I have 10 nieces and nephews ranging from 7 – 22 years old. I can remember only 1 year that I gave them Christmas presents they actually enjoyed. I usually fall into the trap of getting the wrong gifts and I can tell they are really not interested. I don’t buy the coolest or the latest for them because I just don’t know what to buy. So this year they are all getting gift cards to Starbucks and Mcdonalds. I figure its just like money and they will actually use them. It took me all of about 30 minutes to buy for ten people. That was easy for me and I’m sure they will all be happy.
I will keep you posted on the Christmas gift reactions!

Remember along time ago when flip books were fun? You could draw a stick figure and then turn the page and draw another stick figure with one arm or leg higher then the other? Eventually the stick figure would be going off the page. You could then fan the corner of the page and make "the running stick figure"! Oh, my gosh I haven't seen one of those in forever! Does anyone even make those anymore? I received this email link to today's version. Wow times have changed.
Instead of using a notebook that has 100 changing pictures that becomes an animated cartoon, this one you just scroll down the page to see the animation. OK, I think I've see it all!

Flip book animation

My husband and are secretly fighting over the travel cup, and while we don’t say this out loud, whoever fills the coffee cup first gets to take it on road. We used to have about 6 and they have all disappeared, even the really good one.
Anyway I have the one that dribbles a little and sure enough this week on my way to a client I spilled tea on my white shirt. That is the worst! Luckily I had some handiwipes in the car and clean up the stain and I was good as new. Emergency stain resolved!

Too many magazines, too many inserts (subscription cards, perfume ads etc) and how I use those to my advantage. - I use them as page markers and also before I even start reading a magazine I flip through and pull out all extra cards and tear outs. If I want to take it a step further I will take out ALL advertisements - you’d be surprised how skinny your mag gets. Also, you can actually flip through the magazine without getting hung up.

Have you ever been in a store just staring at a rack of ink cartridges, trying
to figure out the model number for you home printer? Or stumbled across a great sale in men's shirts, but can't remember the neck size of your significant other? Here's a quick tip for keeping important information easily accessible. Use the address book in your cell phone to jot down notes!

First, create a name and enter it your phonebook. My cell phone now has
Printer listed in the contact list and under First Name. The last name says
Home Printer with the name, model # and printer colors listed in the notes
column.
Why the cartridge colors? My printer only works if I have all five colors
plus black, but the black runs out first, then the three main colors and
every once in awhile I have to replace the two oddball colors -- light cyan
and light magenta. Those are not typical colors I'm going to think of when I
'm in a hurry to print black and white.

Under my husband's I've listed all his clothing sizes and brand preferences.
Now I can confidently take advantage of sales and not worry about having to
return items - saving time and money!

How many remote controls do you own? We have the following in our home:
TV
Cable
VCR
Surround Sound
Tuner
Digital picture frame


I must say it's a little too much to have out on the coffee table. A remote
control for a picture frame? Check out the reviews of universal remotes at CNET.com
These handy gadgets can control multiple electronic devices, from your television and cable to the stereo and video games. Logitech's Harmony 1000 has an easy to use touch screen and controls up to 15 devices. But this convenience doesn't come
cheap. The Harmony 1000 costs a whopping $499. Then there's the programming.
If you don't have a degree in electronics be prepared to hire a professional. Our solution for now?

We are going to store all the remotes, except for the ones for the TV and
cable until they're needed.

Here is a great article I found on Lifehack about organizing your e-clutter
I especially liked tip #1 cleaning out your inbox. This is such an important task and should be done as often as possible. Every new email pushes the older emails out of sight and they can be forgotten. Cleaning out your inbox on a weekly basis is a good way to review emails you havent acted on. Reply, forward, add to your do-to list or delete those inbox items a.s.a.p. and your inbox will be so much easier to manage.

Have a great day!
Karli

Would you believe that you could unearth treasures in your own home or office? Is it possible you have been missing something and didn't even know it? Some of the most common items we find organizing homes and offices are gift certificates, gift cards and sometimes important documents. It may seem like a daunting task but it's possible that you too may just find something valuable. Have fun and let me know if you find something you been looking for!

New Year
Here I am at the start of a new year -- it’s "clean slate time," – a fresh start. Like many people, New Year’s Day has me thinking about what I’d like to accomplish in the next 365 days. Some of my goals are similar to most folks, lose some weight, get fit, get a handle on my finances. Others are more idiosyncratic – such as finally getting past Level 2 in French. However, getting organized is not one of goals, though I’m a natural slob. Maybe it’s because I’m suspicious that if I give up my messiness, I’ll also give up some of my creativity and spontaneity.

So then what am I doing blogging on a site dedicated to getting organized? What drew me to working with Karli is her philosophy that organizing is not about being perfect. It’s a tool to help accomplish bigger goals. That resonated with me. I’ll never have a home where everything is always in its place, but I can do without the frustration of wondering around our two-bedroom, two-bath home for 20 minutes looking for my keys. None of my friends have ever said or will ever say, I just love Irene, she’s sooo organized. But I know they like it when I remember birthdays and special occasions. I don’t have to be organized to get on a treadmill, but I do have to make the time to get to the gym.

So that’s what organization means to me. It’s a way to achieve important things, like taking care of my family, and being a good friend, and contributing to the community. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Routine = Efficiency

Do you ever wonder what makes some people more productive than others? Well professional organizers think about it all the time and one common bit of wisdom is routine = efficiency.

When our minds are faced with the same tasks week after week or day after day, they naturally find the most efficient method of accomplishing that task. It is the reason why Henry Ford was so successfully with assemble line manufacturing. If a worker needed to complete thousands of tasks to build a car, each task would require memory recall, a shift in focus and mental and physical setup. But if 1000 workers were each assigned just one task, they would each find the most efficient process making the entire process more efficient.

We too can employ assembly line efficiency in our lives to become more productive by identified all the rote tasks in our lives that we must complete, but are not necessarily enjoyable. And keep in mind - assembly line tactics should not be used on those tasks that are meaningful and deserve thought and attention. Do not mechanically pet your dog three times before leaving for work in place of your meaningful time together. But instead find tasks like sorting the mail, paying bills and doing the dishes and develop a routine that helps you make those tasks as efficient as can be so that you have more time available for meaningful moments.

Here are some tips on creating routines in your daily, weekly and monthly schedules so that you can get more out of life.

Paying Bills
Very few people like paying bills, and it seems that every year brings more bills and more complications which means less time to enjoy. Setting up automatic payments and withdrawals can really help to simplify your life and even help a family stay on budget. Almost every utility, credit card, mortgage company or bank offers an automatic method of payment, and some even offer discounts when choosing an automatic pay plan. And banks are providing free online access to checking to make the setup simple and pain free. Take a look at the list below of common bills that usually offer auto pay options.

Phone Bill
Cable Bill
Mortgage
Home Insurance
Car Payment
Car Insurance
Cell Phone Bill
Electric Bill
Gas Bill
Credit Cards
Internet Service


The trick to monitoring these payments easily and ensuring you have enough money to pay the bills is to pick a single date or small date range in which all the payments will be made. Then total up the dollar amount of all the automatic payments. Be sure to leave room on this number because some payments may fluctuate with usage, like a cell phone or electricity bill. Some people are surprised to find out how much their bills total which makes this a great step in becoming financially organized. This step provides a reasonable estimate of your fixed expenses each month. In the process you may even discover some expenses that are no longer worth the cost.

Once you know how much each month your expenses total and you have setup all the payments to be taken from your checking account in the same time period, it easy to monitor. Most checking accounts have online access these days so you can log in and make sure the payments went through on time.

The Mail

Come rain or shine your mail box gets paid a visit. If you don't have a daily routine for handling the mail, chances are that you have piles of envelopes stacked somewhere in your home or office.

Handling the mail should be a daily routine. A common time to handle the mail is when you get home from work. Spend just a few minutes at the garbage can throwing out the junk right away. Then have a set place for "To Do's". It is also a good practice to respond right away for items that require a call to action. That way you leave room for tomorrows incoming correspondence.

The little things

We waste a lot of time looking for things on our way out the door. Designate an area for keys, wallet, and umbrellas and get into the strict habit of placing them only in that area. You will find this helps you get out the door on time and reduces the panic of finding your keys when late for an appointment.

Cleaning

No one likes to clean, which is the very reason why cleaning tasks should be routine tasks. Set a schedule for vacuuming, making the beds, laundry, kitchen and bathrooms and stick to it. You find that after a couple of weeks each task actually takes less time because you will have naturally found the most efficient processes.


I hope some of these ideas inspire you to install some routine into your days that will free up wasted time and help you to enjoy each day a little more.

How to Say Goodbye

One of the most difficult parts of organizing is saying goodbye to items. It is easy to identify when there is too little space for too much stuff, but agonizing to decide what must go. Here are a few tips and ideas on how to determine the things you get the most enjoyment and use from, and the things that should go.

1.) If you are really undecided on some items, pack them up and put them into storage for a pre determined amount of time. I recommend no longer than a year, and for most items 3 to 6 six months will make the point. After the storage period is over ask yourself if you thought about the item, needed it or missed it. These questions will give you an indication of just how useful that item is to your life, and if it is worth the precious space it takes up.
2.) It is difficult to make decisions on items that hold sentimental value. The general rule of thumb is that you should display items that have meaning. Items with sentimental meaning provide little satisfaction sitting in a box on a shelf somewhere. When going through your sentimental items decide what you want to display. For the items that will not be displayed, think about alternatives to packing it up again. Is there a friend or family member that will display the items? For pictures and memorabilia technology can offer some great solutions. Scan images of those items and pictures into your hard drive, and then make a screen saver, so that you can enjoy them on a day to day basis.
3.) Consider donating items to charities. Sometimes parting with items is easier knowing that it will go to good use. For example, music instruments were made to make music, so shouldn’t they be in the hands of a budding musician instead on a basement shelf collecting dust?
4.) Some of that stuff may be worth a lot of money. Sticking with the music instrument theme, my husband played trumpet in high school. He bought the trumpet at a garage sale for around $50. After college the trumpet moved from closet to closet for ten years getting dinged and more tarnished every year. Then one day he decided it would better for someone to be playing the trumpet, rather than it age in his closet. He sold it on eBay because it had a new case and he thought it might be worth $50. One week later he received a check for over $1,800. He had no idea the trumpet was worth that much money and was very pleased that he could say for that month, that music paid the mortgage.

I hope these tips help you clear the clutter from your home or office. Our spaces should be enjoyed, not enslaved by our things. So decide what you have room for, and what is meaningful, and use those items to create the space you deserve.

For professional help Organized With Style can be reached at 877-447-3697