Get Organized - Judy's Blog

September 2010 is National Preparedness Month

Don't be a victim of natural or man made disaster.  Know what you need to have on hand and what you need to do to be prepared.  Don't be like the people you see on the nightly news who are standing in front of what used to be their home or office crying because they "lost everything".  Visit Ready.gov for downloadable check lists for family and business preparedness this September.  Don't wait! Start your preparations today.

Some great finds

I have found some great products that assist my clients everyday to make life easier.

The Magic Eraser-cleans marks off walls, scum off bathtubs, pools, floors, grout, tools and countertops (these are just the ones I have tried). No chemicals and wonderful results.  Mr. Clean makes them, try them, you will love them.

Command Products- put up pictures, photos and almost anything else on the wall without fear of wall damage.  Will not work in every situation (see package for limitations).  I highly recommend them for situations like dormitory living and apartments where you want to keep the walls pristine.

Double sided carpet tape. Holds rugs to carpet without damage and holds carpets to floors to prevent slipping of rugs slong hard surfaces.

Steam cleaners for hard surface flooring-Tired of mops and buckets?  This is the answer! A steam head provides the power, a cotton head is attached to the steamer and collects all the dirt. When you are done wash the head in the washing machine.  Splurge here, get a great one.  No more buckets, finish a large area in just minutes, disinfect as you clean, dries in 3-5 min.  The only thing you put in the cleaner is either distilled water or plain tap water depending on the brand.  It is great to be able to clean without chemicals and heavy buckets of dirty water..

Saving time is part of living an organized life.  I hope you will try some of these products to make your life easier too!

What is in you wallet?

Do you know what is in you wallet?  What would happen if you lost it today?  I have had clients who have reported that this has happened to them in the past and it has devastated them.  The worst part is not knowing what might have been lost or stolen.  Just like you should back up your cell phone data and your hard drives, you should back up the contents of your wallet.  Make photocopies, scan to your computer hard drive, make a spreadsheet with the numbers, contact info for the company and any other data that would help in the event of a loss. In this age of identity theft the less you keep in there the better. Limit the credit cards you carry to just those you will use that day. Do not carry your social security card unless you expect to use it:  i.e. you are making a job application and need to show it to verify your status. This is really a good example of less is more. Make those backups today!

"STOP" before you "GO"

Often before trying to organize a space clients will go to their favorit store to buy boxes and containers.  Rather than do this I recommend that you "STOP bofore you GO".  STOP stands for SORT, TOSS, ORIENT, PLACE.  First you SORT what you have into piles of what you use and love, items that are broken, trash and items to donate to charity. Once this is complete TOSS the trash.  Now you will ORIENT what you have left to store.  Think point of use near point of storage for items to be used in the near future and a more distant location for large reserves. Now measure what remains and where the items will be stored and purchase the containers that will fit the designated space. Put you items in the containers and "GO"  Get Organized!