Restoring organization to your purse! There are lots of different ways to keep things from falling to the bottom of your bag or purse. Some people use small, clear bags to hold items such as gum, tissue or make up, attach charms or tags to cell phones and keys, or use accordion files for coupons and receipts.

Recently I discovered a product called the Butler Bag that actually has compartments that lets you see what’s inside at a glance!  Learn more here.

There is an exciting event coming up next week and you should know about it and join me at this exciting Seattle Chamber luncheon event next Thursday, May 6.  The Women’s Success Experience builds a community among women who are moving business to the next level. With inspiring presentations by trailblazing and innovative thought leaders, this is an important forum for making connections.

The speaker will be Kristin van Ogtrop, the editor of Real Simple magazine. She has also held positions at Glamour, Vogue, Travel & Leisure, and Premiere. Her book “Just Let Me Lie Down” is an alphabetically arranged dictionary of terms, observations, lists, questions, and the occasional diatribe about the little joys and major nonsense that define life for van Ogtrop-and untold women like her-on a daily basis.

Thursday, May 6, 2010
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Arctic Club Hotel’s Dome Room
700 3rd Ave., Seattle 98104
Cost: $50 pre-paid ($60 after 5/4)
Price includes lunch and a copy of van Ogtrop’s book.

PS. If you plan to attend, please look for me and perhaps we can sit together!  -Elizabeth

There isn’t an office or home that doesn’t use the ubiquitous sticky note for jotting down everything from directions to phone numbers and messages. That’s why this new product from Rediform is so valuable. It creates a carbonless copy of the sticky note so you can keep it as a reminder. It’s also conveniently wallet-sized so you can easily carry it with you and follow up on the notes you’ve left behind. What an innovative way to use the sticky note to keep your to-do’s organized!

On a historical note, the original Post-it note turns 30 years old this month!

Now that most contact information is stored electronically, you may have a Rolodex sitting on a shelf gathering dust. But don’t write it off just yet! There are many useful and innovative ways to repurpose that “old” organizer:

• Store recipes and pictures of dishes - use the transparent sleeves to keep it clean from spills in the kitchen
• Re-label the alphabetical tabs with months of the year and store birthday and anniversary dates
• Use it to organize small stickers or embellishments for your scrapbooking project
• Sports collectors can organize their baseball cards
• If you recently painted walls or furniture, store the paint chip for future reference.

It seems like we’re busy all the time, even just as we’re getting out of bed! Here are a few quick tips to streamline your morning to add in a bit of breathing room before jump-starting the day.

• The automatic coffee maker - This is something I’ve talked about before. It saves you time and waking to the smell of coffee is a wonderful stimulant to get your body moving. Studies have shown that caffeine improves clear-headedness, and we all need that in the morning.
• An emergency outfit - If you didn’t have time to set aside an outfit for the day, no worries. Have a back-up outfit that can be  your “go-to” when you’re in a hurry or you spill some of that coffee on your shirt. Include any accessories like a scarf or belt on the hanger so you can grab it and get dressed quickly.
• Review the calendar - Do this as you’re sipping your coffee. I recommend that you keep one central calendar where you write all the day’s activities like school activities, concerts or party times, repair appointments, or a reminder to pay a bill. Check the day’s items carefully, it will help you plan your day in your mind and help you potentially avoid forgetting something.

Sometimes it only takes a few words to remind ourselves that clutter can be avoided if we just took a couple of minutes to put away an item or make a decision about letting something go to the donation bin or the trash bin. Here are a few easy tips to help you get started:

• Lighter reading - Whenever you get a magazine in the mail, take a couple minutes to skim through the issue, tear out the articles that you want to read, and toss the rest of it in the recycling bin. When you’re stuck in line at the store or on the bus, pull out the article from your purse or totebag and catch up on your reading. Don’t let those magazines pile up!
• Bag it - Have you noticed bags in your pantry with half-eaten or forgotten snacks? When you get home from the grocery store, portion snacks into ziptop bags and keep them in a basket on the counter or cupboard. It makes packing lunches easier and gives you neat portion control.
• Packaged sheets - When putting away your linens, instead of putting pillow cases and sheets in different stacks and searching for matches later, place all the coordinating pieces into one pillow case so you have one package to grab from the linen closet instead of looking on separate shelves or bins.
• Faster returns - As soon as you realize that your purchase was the wrong size, wrong fit or just wrong in general, place the item and its receipt immediately by the front door or mudroom, or put it in your car. The longer it sits in your closet or in your house, the quicker you’ll forget and the sooner it turns into pricey clutter.
• Don’t take the giveaway - There are lots of promotions and freebies out there from companies wanting your business. It feels nice to receive, but in these cases, it only takes a few seconds to say “no thank you” to avoid clutter from things you probably won’t use and don’t need.  If you do accept something like a t-shirt or hat, add them to your donation bin where it will be most effectively put to use.

When I saw this tip, I knew I had to share it right away. Sometimes the smallest object can make a huge organizing difference. And talk about innovative!

Do you know how much time it takes to go through the mail, file papers or make a grocery list? Once you begin quantifying the amount of time it takes to manage any given task, you’ll be able to use that information to prioritize your activities.  Below is a quick exercise I regularly do with my clients:

- Start by setting a timer so it’s visible on a desk or countertop.
- I assign a task and let the client determine if the task can be completed in two minutes or less.
- If so, we set the timer and start the task (Ideally, we’d like to have it done in less time!)

The goal is to confirm or refute that a job can actually be done in two minutes. Sometimes we think an activity takes more or less time than it really does. With this simple process, clients can learn how much time is being spent and how much time can be saved. Being organized means being more efficient and more productive which can mean adding valuable minutes or hours to your day!

This product definitely deserves credit for an innovative little feature that turns a standard office item into a unique organizer. If you notice, there are pivoting hangers on the corners that allow you to use this as a hanging file, or when you’re on-the-go, fold them down and carry it like a regular file!

• Blue exterior with gray dividers and 6 fasteners to keep papers securely in place
• 2″ capacity
• Environmentally friendly with a minimum of 25% post-consumer recycled materials

Click here to learn more.

A couple of months ago, I blogged about Evernote, and now I have some even more useful tips on taking advantage of this digital filing system:

• Save your printer’s ink cartridge numbers, so you always know which one to pick up or stock up on when you find a great sale.
• Keep track of your loved one(s) clothing sizes.
• Make note of gifts that your friends and family want. This helps from being stuck as the last minute shopper.
• Save photos, descriptions and prices of items that you would like to have in your house.
• Scan takeout menus so that you can have all of them handy if you want to order food ahead of time.
• Make a list of restaurants near your house and then try them out one by one, marking them off as you go.
• Save a list of prescription medications that you or your family are taking and what purpose each one serves.
• more tips to come later…