts for you to choose from.

If you want to get your closet organized but you are overwhelmed by the task, hiring a professional closet organizer may be exactly what you need to get nightmare of a closet that is in utter disarray resolved. How much does a professional closet organizer cost? The answer to that question depends on many factors. The type of closet organization system you choose, the type of materials you want it done with, the level of difficulty, and the amount of time needed to complete your project will all play a role in the cost.

Many professional closet organizers use various types of software to come up with different layouts for organizing your closet. They can show you pictures of how your closet space will look with various layouts. This is an excellent way to ensure you are going to like the end result of the project.

Finding a professional closet organizer should be simple with the internet. Make sure you check out the reputation of such an individual or business. You will want to ask for references and pictures of other projects that they have completed. To prevent any issues, make sure everything regarding the project is in writing including the layout, the materials to be used, the time frame for completing the project, and the total cost.

There are even online professional closet organizers that will assist you with your project. They will chat with you over the computer or the will talk with you buy phone. You will have to send them digital pictures of your closet and the dimensions. They will come up with some layout options for you and email them to you. This type of professional closet organization is less expensive because you will be paying for their ideas. You will still have to complete the installation of the organizer materials your self. It is very likely these online professional closet organizers use the types of software mentioned earlier.

Professional closet organizers are an excellent choice for anyone who wants to organize their closet but isn’t comfortable about doing it themselves. You can use a professional closet organizer to help you come up with only ideas or to complete the entire project for you. Keep in mind you will have to be there to help them sort through the items in your closet, but they can help you devise a system for storing everything once you decide what you are keeping.

Remember that you get what you pay for so hiring the lowest professional closet organizer might not get you the results you are looking for. That doesn’t mean that you have to use the most expensive person out there though to get a great closet that is exactly what you are looking for.

To make the experience a good one, always ask for references and compare costs. You want to work with a professional closet organizer that listens to what you are looking for and can give you information on what will work and what won’t. They should also be able to visually show you several possible layouts either on the computer or with drawings.

To get a feel for a professional closet organizer, take advantage of free initial consultations. If you don’t feel like the individual has your best interests in mind then keep looking for someone else. Finding a professional closet organizer who is willing to work with your ideas, has great references, and is affordable is the key to getting the closet organization system that is going to work for you.

How to Organize, Display & Treasure Your Kid's Art Work

Every mom shares the same dilemma. What to do with all the wonderful art your child creates! Without strategies for display, organizing and editing, these delightful treasures will just pile up and become a burden of clutter. Here's my top 10 neat ideas on how to keep their art from becoming clutter.

1. Set policies on how much you are going to keep. For example, you might decide you want to keep only the top 10 – 20 pieces per year.
2. Edit regularly. Keep only the very best or most meaningful. Each day or week, pick your favorite. At the end of the month, pick the best of the month. That's the one that gets put in a scrapbook or in a special memorabilia box. Involve your child in selecting his or her favorite. This helps your child learn that not everything is worth keeping, which is a very valuable organizing skill to learn early on.
3. Go digital! Take digital photos of art you really love and recycle the rest! This preserves the art much longer. Paper eventually fades and tatters.
Create an album or scrapbook for each school year and include photos of the best art along with other projects.
4. Label the work. Mark the back of artwork you decide to save with the child name, date and the reason you kept it.
5. Create a revolving gallery. Create a space on a wall or other area that becomes a revolving art gallery. Use magnetic boards, cork boards etc. Provide one spot for each child and hang their photo or a name marker above their spot. Each time to you change the art decide if the old piece is worth saving.
6. Repurpose and recycle. Find creative uses for art work you don’t want to keep.
7. Use it as:
Gift wrap
Inserts for greeting cards
Drawer/shelf liners
Decorate containers to use as organizers for arts & crafts supplies
Creative disposal placements for a meal. Or, if it’s really good, mount it to construction paper, laminate it, and use the art as place mats for a longer time.
8. Get funky with clipboards. As an inexpensive and fun alternative to frames, use colorful clipboards mounted on the wall to create an art gallery for your child’s room. Let them decide what they want to hang and when they want to change it. Clipboards allow them to easily change out art frequently.
9. Draw the line. Hang a clothesline across a wall in an area where you want to display art and hang it with clothespins. This makes it easy to change the art whenever you or your child wants to!
10. Make gifts. Create unique gifts for relatives with good pieces. You can make little books, puzzles, calendars, and more. Encourage your child to help think of ways to transform art into fun gifts.

© 2006 Ariane Benefit, M.S.Ed., Organizing Coach, Personal Organizing Solutions All rights reserved.

How to Motivate Yourself to Organize

Organizing is probably not at the top of your list of fun things to do, is it? If your clutter is overwhelming, it's especially difficult to get started. Here are some easy tips to motivate yourself to organize.

1. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just just take the first step." You don't have to organize your whole house today. Just work on one small area-- a drawer or a cabinet.

2. Buy a good organizing book. Once you begin reading it, you'll feel compelled to start organizing.

3. Forget embarrassment. Invite an organized friend to help you. Hire a professional. It's easier to organize when you can talk through the clutter.

4. Set the mood. Put on some fun music. Open the windows. Choose a starting point and just do it.

5. "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence," said Calvin Coolidge.

Keep trying. Do a little bit daily or weekly and you'll soon find that you are more organized than you ever thought possible! About the author: Free time management tips booklet, meal planner, and daily organizing checklist at http://www.ineedmoretime.com.