Routines

The holiday season was a real whirlwind for me this year. It seemed to blow in and blow right back out in a flash. While I enjoyed the season, getting back to my normal daily routines is reassuring. Now I seem to have a reasonable handle on the clutter that creeped in during the holidays, including the household paperwork. What routines do you need to reinstate now that the holidays are pretty much finished?

Organized Gift Wrapping

This afternoon I took a few minutes to wrap two Christmas gifts (shown at right). These are the first of just a few gifts that I will purchase or assemble for the holiday.

I must be honest that I do not really enjoy wrapping gifts and am not particularly good at it, but I do think my tips can help the average person keep their wrapping supplies organized and at hand when they need them.

My strategy at Christmas (and for birthdays) is to buy one jumbo roll of a seasonal pattern that will work for just about everybody. This avoids the clutter of multiple rolls of leftover wrap for the remaining 11 months of the year. If this is too boring for you, you can purchase one pattern for each family member.

For all those odd ball shaped gifts (and for giving gifts while traveling), I use gift bags that I occasionally buy but in most cases I just reuse the ones I have received in good shape. The red bag in the photo contains my gift bags and tissue paper. I also like to reuse ribbons, bows and tissue paper. I keep those items in the tall bag, but as I use it up I will eliminate the tall bag and combine those items with the gift bags. All of my wrapping supplies are stored together in the corner of a closet.

If I lived closer to Royal Oak, Michigan (and if her services were affordable) I would probably give up the gift wrap altogether and use Lisa's Gift Wrappers. Lisa also has a blog with many for tips for gift wrapping.

Financial Organization

On Wednesday, December 10, 2008 I had the pleasure of presenting a joint seminar on financial organization at The University of Michigan's Center for Education of Women with my colleague, Rob Oliver, of Oliver Financial Planning. I am pictured above (in the middle) with Kirsten Elling, Managing Director of CEW and Rob Oliver. We had a great turnout for the seminar and would like to thank all of the attendees who braved the cold to learn more about planning for financial success.

Organizing Challenge--Make-up

Today's organizing challenge is to take a good look at your cosmetics. Toss out anything you no longer use and everything over one year old (some doctors even recommend shorter periods). If you are using some old products, this is the week to replace those products with new ones. That's what I did today.

I do not wear much make-up or buy many products, but recently realized that some of the stuff I have been putting on my face is quite old. Over the years I have downgraded to mostly drugstore brand cosmetics that I tend to buy at Target. I do use one item from Clinique that I am embarrassed to say was quite old. So today, I marched into Macy's with my old item in my bag and replaced it. I didn't wait for the free gift offer, which is probably a good thing seeing my item didn't cost that much. Besides, who really needs another cosmetic bag with a bunch of samples never to be used anyway.

Reinhart Coat Drive

News of Reinhart Realtors' annual coat drive came to me twice in one week. This is a great opportunity to clean out your coat closet and help someone in need. During the month of November, you can drop off coats in good condition at any Reinhart sales office or Reinhart Sunday open house. All of the coats will be professionally cleaned and distributed locally. They especially need children's coats. Daytime temperatures have been in the 30s this week. Winter coat weather has officially arrived!

Ann Arbor Job Opening

Okay, this probably doesn't fall under the usual stuff for my blog, but I figure it's my blog and I can write what I want. Besides this could really help someone in need of a job, not to mention my friend who is looking for an administrative assistant for her office downtown Ann Arbor. Here are the details:

• Administrative Assistant for Downtown Insurance Office. 8-5 daily.
• College educated, highly detailed oriented and computer skilled.
• Challenging position in the financial services industry.
• Multi-tasker with great accuracy and ability to follow up to completion on many different tasks every day.
• Salary range is $10-12 per hour. No benefits . Bus Pass provided .
  

On-line Productivity Seminar

I came accross this on-line seminar earlier this week in a random fashion. This seminar about time management and personal productivity runs for about 35 minutes. There are some great tips to make it worth your time. I particularly like what Eben Pagen has to say about multitasking.

Until last week I had never heard of this guy. It turns out he has made millions as some sort of dating guru. Not something I am particularly interested as a happily married mother, but the guy does know a thing or two about personal productivity. That being said, stick to his free videos and keep you hard earned dollars in your pocket.

Shopping at Target

Like many of you I shop at Target for household items. Ever since my child was born I find it difficult to get out of the store spending less than $100. This last shopping trip was no different. I did everything right....shopped with my electronic list (and didn't stray from it) and used about $5 worth of coupons. Upon closer inspection I found out diapers and Tide pushed me over the $100 mark. Maybe it's time to downgrade to store brand laundry detergent?

In reviewing my receipt I also noticed that Target is now categorizing items on its receipts. Of course, I love how organized this is and how it will save me time when categorizing my purchases. The categories on my receipt were: baby, cleaning supplies, grocery, health-beauty-cosmetics and home. This is a little more detailed than my normal categories, but it will be easy to combine categories which helps in day to day budgeting. Hopefully, on my next trip the bill will fall under $100.

Free Shredding Event

As a Washtenaw County Waste Knot Partner, I recently received notification of a free shredding event to be held next week in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Here are the details:

There is a FREE Paper Shredding Event taking place at the Drop-Off Station in Ann Arbor on October 17-18, 9:30AM-4:30PM. This event is open to all Washtenaw County residents AND businesses. There is a limit of 100 lbs per customer, but if you have more than this amount you may call the Drop-Off Station (734.971.7400) before the event to make special arrangements. Please see the attached press release for more information.

This event is sponsored by Recycle Ann Arbor.

Too Many Books?

I am a big fan of local consignment bookseller Books by Chance; however, they are currently at capacity and cannot take in any more books right now. That is why I was excited to hear about Page Avenue Books. Here's what Bob from PAB has to say:

"Page Avenue Books (PAB), an Ann Arbor-area online bookseller, is on the lookout for more used books to add to their inventory. If youʼre a book-hound tripping over boxes full of donʼt-wanters, or you just inherited your late auntʼs library and have no place to put it, send an e-mail to Page Avenue Books at page.books@yahoo.com. PAB isnʼt a junk-removal service, but theyʼll quote you a modest per-box price for clean, undamaged books. PAB especially likes hardbound non-fiction, collectibles and estates, will consider others. Any books that PAB cannot sell are sent to the Ann Arbor ReUse Center or recycled."

Kids' Clothes

In the August edition of "Your Simply Organized Life" I wrote about organizing kids' clothes for back to school. My own child has very few clothes and I do laundry regularly. In my opinion this is the only way to go for kids and adults. The clean clothes stay organized and this forces mom (or whoever does the laundry) to keep on top of it (bonus: no mountains of wash to do).

The old adage "less is more" is so much a part of my daily life that I was particularly annoyed last week while shopping at GAP for socks for my child (their socks stay on the kid's foot!). Because I am organized, I knew that my child only needed two pairs to add to the collection of socks for fall.

The saleswoman at GAP was so pushy in insisting that I buy "5 for $10 for only $4 more". Of course I could have easily afforded the extra $4 for three more pairs of socks, but the woman didn't seem to get that I didn't NEED five pairs of socks. I only needed two.

My point is: it's not a bargain if you don't need it. Sometimes we forget this among the bright lights and pushy salespeople at the mall. Hold firm next time you're out shopping.

Travel Tip

My family and I just got back yesterday from a road trip to Atlanta, Georgia. We were there attending the wedding of the fine young man pictured at right, a cousin of mine. The gray haired man in the background happens to be my brother (I like to tease him about his gray hair).

Today's tip is intended to help you make the transition from a long vacation to "real life" easier. If at all possible, schedule an extra day at home following a vacation. This gives you time to unpack bags, readjust your body to your regular schedule and get back to your normal routines.

We love to travel, but even more, love coming home--especially after a 13 hour day in the car with a small child! Today's transition time has allowed me to throw in a load of laundry, readjust my child to being home and even download photos from the wedding!

15 Minutes of Fame?

This is a quirky little snapshot of me (center) with Gail Nicklowitz (left) and Carol Kamm (right) at a Women Business Owners of Southeast Michigan meeting earlier this summer. I remember my colleague, Hillary Handwerger, taking this photo but was surprised when it appeared on the WBO website recently. It just goes to show that you never know where you will show up on the web these days.

I was also surprised yesterday while driving by the Photo Generations studio in downtown Dexter. Low and behold there was a big portrait in the window of my two children! Let me know if you are downtown Dexter and see the "boy and his dog photo" in the window. It's our little 15 minutes of fame!

Internet Secretary

Here's a new concept. Or at least new to me. "Sandy" is a internet based free secretary for daily reminders. You e-mail or text Sandy your requests for reminders and she will get back with you at the appropriate time.

On a totally unrelated note, some months ago I mentioned my friend, Laura Jannika, who is a Creative Memories Consultant. Laura has a new blog titled Power of Flower where she showcases her digital scrapbooking and flower photos. It's beautiful!

The photo above is from my garden and was taken by our friend, Michael, who visited us from Germany in early July.

Fancy Soaps

This morning I headed out to the Dexter Daze festival in Dexter, Michigan with my child. We had a great time chatting with the vendors, listening to live Caribbean music (who would have thought here in the Midwest?) and stopping at Bearclaw Coffee for our morning snack.

This year there was a new vendor by the name of Paper Street Soap. The folks from Paper Street out of Dundee, Michigan (famous for Michigan's Cabela's location--this is the Midwest, after all) had beautiful wonderful smelling soaps.


The thing is that I am a pretty frugal person (okay, I did spurge on a cup of joe, but packed our snacks) and $7 seems like a lot to spend on one bar of soap, especially when Ivory serves me just fine at about $1.50 for three bars! I wish the folks at Paper Street success in their new business and hope they find lots of customers who, unlike me, are willing to splurge on soap.

Clutter for Charity

In speaking with a friend of mine today, I learned of a wonderful organization based out of Rochester Hills, Michigan called Project12Baskets. This organization takes the excess (a.k.a. clutter) of donors, donates or auctions the items off on eBay or live and the auction proceeds go to your charity of choice. Businessman, Barry Olson, founded the company leveraging his supply chain management experience to find a new way to raise funds for charity.

The for-profit organization will even take care of entire estates, by coming in with their team, emptying out the home and sending 70% of the proceeds from the items sold to the charity of your choice. Project12Baskets earns their 30% fee only after items are sold. Heirs to an estate need not be bothered with emptying a home and have the satisfaction of knowing loved ones belongings will benefit others. A great solution for busy people.

Community Shred in Ypsi

This is quite short notice, but I just saw an ad in The Ann Arbor News for a community shred day tomorrow (July 26, 2008 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) at the Ypsilanti Area Federal Credit Union. This might be of interest to my readers. For more information click here.

Summer Solstice

It's that time of year again where everything seems to be in bloom, including this rose from my garden. Being organized should give all of us time to stop and smell the roses.

Virtual Assistants

Yesterday I wrote about my colleague, Laura Jannika, who appeared in Scrap and Stamp Arts Magazine. I don't know how Laura got the magazine to me so quickly, but it arrived in my mailbox yesterday afternoon.

It is quite a nice article and in it she mentions using a professional secretary or virtual assistance for some transcription work. I happen to know Bonnie Myhrum, who was mentioned in the article and has a real eye for detail.

Virtual assistants, or VAs, as they are sometimes referred to can be a great asset for all kinds of projects that you cannot find to do yourself, particularly if you are self employed. To find out more check out the International Virtual Assistants Association.

Scrapbooking

Things have sure been busy with Simply Organized Life lately! If your life is anything like mine, you probably think you are too busy to stop and scrapbook. I know I feel that way, but do take 10~15 minutes now and again to put photos in super simple scrapbooks. It's easy to set up and clean up with just a few supplies in one place.

My colleague, Laura Jannika, who is a Creative Memories Consultant might find my scrapbooks quite bland and boring, especially with her recent appearance in Scrap and Stamp Arts Magazine. I have yet to see a copy of the magazine, but am really proud of Laura. She is a wonderful business owner, artist, mom and gardener!