Thursday, February 26, 2009

My Favorite Products - Food Storage Carousel


Here's another of my favorite products which I use all the time in my kitchen.

This is a 49-piece food storage container system which comes on a round carousel turntable. You can store all the pieces on this system which takes up no more room than a coffeemaker. I store it in one of my lower cabinets in my kitchen. These containers freeze and refrigerate well and can be washed in the top rack of your dishwasher.

Click here for a website where you can order this product.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Tip Tuesday - Keep your Dustbuster Running Smoothly


Don't forget to clean the filter inside your handy little Dustbuster. Remove the plastic cover as if you were emptying it. Turn the inside cone to remove it from the base. Inside you will find a paper filter that can be cleaned under warm running water. Let the filter dry thoroughly before reassembling the Dustbuster. You'll be surprised at how much better it runs after cleaning.

Monday, February 23, 2009

A Shout-Out to LogoWorks


I wanted to recommend this wonderful online resource for creating logos for your business - Logoworks.com

I used Logoworks to create my logo for Steps to Organization. They were easy to work with - friendly and helpful in every way. I'd never created a logo before and they listened to what I wanted and came up with some great choices.

Check out their website by clicking here.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Check out the Beautiful New NAPO Website!


The National Association of Professional Organizers has updated their website and I wanted to share it with you. What a great job NAPO has done to make the website more user friendly and easier on the eyes too.

Check it out by clicking here.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Traveling with your Laptop

apple laptop Pictures, Images and Photos

Here's a great tip from Martha Stewart Living for traveling with your laptop. When you go through security, place your laptop in a jumbo ziptop resealable bag to minimize handling. You can place your power cords in a smaller ziptop bag. The new airline security rules state that if your laptop is in a case by itself, you don't have to remove it.

I will definitely try it the next time I have to fly.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Tip Tuesday

I've decided to make Tuesday my weekly "tip" day. Each week I'll include one organizing or household tip to make your life easier.

Here's today's tip:



Wash new colored towels in cold water with two capfuls of white vinegar (no detergent). This will help the towels keep their original shade without fading.

Monday, February 16, 2009

High School Time Management Tips



I wanted to share some great time management tips found in School Specialty's High School Agenda Planner. School Specialty publishes this wonderful planner each year specifically geared toward high school students.

I recommend following these time management tips in this order:
1. Schedule time for what needs to be done - school, work, family and top commitments

2. Schedule time for what you want to do - things that help you recharge after a day's work; and

3. Learn how to use spare time - slip in things you couldn't get done - don't let spare time go to waste.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day

To Roxy: Happy Valentine's Day Pictures, Images and Photos

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. We will be attending the wedding of some good friends this evening. I'm so happy for them! We'll be dancing the night away.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Organizing for Tax Season

uncle sam Pictures, Images and Photos

April 15th is right around the corner. Take some time now to get your tax preparation materials together. Schedule an hour or two in the next week to separate your 2008 tax-deductible receipts from the rest. Place the non-deductible receipts in an enveloped marked "2008 Non Deductible Receipts" and file away. Keep these receipts for 7 years - then they can be shredded.

Label small brown clasp envelopes (6” x 9”) by subject for those tax-deductible expense receipts. For example, place all medical receipts together in one envelope for your medical deductions. Do the same for entertainment, automobile expense, education, etc. Make a separate envelope for each category of deductions applicable for your situation.

Your tax preparer will love you've done half the work already!

Start now to simplify your 2009 tax preparation. Purchase an expandable folder with monthly pockets (January-December) for storing all your non-deductible receipts by month. Each time you clean out your purse, wallet or car, place the receipts in the month in which the item was purchased. At the end of the year, simply mark this folder with the year (2009) and file away. This makes finding receipts so much easier if you need to return an item.



Try to file receipts as soon as you get them so they don’t start piling up.

For those receipts containing tax-deductible expenses, purchase a second expandable folder with blank tabs. You can create your own filing system with the subjects you need for your individual tax situation (i.e., entertainment, medical, charitable contributions, automobile expense, etc.) File the receipts by subject and when it’s time to prepare next years' return, you’ve got all your receipts ready to go.



No more pawing through a shoebox of paper trying to find the one receipt you need.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Quote to Ponder


Here is today's Real Simple Magazine's daily quote which I wanted to share with you:


Perfection is attained by slow degrees, it requires the hand of time.

— Voltaire

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Cabin Fever? Use this time to Get Organized!

Heavy Snow Pictures, Images and Photos

If you live in any area of the country other than Southern California, you're probably spending more time inside this winter than you have in quite awhile.

Why not use this time to focus on organizing at least one area in your home. Pick an area where you're spending a lot of time right now - maybe the den or living room. Discard or recycle old magazines; sort through the games and make sure all pieces are intact and not broken; cull through the toys and video games and keep only those you and your family actually play with.

Only 7 more weeks till Spring!

Monday, February 9, 2009

February is Library Lovers Month




Make sure and celebrate February's Library Lovers Month by donating books to your local library or school. Visit the Library Lovers website by clicking here for more ideas on how you can help your local library.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Loading an Organized Dishwasher


Okay, so this post will prove how anal retentive I can actually be. But I will always argue that an organized dishwasher makes for a more energy efficient home.

Think in rows when you're loading the dishwasher. The more you can fit into the dishwasher (without overloading it), the longer between cycles you will need. No more wasting energy on running an unorganized dishwasher every day.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

"Get Organized Without Losing It" - A Great Little Organizing Book for Kids

Get Organized Without Losing It (Free Spirit Laugh & Learn Series)

I just finished reading this book and thought it had some great ideas for organizing kids. The book is geared mostly for kids from 3rd through 8th grade. I bought two copies of the book - one for me to keep and one for my elementary school library (where I also work). I was so excited because I had just put the book onto my "new book" cart, and a student already checked it out.

The author, Janet S. Fox, is a middle and high school teacher in Texas so she has first-hand knowledge of how important organization is for students.

I wanted to quote a portion of her book that I think sums up what makes an organized student:

Plan to Stay Organized Day-by-Day:

Each morning: look at your planner. Are you ready for the day?

Before you leave home for school: Make sure you have everything you need for the day. Backpack? Binder? Homework? Signed notes? Lunch? Special projects? What else?

At school: Write your assignments on your homework checklist. Write due dates, quiz dates, and test dates in you planner.

Before you leave school for home: Make sure you have everything you need for that night's homework. Handouts? Books? Worksheets? Notes? What else?

At home: Stick to your homework schedule as closely as you can. Life happens, but try not to get off track too much.

Each night: Before you go to bed, look at your planner. Are you ready for tomorrow?

Each night: Before you go to bed, gather up everything you need for school the next day. Put it all in one place - on your desk, by the back door, or on the kitchen table. Try to use the same place every night.


I would recommend this book for any family who wants to help their child get more organized which will ultimately help them to do better in school and feel better about themselves.

Click here to get more information about this book.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

You're as Young as You Feel




Here's a quote from Real Simple Magazine's daily emails that I wanted to share with you because I think it's important to remember:

You can’t help getting older, but you don’t have to get old.

— George Burns

Monday, February 2, 2009

A "Colorful" Way to Get Organized


Colorful Images has a wonderful collection of bright and cheery Mary Engelbreit designed organizing products on their website. I'm a big fan of Mary Engelbreit's whimsical designs and find that if you enjoy looking at your organizing products, you're more likely to keep using them.

Check these out by clicking here.