Challenging Chronic Disorganization

An important change occurred on January 1, 2011. The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) changed its name to the Institute on Challenging Disorganization (ICD). The mission remains the unchanged:

"Our mission is to benefit people affected by chronic disorganization. The ICD explores, develops and communicates information, organizing techniques and solutions to professional organizers, related professionals and the public."

As a subscriber of NSGCD/ICD I am excited that the name reflects the current nature of the group's work. In the beginning NSGCD was formed as an unofficial special interest group of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). But the group has grown beyond the confines of the states to include subscribers from other countries, as well as mental health practitioners and researchers. In the course of our work we do look for ways to bring order in situations where traditional organizing methods have failed. It is interesting to note that "challenging" in the new name works effectively as both as a verb and an adjective. Finally, I just enjoy the simplicity of the new name.

Please visit the ICD's new website (www.challengingdisorganization.org) and become familiar with this important group.

From The Land of Fun and Simplicity

Unclutterer is one of my favorite blogs. Their posts on simplifying and organizing are informative and inspiring. Plus the UniTask posts are great fun.

To my delight, the folks behind Unclutterer launched a new blog this year dedicated to ending meal-time stress. Brilliant! Let's face it - we all have to eat. And everyone I know is pretty busy. We can all use a little fun and simplicity when it comes to appeasing empty stomachs. Consider paying SimpliFried a visit: www.simplifried.com

If you haven't had the pleasure of reading Unclutterer, here is their link: www.unclutterer.com.

Stop Clutter From Stealing Your Life

I recently read the new edition of Stop Clutter From Stealing Your Life: Discover Why You Clutter and How You Can Stop by Mike Nelson. Nelson’s book offers explanations for why people clutter and strategies to stop cluttering. While Nelson did a lot of research for his book, what distinguishes it from many other books on organizing is his account of his efforts to declutter. It is his experience that gives this book a very genuine and hopeful quality.

Nelson is very open in his book about his history as a clutterer. He describes how he collected vast and varied items that filled his spaces yet did nothing to fill the emotional holes in his life. “Clutter is the symptom. Recognizing and changing the reason for our cluttering are the solutions.”

Types of clutterers are identified early in the book along with specific emotional and practical solutions for each type. Nelson distinguishes hoarding from cluttering.; although cluttering and hoarding share many symptoms and pain. Contrary to what the popular media seems to depict, hoarding is not common and effects a small percentage of the population.

Facing one’s emotions is essential for the effects of decluttering to be long lasting.  It will take time but making progress always does. Nelson offers several tools to help develop a less cluttered life. Journaling, identifying and working with one’s learning style, and understanding one’s personality are among them.

The bumpy road of change does not happen overnight. But for those undertake the challenge there are rewards: greater self-esteem, inner strength, greater satisfaction and a less cluttered life. If you feel as though you are trapped by your clutter, read this book. If someone in your life is trapped by clutter, read this book. Mike Nelson does a very good job in showing you how you can make the changes you need to set yourself free.

A New Way To Look At Organizing

Tonight I was surfing the net to check out the many articles on organizing – it is Get Organized month after all.  I perused many articles that extolled the benefits of organizing:            

            Find things when you need them so you save time and frustration,

            Eliminate buying duplicate items so you save money and space,

            Having a bill-paying system so you never have to deal with late-fees again,

            Being on time and prepared for appointments,

            Being able to open the door to your home when guest pop by,

            Saving effort because an efficient workflow is in place,

            And many other terrific benefits that you’ve probably seen before.

In the midst of all of the usual reasons for getting organized I found a new and refreshing one on Giorgi Lobjanidze’s blog: “organized living is sexy.”

If by sexy he means a calmness from order, an attitude of self-confidence and a sense of control, then yes I completely agree. 

“Organized living is sexy” – kind of puts a new slant on Get Organized month.

SOS! Organizing When Visual Reminders Are Needed

“I need lots of reminders where I can see them. How can I keep things organized but still keep things out where I can see them? If I don’t see something I will forget about it.”

Let’s start off with a little experiment. Turn on the radio and leave it on. Turn on the stereo with your favorite CD and leave it on. Turn on the news. Can you make out what the headline stories are? Can you understand the words of your favorite song’s refrain? Can you tell when a commercial comes on the radio? With everything bombarding your senses, discerning individual details is difficult at best.

This experiment is analogous to the effect of leaving everything out as a reminder. Leaving everything out creates a lot of visual “noise.” The noise prevents any specific thing from alerting you – ironic considering the intent of leaving things out is to act as a reminder.

Leaving everything out is counter productive and memory by itself is untrustworthy. What’s needed is a system of reminders that alert a person at the right time. The system needs to be easy to use so the reminders can be entered quickly and consistently. The system needs to be easily gotten so it’s accessible to everyone.

The tool of this system is the planner. A planner is more than a calendar. A planner provides its owner a place to integrate tasks, objectives and goals with the calendar. The planner has a place to record daily to-do lists. Need to renew your driver’s license? Put it in your planner. Need to fill out an application? Put that task in your planner. The planner becomes the one place to record what needs to get done It’s simpler to have one place to check than an entire tabletop.

The planner is just one part of the system. The other parts are to provide homes for the planner. plus the items that are sitting out and to set up a routine of consulting and using the planner. Designate a spot to put the planner when you are at home and in the office. Nothing else belongs in the planner’s home but the planner.Having a specific home for things eliminates guesswork. Carry the “homes” principle to the papers you need to act on. An action file is a great place to file them. I’ve written about action files before: Organize Bill Paying.

To develop a routine of using the planner, leave it open so you can see what is recorded. Establish several times during the day to check the planner: morning, lunch and evening, for example. Carry it with you when you go to appointments. When the planner is your constant companion then you always have your reminders with you organized in a way that is doable rather than overwhelming.

One planner can replace a whole tabletop of reminders -- making your space a lot more clear and peaceful and your to-dos a lot easier to get done.

Karol has nominated the Leukemia Society for the charity drawing.

Addition By Subtraction

Today is the Official Letting Go of Stuff Day. I spent the afternoon with a client and a carpenter changing and organizing her pantry. My client let go of three bags of groceries that will be a welcome donation to a charity food pantry. She also let go of cooking utensils that are no longer used. These items no longer fit her lifestyle.

Ironically subtracting these items from the pantry, added to it and to my client. What was gained:

• Visibility. It's easier to see a specific item without all the visual noise of items that are not used.
• Accessibility. Items don't have to be shuffled around to get what is needed.
• Time. Items can be found faster and accessed faster.
• A renewed commitment to healthier goals. By removing what no longer fit in her healthier lifestyle she removed distractions that could sidetrack her.

Certainly all of these gains are wonderful in themselves. But my client stated that the greatest gain was peace of mind. That comment certainly added to my day.

How did your "Letting Go of Stuff " day go? I'd love to hear about your experience with addition by subtraction.

As you know UPrinting.com has sponsored a giveaway and today is the day to announce the winner. Congratulations Tim! You have won 500 custom business cards.

Letting Go of Stuff Day

Just a reminder: UPrinting.com is sponsoring a business card give-away. Please see my 3/10 post http://clear-spaces.blogspot.com/2010/03/national-organize-your-home-office-day.html for details. The last day to enter is 3/24 and I'll post the winner on 3/25.

In the meantime, March 25 is "Letting Go of Stuff Day." Here's my challenge to you: let go of some physical stuff and some emotional stuff, then comment about the experience here. I'll count your comments as entries to the business card give-away as long as you make them by 11:59 p.m. on March 24. 

The physical stuff: Box up some clothes or household items that you haven't used in two years to donate to your favorite charity. Please do this with the mindset that you are giving someone in need a present. Think about how you are making a real difference in someone's life.


The emotional stuff: Spend a few minutes thinking about some of the emotional stuff that creates a barrier between you and your goals. Identify one of the negative comments that you tell yourself about you. Let go of that negative thought by turning it into a positive one by prefacing it with "I used to believe that..." and ending it with "but now I know I can ..."

For example, if your negative thought is "I just can't get organized" the new positive statement is "I used to believe that I can't get organized, but now I know I can get organized."

Happy De-Cluttering!

SOS! A Double Header: Organize A Functional Office In Your Car and Seasonal Sports Equipment Transitioning

“My sales job takes me from site to site. Even though I have an office my real working space is my car. I take client files, samples, my laptop, and attaché case. Is there a way to organize my car as a mini office? “ – Juanita

Yes, Juanita, your car can be transformed into a functional office without a whole lot of effort. As in organizing your home and the brick and mortar office, remember that that the right tools can make the job so much easier. However, the underlying principles and their application are the real key to organizing success.

While you are sitting in your car you are probably working on your client files; therefore, you need a way to store the files safely and within reach of the driver’s seat. A flat surface to write on and place the laptop on is a must as is a place to rest your cell phone. Samples, brochures, and marketing give-aways belong in the trunk where they can be easily grabbed before you enter your client’s office, but they won’t get in the way of your work. When space is tight you have to diligently protect it.

To transform your car cabin into an office you need a specialized car desk. These desks fasten into the passenger seat with the seatbelt. There is usually a generous niche for files, a non-skid surface to hold a laptop and provide a writing surface. Some models offer specialized attachments for a cell phone and even a portable printer. Car-go-desk and Mobile Office, Inc are companies that have a large number of desk options for the car.

One other tool that that will make a world of difference for you is a power inverter. A power inverter transforms the power from your car battery into AC power that your appliances use. One end of the inverter plugs into the cigarette lighter and the other end has one or more outlets. With an inverter you are not restricted by the battery life of your appliances.

Of course no office is complete without a trashcan, and auto supply stores have models that fit in your car.

Juanita has nominated the ASPCA for the charity donation drawing.

Kathleen sent this question: “We are used to swapping seasonal clothing, but how do you organize other seasonal items? For example I have a bike and golf clubs for summer and skis and sled for winter. I don't really want to have to reorganize a closet each season, but I have limited space and need to get to my stuff. “

When space is limited it is really important to make use of walls and ceilings in order to preserve floor space. Mounted racks and brackets will keep the equipment off the floor, accessible and neat.

Organize.com has a variety of brackets to get bicycles off of the ground. When there is ample ceiling height, I like to use bicycle lifts. The lifts have brackets that connect to the ceiling and hooks that connect to the bike. Through ropes and pulleys, a little bit of strength can lift the bike off the ground. Wall mounted brackets require more upper body strength and coordination.

I like wall-mounted racks to hold ski equipment. The skis and poles stay upright without flopping around. Some racks also accommodate bulky ski boots too. Check out Organize.com for the racks and for utility hooks to hang a sled. The Stud Grabber hook attaches to an exposed stud without tools and each hook holds up to 25 pounds.

Golf equipment storage racks are typically meant to sit on the floor, but they manage to store all of your golf equipment in a small amount of space. The storage racks at Stacks and Stacks can hold two golf bags, shoes and boxes of tees and balls.

Picture the golf equipment rack on the floor, just above it -- or to the side -- the ski equipment and the sled, and above all of it the bicycle hangs from the ceiling. Everything is easily accessible, stored neatly and fits in very little floor space.

By taking advantage of vertical space it is possible to avoid rearranging sports equipment during season transitions. It’s nice to have one less thing to do so you have more time to enjoy using your equipment.

Kaizen and Organization

A blog post by Tim McMahon in his "A Lean Journey: The Quest for True North" inspired me to resurrect this newspaper article that I wrote two months ago. In it I write about Kaizen from the perspective of a professional organizer. In Tim McMahon's post, "Organizing for Dummies" he writes about organizing from the perspective of a professional in manufacturing who is knowledgeable in kaizen.

After World War II, the American War Department brought experts in industry to Japan to help its recovery. The experts used statistical control methods to improve design, quality, testing and sales. These methods contributed what was to become kaizen.

Kaizen is a philosophy that focuses on continuous, incremental improvements that will result in the elimination of waste and inefficiency. Although kaizen typically applies to manufacturing and business management, it can easily be applied to life in general. In particular I find the kaizen 5S framework succinctly describes good organization.

Seiri or Sort. Eliminate what is unnecessary. Do things in the proper order.

Seiton or Set in Order. Provide a home for everything. Those items that are especially useful should be easily located where they are used. Other items can be stored. Label everything to avoid confusion.

Seiso or Shine. Return items to their place when finished with them. At the end of the day, tidy your space. Cleanliness is a routine activity rather than an exceptional activity.

Seiketsu or Standardize. Create consistent routines that accomplish much with little effort. Aim for best practices and keep items operating in their best possible fashion. Insure that all members of the team know their responsibilities and how to carry them out.

Shisuke or Sustain. Muster the discipline to maintain the processes and just as important, reflect upon the process to bring about improvements.

Organization is best accomplished when the process to achieve it is continuously applied, which is the focus of kaizen. After all, a disorganized space does not occur overnight. It is just as important to emphasis that the process is not static.
Our lives are constantly changing so it makes sense that the framework to maintain order requires discipline and flexibility. The 5S framework of kaizen accommodates change by routinely reflecting upon the process through shisuke.

In manufacturing, increased efficiency and decreased waste lead to an improved bottom line. In our personal lives increased efficiency and decreased waste can lead to more time for important activities, such as family time, and more recreation – which in turn lead to greater satisfaction. In both the business and personal worlds, Kaizen’s 5S framework provides the organization needed to obtain desired goals.

Countdown To Letting Go & Lightening Up

Will you be celebrating freedom from clutter this Independence Day? Enroll for the Letting Go & Lightening Up class series that starts on March 20 and this year's Independence Day can be a clutter-free celebration. Visit the Clear Spaces website to get more information. The Early Bird Discount and Friend Discount won't last long.

National Organize Your Home Office Day

Today is National Organize Your Home Office Day. About a third of the requests for help that I receive are related to the home office. Today we'll look at some of the common issues and what can be done to resolve them. There's a little treat for you at the end of this post.

Issue: Paper stacks. This is the most common issue in the office but it's actually a compound issue created by a couple of other issues - an inadequate filing system and cheap file cabinets.

Issue: Inadequate filing system. Many people label their files with little thought to how they need to file, access and use the information. When it's time to file, an inadequate filing system will leave them guessing which file to use and how long to keep the information.
Resolution: Consider using a packaged filing kit. A good kit explains how to file along with file labels. My personal favorite is FreedomFiler (www.freedomfiler.com).

Issue: Cheap file cabinets. They're rickety, have sharp edges, and the drawers extend only half-way. No wonder no one wants to file!
Resolution: Invest in a good file cabinet. Look for a sturdy cabinet with full-extension drawers. You won't believe the difference a good file cabinet will make and it will probably be less expensive than you think. You might even look forward to filing! One of my favorite brands is Hon which is readily available at any big box office store.

Issue: No office. Your space is so small there is no room for an office so the bills are on the counter, and the coffee table,  the school papers are on the dresser, and the tax papers are ... where?
Resolution: Create a portable office and assign a place to store papers that need action. A file box with an insert to hold desk supplies or a file cart with drawers can be stored anywhere and offers portability when it's time to sit down and do a little work. The files can be labeled by the category of the action (call, pay, research, read, etc.) or set up as a tickler system (check out my earlier post "Tickle Yourself Into Action") By the way, just file papers as soon as the action is complete. Putting the paper in a "file" file doubles your work.

Issue: Missed deadlines. Bills don't get paid on time. Projects are late or never get done.
Resolution: A better planner. A planner that marries the to-do list with a calendar makes it easy to schedule things so they get done. Break large projects into smaller tasks and record these tasks in the to-do section of the planner. Record deadlines and due dates. Consult your planner several times a day to keep on top of your plan for the day. My two favorite planners are the Taylor planner (www.taylorintime.com) and Planner Pad (www.plannerpad.com).

Issue: There isn't enough room on the desk to work because of the computer.
Resolution: Move peripherals off the desk. I like to use a shelf above the desk or a small table at a right angle to hold the printer. A keyboard tray will open up more desk space.


Issue: A stack of business cards - who are these people?
Resolution: When you receive a business card write down the date and the place you met on the back of the card. You might also consider jotting down why you might be interested in contacting that person in the future. Can't think of anything? Maybe you really don't need to keep that card after all. A Rolodex is a simple way to file the cards. Use one strip of tape on the left edge of the business card to tape it to the Rolodex card and you will be able to access the back of the card.


Having a little business card envy? The folks at UPrinting.com can take care of that for you by printing up some snazzy new cards. Uprinting.com is sponsoring a give-away so one lucky winner will receive some new business cards.

2.      The Prize:

500 Business Cards for One (1) Winner

Sizes:  2 x 3.5”, 2 x 3”, 2 x 2” (square card) or 1.5 x 3.5” (slim card)

Paper: 14 pt gloss cardstock, 14 pt matte cardstock or 13 pt recycled uncoated cardstock

Specifications: Full Color Both Sides; Offset Press; 3 Business Day Printing

Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping

Eligibility: Limited to US Residents only

3.      Get more information about UPrinting.com:

Business Cards Online 

Promotional Printing

4.     The Rules:

Give-away will end at midnight (Central) Wednesday, March 24, 2010 when an entry will be drawn.

One entry will be given when you become a follower of this blog.

One entry will be given when you become a fan of the Clear Spaces Facebook Fan Page.

One entry will be given when you become a Clear Spaces Twitter follower @ClearSpacesLLC.

One entry will be given when you reply to this post with your office organizing challenge to be featured in Stump the Organizer Saturday! Can't think of a challenge? Tell me your favorite organizing tip. Let me know if you have done the other things (follower, fan, tweet) too.

Visit back on March 25 to find out who is going to get some snazzy new cards free. Now go out there and be productive!

The Secret LIfe of Objects

New York artist Corrine Botz is working on a special

project called "The Secret Life of Objects." Corrine

is exploring the emotional relationship we have with

our objects and the process of letting go. The blog 

will provide information and help collect research 

for "The Secret Life of Objects." For this project, 

people around the country donate objects along with 

the stories about the objects. Please visit the site

and follow along as the project unfolds. 

Visit:
http://secretlifeofobjects.tumblr.com
 

SOS! Organize Your Junk Drawer

"How do you organize a junk drawer so it stays organized?" - Mary Beth
Almost every kitchen has one: the junk drawer. In it you will find a wide variety of things necessary to being functional - and then some other stuff. As an organizer you would think that I would be categorically opposed to junk drawers. But I'm not. I think many of the items that are found in junk drawers are actually very utilitarian. What I am opposed to is the name: "junk drawer." Is it any wonder that "junk" collects here? How about changing the name to "utility drawer," remembering that labels indicate not only what belongs in a drawer, but also what doesn't belong?

To organize the "utility drawer" follow these steps, and make sure you have a trashcan handy:

1) Dump the contents - just make sure you have enough room so you can spread things out.
2) Sort the items into trash, relocate and stay piles. "Trash" is self-evident. "Relocate" items already have a home elsewhere. The "stay" pile belongs in the drawer.
3) Toss the trash and of course recycle anything you can.
4) Sort the "stay" items into categories. Make a little pile of paper clips, rubber bands, batteries, nails and whatever else you find in the drawer.
5) Put the items into the right-size containers with labels. There are "junk drawer" inserts but I prefer just using small bins because I can arrange them to my liking. Empty check boxes and small gift boxes work very well as containers. Ice cube trays and scrupulously clean egg cartons are great for organizing tiny things.
6) Put the "relocate" items away. At some point it might be a useful exercise to think about how these items ended up in the drawer and not in their home. There may be an undiagnosed organizing problem behind the item being misplaced in the junk drawer.

Just for fun, here are some of the items I have found in my clients' "junk drawers:" paperclips, staplers and staples, brads, coupons - mostly expired, receipts, scissors, widgets, magnifying glass, poster tack, glue, tape of all varieties, hammer, screwdriver, nails, picture wire, cup hooks, fast-food toys, fridge magnets, appointment reminder cards, bandages, back scratcher, sewing needles, thread, buttons, old cell phones, batteries, note pad, envelopes, pens and pencils, flashlight, stamps, catnip mice, small hardware leftover from building a piece of furniture, lip balm, keys to places unknown, ticket stubs and a school ring (which made the owner very happy when I found it). Some items are so useful that it makes sense to keep multiples.  Good items to keep multiples of are scissors, hammers, and flashlights. A few common nails, a screwdriver, and magnifying glass might also be worth duplicating.

Coupons need a home that can be taken with you to the store. Receipts need to be filed so they can be found when needed. Spare pieces from furniture construction can be taped to the warranty and filed, taped to the back of the furniture or tossed. Old cell phones can be recycled. Before tossing an item into the drawer, ask yourself if the drawer is really the best home for it. A little thought will go a long way in preventing your "utility drawer" from turning into a "junk drawer."

Thank you Mary Beth for your question and your nomination of The Cancer Society to the donation drawing at the end of the year.

SOS! Organize Under The Kitchen Sink

"I can not open the cabinet under my kitchen sink without being embarrassed and frustrated. How do people fit their cleaning supplies and plastic bags in that small cabinet?"

The trick to dealing with the small, dark and damp cabinet under the sink is to limit what is stored there. Think about what you are usually doing when you are at your sink. Washing dishes springs to my mind, so dish washing supplies are kept handy under the sink.  One of the rules of organizing is to locate items where they are used. Free-standing baskets or mounted, slid-out baskets bring the supplies to you so you don't have to dig around in the cabinet. The basket unifies the appearance of the supplies for an uncluttered look. As far as the other cleaning supplies go, keep them in a different location - like the broom closet.

When it's time to clean the house it's nice to grab the vacuum and the furniture polish at the same time. Keeping cleaning supplies in the broom closet is pretty handy. Door-mounted baskets efficiently hold all of your supplies and preserve the closet shelves for other uses. Contrary to what most people think, you do not need a huge collection of cleaning supplies to keep you home clean. Use multipurpose items as much as possible so you have fewer items to store. You'll probably save money and have less environmental impact as well. Less is more!

I have posted two pictures from my home. Under my kitchen sink I keep the garbage can so it's away from my dog's curious snoot. The can plus the garbage disposal severely limit amount of space in the cabinet. But the cabinet is a very convenient place to keep the can. The basket holds only the things needed to do the dishes and a can of scouring powder. The bag on the left door collects are recyclables. On the right door is a cork tile which has the county recycling guide on it for handy reference.

The second picture is of my broom closet door where I keep most of my cleaning supplies. You can probably tell from the narrow width of the door that my closet is tiny. But the door-mounted baskets provide me with plenty of storage. Plastic grocery bags are kept in a tote bag that hangs from a hook in a closet. When the tote bag is full, it comes with me to the grocery store so I can recycle the bags.

Keep the area under the sink organized by following three guidelines:

•  limit what is stored there to only the items that you need when you are working at the sink,
•  use baskets to provide easy accessibility as well as neatening the appearance,
•  use the space on the doors for extra storage. 

Thank you Teresa for your question and the nomination of Backstoppers for the charitable drawing at the end of the year.

Don't forget we're giving away tickets to the home show. See the last past for the rules of entry, and good luck!

Sticker/Label Give-Away

And the winner is....

Kathleen T! Congratulations Kathleen! You will receive the 250 stickers/labels courtesy of UPrinting.com.

This give-away was announced in the February 2 post.

News for You! Give-Aways

Today is the last day to enter for the sticker/label give-away courtesy of UPrinting.com. Visit the February 2 Post - notice the cute picture of the groundhog - and enter a comment about your organizing plans for the spring. You will also find all the details of the give-away there.

Today is the FIRST day of the St. Louis Home & Garden Show Ticket Giveaway. I will select two winners who will each receive two tickets to the show on February 25 - 28 in America's Center and the Edward Jones Dome.

• You receive one entry by leaving a comment about your next home project here.
• You receive another entry by becoming a follower to our blog.
• You receive another entry by becoming a fan to the Clear Spaces Facebook Page
• You receive another entry by sending us a tweet @ClearSpacesLLC

I will select the two winners on Monday, February 22 and post their names here on Tuesday, February 23. Winners will need to contact me to arrange for ticket delivery.
A big thank you to Java Journal for providing the tickets for the give-away (www.javajournalstl.com).

And now the sad(?) news: due to a schedule glitch for our classroom, the Letting Go & Lightening Up class series will not begin until Saturday, March 20. So if you haven't registered you still have time! And you can still be organized by July 1! The new dates for the classes in the series are March 20, April 17, May 15 and June 19. Is there a schedule conflict between your busy life and the class dates? Contact me and we'll see what we can work out.

SOS! Organize And Tickle Yourself Into Action

I went camping this past weekend with our Boy Scout troop. The event was called "The Freeze Out" and the weather was definitely cold. Since we're Scouts, we prepared by wearing layers and bringing the appropriate sleeping gear. My sleeping bag is rated to 15 degrees and I had a fleece liner which added another 10 degrees of warmth. By the way if you are an occasional camper always use a liner. Liners are easy to wash and keep the sleeping bag fresh. We enjoyed fresh snow, a beautiful - but brief - starry night, and lots of deer. (Oh, and much hot coffee for the leaders!) It was really lovely. Of course, there is no internet in the wilderness so I'm posting SOS! today.

LaRhonda asked "I have heard that tickle files are the way to get your office organized. What are they? Why are they so good?"

I'd like to preface the explanation by stating there are many ways to organize. There isn't a one-size-fits-all strategy for organizing. As long as a strategy works for you - that's super. Many popular techniques are, what I call, eighty percent techniques. The techniques work pretty well for about eighty percent of people, but they do not work for everyone. Sometimes it's necessary to try a couple of approaches before finding one that works well for you.

When it comes to organizing paper that needs action there are generally two ways to handle it: sort the paper by the category of action that's needed or sort it by the date the action needs to happen. I have discussed the merits of the former category frequently. When you set up files with names like "to pay," "to call," "to read," and "to follow-up" you are organizing papers by category of action.

But sorting paper by the date the action needs to happen leads us to the "tickler file." The other name for the "tickler file" is "43 folders" because a folder is set up for each of the twelve months and for each of the thirty-one possible days in a month. So if a bill must be paid on the twelfth of the current month it will be filed in the folder labeled "twelve" and that wedding invitation for June 5 can be filed in the June folder.

The tickler file requires the discipline to check the file each and every day. Daily action may seem like a lot of effort, but it probably will take about thirty seconds to check the file. Plus doing the same thing everyday means that activity will become routine - and that's good. Routine activities require less thought and energy than novel activities. Think about how exhausting it was to first drive a car. With practice, all the little things that are done to safely operate a car became routine, and driving required less emotional energy.

When filing things away remember that the due date is not the same thing as action date. The action date precedes the due date so there is enough time for the paper to go through the mail, or get processed by the bank or whatever needs to be done in order to be considered done. There may be a two to seven day difference between what you determine the action date to be and the due date.

Most of the clients I have worked with preferred the categorizing paper by action because it made intuitive sense to them. Tickler file systems seem to work well when there is a massive amount of paper to be processed. Whether you store your paper by category or date, it is vital that you provide a way to account for how you’ll process the paper. Although it’s nice to have tidy storage, the organization is pointless if you do not process the paper.

How to get the processing done? Schedule it! Put ten to fifteen minutes (or more, if needed) in your daily agenda for taking care of paper. That little appointment will “tickle” you into being in control of your paper flow.

Thank you LaRhonda for your question and the nomination of St. Louis Children’s Hospital Newborn Intensive Care Unit for the end-of-year charity donation.

Where Are You?

No, I'm not talking about your physical location. I'm referring to your progress towards your goals. With the end of the week approaching, it's time to review the goals you made at the beginning of the week. Oh no, can't find all the sticky notes listing everything you need to get done? Then recreate the list in your planner. If your list contains multi-step tasks, focus on recording the next action. The next step for a multi-step task like "talk to the newspaper about sales idea" might be to call the paper to find out who the appropriate contact is. Focusing on next steps keeps tasks manageable, very doable and in motion.

Commit to keeping track of your projects and tasks in your planner. Accomplishments don't just happen. A conscious effort must be made to find the time to work on your goals. The planner is the logical place to work out your schedule for appointments with others and with your goals.

By the way, have you thought about what you will do for you significant other on Sunday (Valentines Day, in case it slipped your attention)?

Stump the Organizer Saturday! Organizing Boy Scout Stuff

The regularly scheduled Stump the Organizer! post will not be seen this week in order to bring you this special post. Thank you readers for your Stump the Organizer! questions and I promise to answer them next week.

Whether you realize it or not, Monday, February 8, is the official 100-year birthday of Boy Scouts of America. Scouting has a special place in my heart. I have been a scout leader for six years - first Cub Scouts and now Boy Scouts. My son is a First Class Scout and we're having a lot of fun in the Scouting program.

Boy Scouts is a boy-run program, and as such the boys have a lot of responsiblity. Keeping track of all of the achievements and paperwork is part of the experience. At least, the Boy Scout Manual makes it pretty simple to record all the achievements involved with rank advancement. But keeping track of everything related to merit badges can be a chore. To organize merit badge items, the Scout can use some standard organizing tools.

A file drawer or a file box are tools that every school-aged child needs. Filing is a life-skill and to learn it, it must be practiced. Place a hanging file for each school subject, one for warranties and manuals, and files for each extra-curricular activity in the file drawer. From the picture of my son's file drawer, you can see he has a file for scouting that is labeled "BSA."

My son has different handouts on scouting skills in his "BSA" file. If he needs to review how to use a compass, he can find that particular handout quickly. But the most important things he keeps in his "BSA" file are his merit badge cards, advancement cards, skill cards and patches.

Merit badge cards are the only acceptable proof that a scout has earned a merit badge. This proof becomes very important when scouts are working on their Eagle rank. In order to become an Eagle Scout, twenty-one merit badges must have been earned. There are many other requirements, but finding the merit badge cards seems to be a big challenge for many scouts. All of my son's merit badge cards are kept in a zippered sandwich bag and are filed safely away. The sandwich bags are used to contain the advancement cards, skill cards and patches too. The bags keep the small things together and offer visibility.

The shallow drawer in my son's file cart is where he keeps his current, active projects. He is working on two more merit badges right now. The merit badge books and the supplies he needs are handy when it's time to work on them.

Of course, there is much more stuff than paper in scouting. Camping, hiking, and fishing require plenty of stuff. We have a plastic set of drawers in my son's closet that is used to store the smaller things like the mess kit, compass, flashlights, tackle box, etc. His sleeping bag and back pack are stored next to the set of drawers. When it's time to camp, it's easy for my son to grab everything he needs because it is all stored together in a handy location.

One of the smarter things we did was put a couple hooks in my son's closet for his uniform. He has to wear his uniform for a meetings once a week - which isn't really long enough for it to get dirty. But my son is not likely to put his uniform back on a hanger. The hooks are the perfect solution: the uniform is off the floor and it takes little effort to use the hooks.

Scouting is a wonderful program for learning new skills and responsibility. It's so much more fun when all of the equipment and papers can be found effortlessly.

If you are interested in scouting please check out these websites: www.scouting.org and www.stlbsa.org. During 2010 there will be many special events to commemorate the Scouting Centennial. It's an exciting time to be a Scout and a Scout Leader!

P.S. Don't forget the custom sticker/labels give-away. Enter your comments to the February 2 post - just look for the UPrinting.com picture.

P.P.S. There is still space available in the upcoming Letting Go and Lightening Up class at a special reduced rate. Please visit the Clear Spaces website to enroll.

Warm Weather Organizing Plans and Label Give-Away

Today is one of my favorite holidays: Ground Hog Day. I just think it's so ridiculous that there is a day in honor of a sleepy rodent AND it's the basis for weather prediction. Only in America.

In St. Louis the weather was cold and gray - no chance for the groundhog to see his shadow. The St. Louis groundhog is not cheerful when he wakes up from a good hibernation so the our zoo officials let the local groundhog sleep in. Now I'm not sure if spring is around the corner or if we're doomed to freeze a little longer.

How I long for spring. In addition to some fine gardening plans to put in place, I want to organize our garage and basement. After remodeling the house and having the basement floor jack-hammered to put in some new pipes, our basement and garage are a mess. In addition to being messy, it's very cold down there. Warm weather will make the task so much more pleasant.

Do you have some warm weather organizing plans? I'd love to hear them. And if you have a question about those plans, share that too. Just reply to this post. I'll answer as many questions as I can.

To thank you for sharing, the folks at UPrinting.com will give one lucky person 250 labels so you can label stylishly while organizing. I will select a winner at random from everyone who leaves a comment about their warm weather organizing plans. This giveaway closes February 17, 2010.

Here are a few details that you need to know about:
Giveaway Prize:250 Stickers/Labels for One (1) lucky winner
Sizes: 2” x 3.5”, 2” x 4”, or 3” x 3”
Paper: 70lb Label Matte
Specifications: Full color front, blank back; 4 Business Day printing
Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping
Eligibility: Limited to US Residents only
I will notify the winner by email.

Need a little inspiration? Check out UPrinting.com for the custom stickers and label printing.

Think warm thoughts and share them!