An Organizer’s Magazine Mania

Recently I was in my attic and noticed the tall skinny bookshelf filled with back issues of Real Simple magazine. Interesting…I had forgotten all about mystash of Real Simples.

As I flipped through the issues and looked at the dates, I realized that I had many of these when we moved several years ago. I had a few issues from as early as 2000 and 2001. Yes, I paid movers to move boxes of back issues.

I remember transferring most of this Real Simple magazine collection from the family room bookshelves to the attic, in order to make more room for books. So I was using the bookshelves in the attic for their intended purpose…but did I really need all these old magazines?

My answer this time was a resounding, “no.” Why?

• I had forgotten that the magazines were up there.
• I couldn’t recall a time when I had gone back to an issue to look at something.
• I guessed that I could find much of what I needed online now.
• I could use the shelves to store other things in the attic.

I couldn’t throw the magazines out cold, so I decided to take a quick look: I skimmed the front cover and table of contents to see if there was anything worth keeping.

I pulled out some articles and a few whole issues (focused on organizing ideas). I put the organizing-related articles/issues in my office. I also scanned other articles I wanted to keep into my computer; then I could recycle the paper.

Here’s a picture of my stack. The taller pile is the one I recycled. I should have had my tall first-grader stand next to the stack for perspective – I think the stack was higher!

In the end I recycled most of the magazines. Some editions were easy to get rid of, others were harder to part with. I was surprised at how much I was attached to the issue from the month my daughter was born, for example.

What are the lessons from my magazine mania?

1. Be ruthless in purging your reading material. You probably don’t need 5 years worth of back issues of your favorite magazine.

2. Use your storage space well. Can you store your favorite books on a shelf instead of old magazines or journals?

3. Use technology. Scan articles you want to keep to your computer. Use online indexes and websites for current information, not the back issues.

4. And most important: Look in your attic at least once a year; you may be surprised what you find.

Caution: Catalog Season

‘Tis the season for tons of catalogs arriving in your mailbox. Here are a few tips for controlling catalog clutter:

• Use the 1 in/1 out rule: when a new catalog comes in, throw the old one out!
• Better yet, recycle the catalogs you know you won’t read as soon as they come in the door.
• Even better still, get yourself off the catalog lists! Call the company who sent the catalog, or check out the Direct Marketing Association to get off multiple lists.

And if you do order gifts from catalogs, think about the recipient and your budget. It’s easy to get excited about the latest cookware, electronic gadget, or new sweater on the glossy pages of a catalog. Is it really something the recipient wants, needs or would love to have?

Change Is Good

Change is good for us, or so the conventional wisdom says, and sometimes it takes our organizing systems a while to catch up.

Case in point: my own personal projects filing system. I used to have an accordion file from The Container Store that I loved. It was a way of taking the stack of pending papers on the corner of my bedroom dresser and getting them into a more organized state. Poof, they were in the file (in labeled sections of course) and I didn’t have to see the stack any more. I was good about going through it periodically and taking out what I was working on, and purging what was outdated.

Now that I’ve created my office on the second floor next to my bedroom, I don’t need to keep papers on the dresser anymore. Plus as I’ve been reading more about feng shui, I want to keep as many papers and projects out of that room. Only restful and peaceful energy allowed.

It’s taken me a while to figure out how to organize my non-business projects in the new office space. The accordion file just didn’t work on my desk. I also tried a tiered in-box, no in-box, and a vertical file sorter. Finally I found a solution: a desktop file.

This is one of my favorite solutions for clients, so I’m not surprised it worked for me. I can see the categories on the hanging folders easily, and the folders provide a home for pending projects and all those little bits of information that tend to accumulate. My categories include, “To Buy,” “Current Projects,” “Health,” and “Financial.”

I think I may have figured out a solution that works for me (at least for now). So don’t despair: if one system doesn’t work, try, try again.

And if you need help, call That’s Neat! Organizing.

A Frenzy of Forms

Parents: get out your No. 2 pencils, it’s the start of the school year! As any parent of a school-age child knows, there seems to be a never-ending supply of required forms. I thought there were a lot to complete for the start of Kindergarten, but the forms continued throughout the school year and summer. There were forms for the after-school program, health forms for sports, forms for each summer camp, and now forms for the new classroom teacher.

Talking about this frenzy of forms with another mom/organizer friend, she shared her secret: she keeps a copy of the form before turning it in. What a brilliant idea! Often the information required is the same each year (emergency contacts, doctor’s phone number, insurance information, for example). Why not have a copy to make it easier to fill out next time?

I’m going to take this one step further: scan the form. Then I’ll have the information for easy reference for the next time, but not the paper.

All (School) Systems Go!

Four…three…two…one! Has school already begun?

The countdown is on for back-to-school, and now is the time to set up (or create!) your systems to stay organized. In my home, during the summer we have different routines and have been on vacation…so we don’t always follow our typical ways of doing things. This is part of summer and the change is good!

Just don’t forget to get ready and set for school.

Be sure that you have a way to deal with:

• the coming deluge of school papers, including homework, permissions slips and artwork you want to keep
• packing bags and backpacks
• making lunches
• scheduling activities
• finding the right equipment for those activities (soccer ball, ice skates, tap shoes)
• finding what you need to get out the door!

A “system” doesn’t have to be complex – it is just a process or routine for regular activities to help us stay organized. And simple is often better.

For example, use a basket on the kitchen counter to catch incoming school papers that need your attention. Update your family resource binder with the new class information. Make lunches and have kids pick out clothes the night before. Use a family calendar – paper or electronic – to schedule activities and school days off.

These are just a few ideas. For more, search our blog under the categories “kids” or “school” or contact That’s Neat! Organizing and we’ll set up a customized system just for you.

School’s Out Organizing Part I: The Paper Purge

It’s that time of year: school is almost out for summer!! This year, as school winds down, plan 30 minutes  to organize or "reset" the papers from the end of school craziness. 

In just 30 minutes you can get a lot done. Here’s how to get started:

• Purge last year's school papers from your notebook, folder, or the pile on the kitchen counter where they have been sitting all year. Much of this paperwork will not be necessary to keep.

• If there are papers such as class lists you want to keep, you can 1) file in a manila folder labeled with your child’s name, school and year…or better yet, 2) scan the document and toss the paper!

• Start a file or binder for the incoming papers you'll receive for the new school year. Label this folder/binder with the school name and year.

• Sort and purge the pile of school projects or artwork. Save the special pieces in a file or box (be sure to date them), and archive them in a dry, out of the way spot such as your attic or a closet.

• Pick 1-2 creations to display and enjoy. (For more ideas on displaying and using artwork, see this article on my website.)

You can even turn this task into an end-of-school year ceremony with your child. Go through the projects and artwork with your child and have him/her help select the pieces to keep. Celebrate the year's achievements and then enjoy some special time together getting some ice cream, taking a walk, or playing your child's favorite game.

Take some time now to reset the school papers for summer...and in September you'll be glad you did!

Note: This article is based on one originally published in the July/August 2009 edition of The Neat Sheet.

The Art of Organizing Kids Artwork – Part III (DONE!)

My project is done: the artwork is sorted and stored!  Though I recycled a lot, I still have folders full of my daughter’s masterpieces: one folder for each year to date. In addition, I kept some 3D sculptures, and a great scrapbook put together by her pre-school. All are stored in a plastic bin to protect them from water and dirt. This will be my archive in the attic. I have a small basket in the kitchen to catch the new things as they come in. I'll recycle what I can, and when that basket is full, I'll put what I want to save in my attic archive. 

Actually, this project didn’t take as long as I had expected. Three or four nights after dinner working on it and I was done. The longest part was that it took me four weeks to feel comfortable enough to recycle the art that didn’t make the cut. Admittedly, I looked through the recycle bags a few more times before finally letting them go. I know that what I saved is really the “best” and that it is plenty for us to enjoy looking at in the future.

Inspired by Janna’s post, I pulled out some of the seasonal artwork to display at the holidays. 

I was surprised to find a pumpkin very similar to the one made by Janna’s daughter. Here are the pumpkins created by our daughters…about 15 years apart! 

Read Part I: A Professional Organizer Reveals her Mess  and Part II: Project in Process.

The Art of Organizing Kids Artwork – Part II (Project in Process)

My artwork organizing project isn’t complete yet, but I’m making progress. I’m nearly done with the sorting stage. (Did I mention that after my Part I post I found another box of my daughter’s artwork in the attic, and two more boxes of mementos I had saved in her closet?!)

Here’s my photo of everything sorted, with the “recycle” pile on the left, and the “save” on the right.

Sorting is hard work, and it took me a while. If any clients are reading this: I understand what you go through when you are sorting and purging. Whether it is kids’ creations, shoes, books, model trains or soccer balls…it can be tough to let go.

What helped me in this case was time: I was ready, and the time was right. I probably couldn’t have purged as much when my daughter was in Preschool or Pre-K, but now that she is bringing home Kindergarten creations, I realize I don’t have to save every “purple crayon” drawing as Janna says.

Keep the best, and toss the rest.

Still to come: my final sorting and storage system. Read Part III: Done here

MIssed Part I: A Professional Organizer Reveals her Mess? Read it here. 

Preserving Paper by guest blogger, Gabriela Burgman

I'm pleased to have a guest blogger today. Gabriela Burgman, a trained archivist and professional organizer, shares her secrets for preserving special papers. In future poststo our blog Gabriela will also share tips for preserving fabrics and photographs. Enjoy!     – Elizabeth

Often the paper in our lives is transitory. It comes into our homes bearing information we might need from never (junk mail) to forever (birth certificates). A majority of it will end up in the recycle bin. Some of it will end up in storage for awhile until someone else wants it or it loses value.

Today I want to share tips for storing paper that you want to preserve, from a few years to forever. When you begin thinking about storing paper ask yourself these questions:

• How long do I want to keep it?
• How valuable is this paper to me?
• How many other people are going to handle it besides me?

How Long? Time is the enemy of paper (besides heat, humidity, and the environment). Some papers are made to last longer than others. For example, newspapers are created with the intention that you are going to throw them out in a week. This is why they tend to yellow and become brittle in a short period of time.

Paper will last the longest when it is stored in dry environments (so it doesn’t mold or stick together). Paper likes cool environments. When it is too hot, the fibers become brittle. Paper also likes non acidic environments. Acid is already present in its make-up as well as the pollutants in the air. It will slowly break down the fibers in the paper. If the papers are surrounded by folders and boxes that also contain acid, then the deterioration just accelerates.

How valuable is this paper to me?  After reading about all the coddling paper needs to remain around for a long period of time, you need to ask yourself is it worth it? For example, you only need to keep tax papers for seven years just in case you get audited. Since these papers have a short term value, just invest in plastic boxes to protect them from water and critters. Don’t worry about storing those boxes in a garage or basement, where the temperature will likely fluctuate, speeding up the deterioration of the paper: the environment you keep your taxes in only needs to be good enough to protect them for seven years.

Documents you consider priceless, on the other hand, such as birth/wedding/death  certificates, special news clippings, baseball cards, and children's artwork, need a bigger investment in their care if you wish to preserve them.

To preserve these kinds of papers, make sure your container and folders have been "buffered" (aka "Acid Free"). Buffered is when "the addition of alkaline agents such as calcium or magnesium carbonate during the papermaking process [is added] in order to counteract the effect of acidic contamination."* You can purchased buffered boxes and folders. In fact, some archives even put blank sheets of buffered paper between each document in a folder to halt the spread of acid contamination. Another good practice is taking newspaper clippings and photocopying them onto buffered paper which will last far longer than newsprint.

How many other people are going to handle the paper? If you know certain items are going to be handled repeatedly, you may want to go so far as to put each document in polypropylene (chemically stable plastic) sleeves. If not, then storing them in buffered containers is good enough.

Storing papers. After you have all your documents properly stored in their containers, you need to place them in a safe place free from humidity and temperature fluctuations. Often, the best place for your containers is on a closet shelf. By having the containers off the ground, you avoid the possibility of damage by flood water. The rooms in your home tend to maintain a consistent temperature when compared to your attic, garage, or basement. A closet is usually closed off to direct sunlight and if you are storing clothing in these closets, you are already making sure that insects and humidity are not affecting the items being stored.

Resources. Here are my favorite resources for products mentioned to help preserve your special papers:

• Gaylord Brothers
• Hollinger Metal Edge
• Light Impressions
• University Products

If you would like to learn more, I highly suggest visiting the website for the Northeast Document Conservation Center.

*Pasted from <http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/glossaryoftermspage.action>

Gabriela Burgman, owner of Claiming Space professional organizing, holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and a Masters Degree in Information Science from the University of Michigan.  She has worked in colleges and universities for six years as an archivist and a records manager, assisting academic offices, administrators, and retiring academics sort through their files for preservation or disposal.

The Art of Organizing Kids Artwork - Part I: A Professional Organizer Reveals Her Mess

I’ve written in The Neat Sheet and in this blog about how I need to get my daughter’s artwork, special creations, and mementos under control.  While I’ve purged as we went along I still have a lot saved…and it’s now spilling out from where it was piled in the attic hall into the guest room. Yes, even Professional Organizers have a dirty little secret project they need to deal with.

This has been one of those projects, and was nagging at me for months. So today I decided to start. Perhaps it was the cold medicine wearing off, or the fact that I had the whole house to myself for the afternoon, but I dove in.

I’m now in sorting and purging mode. See the mess I’ve made already? As I tell my clients, it often looks worse before it gets better. (NOTE: Several of the piles pictured are 6 inches high, and there are stacks of artwork in portfolios from the pre-school that need to be sorted and paired down. Oh, did I mention my mother is an artist who creates beautiful cards and illustrated letters for my daughter? These I want to keep…once I can dig them out.)

Later, after the sorting, I’ll work on the containers for the pieces I want to save. Thanks to Janna’s posts, I have more ideas.

Hopefully within the next month I’ll have my system set and can post the “After” picture.  Wish me luck, and stay tuned!

Part II: Project in Process

Part III: Done!

Fine Art – Part II

In this second installment by guest blogger, Janna, she reveals the system she set up for her daughter's artwork and school papers.

When Kate was little, she created a “masterpiece” (or more) a day. I loved them, hung a number of them on my ‘fridge or in my office and saved them all. Once in awhile I’d pull out a really special one, frame it simply and hang it on the ‘art wall’ that was located in our center hall.

That art wall made us smile everyday and Kate was so proud to have her work on display. Her friends would come to play and comment, “you have your own art wall”! It was there until we knocked it down as part of the remodel.  A happy and sad day all at the same time.

I knew all of those pieces were created with every bit of Kate’s heart and soul. This was probably the only organizing project where I saved more than I tossed. However, I did come to realize some pieces were awesome stand-outs and some were not.

In yesterday’s post, the story I told helped me to organize this often overwhelming task.

Here is the system I created for sorting, saving, tossing and archiving all of those special projects. One day, I’ll pass it all on to Kate. My hope is that the system I created will help her to decide what to do with it all.

1. Date everything! Each time your little one hands you a ‘special piece’, write the date on it. If you start now, it will make filing so much easier later on.

2. Sort. This is the hardest part. But, as I mentioned above, some things are stand-outs and some are not. Every piece of paper with a crayon stick drawing or a paint swash, while special at the time of it’s creation – may not really tell the story later on. I found I had saved a lot more swashes and crayon marks than I had masterpieces! Soon, sorting and archiving became less daunting.

3. Once your special pieces are sorted, make piles for each year. Some things will be much larger than others.

4. Purchase a variety of envelopes, flat portfolios (or make some with large cardboard, bookbinding tape and a few pieces of ribbon for each), and labels. Local office supply stores have good selections.

5. Label each portfolio with the year. You will quickly notice, that as the kids get older, the artwork, papers, etc. become less frequent! You’ll find that you can combine years. Just remember to label each portfolio appropriately.

6. Group smaller pieces into suitable sized envelopes. Date and label their contents and slip into the correct portfolios.

7. For pieces that are not flat, (the hand print in the plaster for instance,) either make a pocket on the front of your portfolio or create a box for these special items. Date each item, label the box and keep it with the rest of the archives.

8. Keep all of the portfolios in a convenient to get to space. If possible, keep your archives in your home where the temperature is a little easier controlled.

That’s it! It really is that simple.

A few things to note:

• Once the kids have grown and you feel it’s time to pass down the archives, select a few of your particular favorite pieces and hang onto them. Display them once in awhile and revel in the memories.

Finally, visit your archives often. At different times during the year, I’ll pull out a special little ‘gem’ and put it in my kitchen window or on my desk. For Halloween I always seem to select the same one. This year in particular, it’s a dear reminder of my college freshman, a special memento that always tugs at my heart.

-Janna

Fine Art – Part I

In this guest post my cousin Janna shares her ides for organizing her a child's artwork and school papers.

About five years ago, on a cold winter day, I decided to sort and organize my daughter’s school artwork, journals and special homework assignments. It was one of a number of projects I needed to tackle to prepare for our upcoming home remodel.

As you can imagine, it was a delightful trip down memory lane, but a sad one too.

Imagine my guilt as I forced myself to cull through all of the “special” pieces, making piles to save and a pile to toss.

I kept thinking about a large envelope I received when I graduated from high school. It was from Elizabeth’s mom, my aunt Janet.

It contained artwork, letters and other special mementos I had sent to her during my childhood. I remember receiving that envelope and how fun and funny it was to look through it.

I still have it. And every once in awhile, I run across it in my family archives desk. I pull out its contents and have a good laugh.

Over the years, I too have saved a few special things from nephews, nieces and small cousins. I plan to do the same for them, a lovely family tradition – don’t you think?

It will be up to them to decide what to do with it.

And that’s the point. No matter how hard we try to clean up, sort and organize, there are some things that are just too difficult to decide upon.

Janet’s solution was perfect. She did her best, culled out her favorites and sent them back!

I am forever grateful for her thoughtfulness and her forward thinking.

   Coming Next: Part 2 – My system for organizing the artwork

-Janna

School Papers—Contained!

I’ve written recently about purging and preparing for the onslaught of Kindergarten papers. A month into the school year and there is a lot of paper coming home. After trying a few different systems, I seem to have found one that works for me.

When setting up a paper management system, I try to work with my clients’ natural tendencies for where they put things (as long as it isn’t the floor!). In my case, the pre-school papers and artwork seemed to congregate on one counter in the kitchen…probably because this is where we’d unpack the school bag to clean out the lunch containers. Following my own advice, I designated this corner as the official School Paper Zone.

I felt better knowing that the pile of papers in the corner now had a reason for being there. But I was still bothered by the pile. So I went one step farther: instead of just having the papers and artwork piling up and annoying me, I decided to try and contain them (again, following the same advice I give my clients) in an inexpensive basket.

In the back of the basket is my Family Information Binder, which includes a section for critical school information like the class list and calendar. Next comes a few pieces of papers that I’m referencing all the time, such as the school lunch calendar and a helpful tip sheet from the teacher. These papers stand up in front of the binder so I can grab them easily. In the front of the basket I’m stashing the art and projects that come home from school. This is a small space so I’m hoping it will force me to go through the masterpieces every week. (More to come on the artwork organization project.)

I’ve found that the basket serves several purposes: 1) it contains and limits the papers—if they don’t fit, I know I need to purge; 2) it looks nice and now this corner doesn’t bother me; and 3) it is easy to move if I want it temporarily out of sight because we are having a party or some other event.

This was a very inexpensive and simple system, even though it took me a few tries to get it right. Don’t forget that simple is often better, and don’t give up if you can’t find something that works right away.

Out with the Old, In with the New: Organizing for the College Years

More ideas from my cousin Janna on how to stay organized while your child is in college. 

This project was quite possibly the easiest organizing project I’ve ever done. In the span of about 10 minutes I had it finished.

Late in June, we attended college orientation at the University of Montana. After attending the three-day event, we knew this was going to be the perfect place for our daughter. It was obvious the university had perfected their sales pitch and by the last day we were happy to send them both our daughter and our hard-earned dollars.

We were all impressed by many of the presentations and fun activities, but what sealed the deal for me was how organized they were!

Now it’s September, she is finishing her first week as a college student, and I spent a few minutes setting up some new files. As far as I can tell, my new system (based on my old one) will take me right through to graduation.

It was simple, here are a few things that make it work:

• Clean out the high school papers, calendars, and other documents. File and store the important stuff like report cards, certificates and photos with your family archives.
• Set up a new system using information from the college. For example I set up files that include topics such as: calendars; banking; books; business services (how to pay our bill!); contact information (phone numbers and email addresses); health care; housing; meal plan; and scholarship information.
• Keep the files handy. I keep them in the top drawer of our file cabinet where I file our monthly paid bills, etc.

Unlike Elizabeth’s system, mine is based on old technology and a system I developed when our daughter started Kindergarten. But, it works the same, it’s handy and it’s easy for me. Isn’t that what it’s all about anyway?

-Janna

Elementary, My Dear Organizer

Soon my daughter will head off to Kindergarten and I’ll be the parent of a child in elementary school! How did that happen?

My mom friends who have been through this already have warned me about the onslaught of school-related paperwork and emails. This was high on my list so today I started to prepare. Here’s what I did:

• Purged and recycled nearly all the paperwork from the file folder for my daughter’s pre-school…saving only the progress reports for posterity
• Purged all the pre-school papers out of my Family Information binder
• Scanned the pre-school class list to my computer so I can keep all the contact information (for future play dates) but get rid of the paper
• Put the Kindergarten class roster and school calendar into my Family Information binder for quick reference
• Added all the dates from the new school calendar to the Google calendar that I share with my husband (I LOVE Google calendar)
• Set up a folder on my computer for my daughter’s new school and downloaded some important information from the school’s website

Hope I’m ready!