You Are Organized!

To Do List for an Elegant Baby Shower

Amanda — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 03:39:02 +0000

Planning a baby shower is the perfect way of expressing congratulations to a newborn’s parents. The baby shower is often arranged by a relative or close friend, usually during the last months of a mother’s pregnancy.

If you want the baby shower to go off without problems, careful organization and planning is required, just like any other party you might host. Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare for the event:

Where will you have the party? – It is common to have the baby shower at the house of the parents to be because it is easiest for the expectant mother. This is usually best if the party is going to be only a few people, such as family and close friends. In addition to convenience, the guests will feel more comfortable if the party is at home. However, if the expectant parents like being outdoors, you might also consider an outdoor barbecue or a party at a local park. Least complicated of all would be reserving a private area in a restaurant. It may be more costly, but you will not have to worry about decorations, food, drinks and cleanup.
What is the theme of the party going to be? – It’s not necessary to have a theme for the party, but having a theme can make the occasion even more festive. If you have trouble coming up with an idea, consider the expectant parents’ favorite movies or hangouts. Another option is to decorate the party site by re-creating the place where they had their honeymoon or their first date. A childish theme might also be fun, as a celebration of the future baby. For example, you might choose cartoon characters, bright colors, and other designs depending on the baby’s gender.
What type of menu will you offer? – Finger food, pastries and other baked goods are typical fare and are very convenient. However, consider the time of the event. If the event will be held during lunch or dinner time, it may be more appropriate to serve a meal or have a buffet. Consider also if you want to serve alcohol and, if so, if you will limit it to “soft” drinks like wine, or if harder liquors will also be available.
Design a fun program. – Unlike many adult parties, a baby shower is a perfect time to include games; it’s not just a time for mingling, eating, drinking and giving gifts. The main point of the party is not only to celebrate the baby’s birth, but for everyone to have a good time as well. If you can’t think of any games or don’t have a lot of time, you can download games from the internet at a reasonable price from sites like best-baby-showers.com or allbabyshowergames.com
Who will you invite and when will you have the party? – Make sure that you have the expectant parents’ approval of your guest list before you send out invitations. You don’t want to risk spoiling a good time by inviting the wrong people and causing an embarrassing moment. Remember that even though you are planning the party, this is the expectant parents’ party, not yours. Homemade invitations are always a nice touch, but if you are tight for time, ready-made baby shower invitations are available in gift shops and craft stores. Send out invitations out two to four weeks before the party to give time for the guests to fix their schedule. Baby shower invitations follow the same format as any other invitation — it indicates the date, time, place, attire preferred, gift registry, if any, the host’s contact numbers for RSVP. Just to be organized, prepare a final list of attendees a few days before the baby shower.

Clearing Home of Paper Clutter

Amanda — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:05:04 +0000

Paper Clutter Binder Clips

Use a “To File” container – separate from your “Out” container – close to where you deal with paperwork Having the boxes close to where you work will allow you to easily organize your paperwork. You don’t have to get up and walk to another area.

Mark it with a Key Word in a bold color Before you put a piece of paper in the To File box, think of a key word that will alert you to where to file the piece of paper.
Always put the keyword in the same place such as the upper right hand corner. Then when you have to file you do not have think about where to file – your keyword tells you. Makes filing something you can do while you do something else enjoyable like listen to music or watch a show and file at commercial.

Do not use paper clips – Paper clips cause more problems because they get tangled with other papers and use more space then staples.

File by date with the most recent papers in the front – Most recent information will be the first thing you see and file maintenance is easier because the oldest papers (ones you are most likely to throw away) will all be located towards the back of the file.

Mark the date or hi-lite the date on papers you are filing – if you can not find a date on the document, just write or stamp the date on the document. Try to put it in the same place each time so that your eye automatically knows where to look. If you can find a date, then use a hi-liter to make it more visible to the eye. Seeing the date will make it easier for you to put files in date order. Having the date marked prominently allows you to access information more quickly and decide when you can throw it away.

Don’t overstuff your filing cabinet Nothing is more frustrating then trying to stuff papers into a crowded file cabinet. You will never want to file if you when you open your file cabinet it looks like you can not fit one more thing in there.

Hoarding Clutter Pandoras Box

Amanda — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:31:54 +0000

Organizing Tips

Sometimes we avoid organizing a space because it contains a Pandora’s box. Pandora’s box is a mythical story about a box, which contained all of man’s miseries. In term of organizing things which could be considered Pandora’s box are things that make you uncomfortable, sad, angry or regretful. Even memories of good times can bring up a potent feeling and make you emotional. You may not even realize that your messy drawer, closet or garage is a Pandora’s box, you just know you keep avoiding it. Realizing that you have a mental block regarding a particular space is half the battle already one.

There are four ways to conquer Pandora’s box – 15 minutes a day, The Guardian Angel, The Professional Soldier and The Big Box.

15 minutes a day Time is your shield. In other words limit exposure. Set a timer for 15 minutes and when it goes off you walk out. It may take you longer than you wane to clean out the space but it will get done. It make also become less painful as you go on because you become less sensitive to the stimulus. Psychologists call this phenomenon systematic desensitization and the process is used to help people deal with phobias.

Guardian Angel You enlist a sympathetic friend to site with you while you go through the stuff. A friend can provide emotional support and a cheerleader giving you motivation to keep going. Plus, two can work twice as fast.

Professional Soldier You can hire a professional organizer to help you with the clean up. If you are worried about the cost, ask for a cost estimate. Any organizer worth their stuff should be able to tell you. Also, ask if it can be done in stages as you can afford.

The Big Box – If you just can’t face it – box it up. Don’t look at it, just throw in a box, label and pack it away. Don’t stress, at some time in the future you will be able to look it.

Organize for School – Buy Extra School Supplies

Amanda — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 04:21:22 +0000

Organizers always come armed with the words “pare down”, get rid of, throw away and donate it. Sometimes though it does pay to buy more to save time and money. I am not talking about the COSTCO or Sam’s buying because unless you have a really big family I don’t think you save that much. Those places are great if you are having a party but otherwise people end up buying more than they need. Here is a case where I think it pays to buy more… School supplies in August

If you have children in school, you need school supplies all year round. Chances you are going to have a child who realizes late at night they need colored pencils, a fine point sharpie or a folder with brads. Instead of being inconvenienced and having to run to the store you will have a ready supply at home. Plus, after Labor Day stores start marking school supplies down. Be sure to store paper and construction paper flat so it does not get crumpled.

I also purchase extra lunch boxes especially after they go on sale. It never fails that someone loses or damages a lunch box. If you try to find them mid year they tend to be expensive and not the the kind your child wants.

For kids who need to wear a gym uniform purchasing an extra one is well worth the money. If your student forgets to bring the gym uniform home for cleaning, you have a clean one to give them. Sometimes they lose them and it is great to have a spare – so much less stress.

I usually buy extra binders and three-ring binders as my kids always manage to ruin one or two of those every school year.

If, at the end of the year you still have excess supplies, many organizations them for less fortunate students.

An Organizing Kit

Amanda — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 02:23:00 +0000

Whenever I set out to do an organizing job, I always take my kit. Using a kit saves me from having to stop what I am doing and search for something such as a stapler or scissors. Also, each time you leave the room, the probability that you will get distracted only increases. As we all know distractions are the enemy of project completion.

So here is a laundry list of items you might want to have on hand before starting an organizing activity. Most of these are things you probably already have around the house.

Large Bins – These can be made of any material. Even cardboard boxes will do if you have nothing else. Use the bins to sort and store large to medium size items and stacks of paper (you can purchase cardboard boxes designed to store files at office supply stores).

Garbage Bags – Any organizing job generates trash. Have a good supply of garbage bags available.

Permanent Markers – Helpful for labeling the contents of boxes, outsides of manila envelopes, and establishing ownership (kid’s items). Use silver colored permanent markers to mark dark surfaces.

Highlighters – I use these for marking dates on documents that need to be filed in date order.

Post it notes (extra sticky) – After you have sorted, it is useful to attach post it notes to help you identify what is in the various stacks or bins. Use extra sticky because often when you are cleaning out there is a lot dust and the regular notes tend to lose their stickiness.

Stapler, binder clips, and large rubber bands – Mostly you will need these when you are organizing documents. Large rubber bands are good for securing bulky files, collections of slim workbooks and magazines and electrical cords.

Resealable plastic bags (all sizes)- The two-gallon bags can hold 8 ½ by 11 papers. Snack size bags are ideal for small items. Gallon bags are excellent for holding markers, pens, crayons etc.

Scissors – Often you won’t need to save an entire magazine or booklet and if you have your scissors handy you can easily clip what you need.

Small stepstool – If your organizing closets and are less than 6 feet tall – you’ll need one of these.

Timer with a loud ring – Just to make sure you don’t stay too long on the job. If you don’t set a time limit you can easily get overwhelmed.