Overloaded with paper clutter? I normally advise anyone struggling with piles of paper clutter to spend some time every day separating/recycling the junk followed by sorting, categorizing, and containerizing documents they must keep. It’s a logical process, though not one that most people enjoy.
Well, if you have a green thumb, there’s a solution you might just love: gardening. Recently, The Huffington Post profiled Garden Girl and her daughter, Garden Kid, about how they successfully combined “newspapers, kitchen scraps, and junk mail” to create nutrient-rich soil (with the help of earthworms) for their house plants. This is perhaps not how we usually think about decluttering or managing paper clutter, but here’s why this may be a good option for you:
1. You can quickly decrease your paper piles
2. You can remove your “shred” pile from your home/office almost immediately
3. You make less trips to the curb for recycling pick ups
4. You declutter in a way you love and are likely to keep up with
5. If you involve your children (or other loved ones), you’ll get help with decluttering and spend time together
Still not sure if this right for you? Need a little inspiration? Check out the video below to hear what Garden Girl and Garden Kid had to say. If you’ve been using your garden to get rid of your paper clutter, tell us about it.
“I’m taking the waste that we make every single day and composting it in my home and not putting out on the curb. I’m utilizing here, right here on my land. I take it, I consume it, and I reuse it. Then we’re gonna consume it again and then we’re gonna reuse it.”
Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. ~Albert Einstein
Today’s guest author, Aviva Goldfarb, shares a few tips on how to make dinner time go a bit more smoothly. Believe it or not, she says that you can have healthy, homemade dinners without the stress!
Have you ever found yourself staring into your refrigerator at 6:00, wondering what to make for dinner, while the kids are fighting, the dogs are barking and the phone is ringing? You probably never pictured yourself as the kind of mom or dad who would feed your family something out of a bag, a box or a can every night, or be on first name basis with the pizza guy. Yet you only have about half an hour until meltdowns begin. What’s a busy parent to do?
Let’s face it: hardly anyone cooks every night. I have found four simple strategies to help busy parents like me cook four to six nights per week, and actually save time and money by doing so. It may sound challenging (I know, because I used to think so too!), but with a little preparation and practice, making healthy and delicious homemade dinners can be even easier, faster and cheaper than ordering take-out.
Here are my tricks for surviving The Six O’Clock Scramble:
1. Keep meals simple. With our families’ busy schedules, most of us can’t afford to spend more than 30 minutes preparing a meal. I have developed a great collection of simple, healthy, delicious recipes that don’t take more than 30 minutes to prepare, and many only take 10 or 15 minutes. No matter what recipes you use, match a simple main dish with an easy and healthy side dish to balance out flavor and nutrition, and you’ve got yourself a great family dinner.
2. Get organized: Prepare a weekly menu. When I was a girl, I remember my mom sitting down each week with her recipe boxes and making a shopping list. When I became a mom, I thought I could never be that organized, but I finally realized my mom had the right idea. A weekly menu takes only ten minutes to prepare, and saves us loads of time and stress. Having a weekly menu and keeping a grocery list tacked to the refrigerator allows us to shop only once each week for ingredients, avoiding those last minute trips to the grocery store. And, it saves us from having to think too much at the hectic dinner hour about what to prepare –the menu is ready.
3. Keep your kitchen well-stocked. With a well-stocked pantry, you can easily pull together an extra meal or two with any unused ingredients from the week’s meals, or throw together a quick meal on those nights when your evening doesn’t go as planned. Some of my favorite healthy and inexpensive quick meal essentials are canned beans (for burritos or taco salads), tortillas (my husband’s mantra is that everything’s better inside a tortilla), eggs (for easy omelets, scrambles or frittatas), and frozen vegetables and other healthy side dishes to round out the meal. What’s more, your grocery trips each week should be even faster if you are well-stocked with staples.
4. Involve kids in the kitchen. If time allows, I like to let the kids help me in the kitchen. When they were toddlers, one of my best allies in the kitchen was a small step ladder. From this perch, the kids could assist me at the counter while I was husking corn, or make bubble soup in the kitchen sink while I put dinner together. Now that they’re a little older, they can help do things like set the table, peel vegetables, unload the dishwasher or spin the salad dry. Sure, sometimes they get in my way, but cooking is a great way for us to spend time together. And here’s an added bonus for we parents of picky eaters: kids are far more likely to eat something that they have helped prepare!
If dinner has you feeling daunted or discouraged, don’t despair. Try to simplify your menus and recipes, plan ahead for a few meals before going to the grocery store, and always shop armed with a grocery list. Chances are you will enjoy the stress free dining so much, you’ll want to plan your dinners before heading to the grocery store every week.
To give you a head start on getting healthy homemade dinners on the table, click here for my menu and grocery list for this week.
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About The Author
Aviva Goldfarb is a mother of two and the author and founder of The Six O’Clock Scramble®, an online weekly menu planner and cookbook (St. Martin’s Press, 2006). She is also the author of the upcoming cookbook, “SOS! The Six O’Clock Scramble to the Rescue: Earth Friendly, Kid-Pleasing Meals for Busy Families” (St. Martin’s Press, 2010). Contact Aviva via her website and follow her tweets on Twitter.
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Greetings, readers. It’s good to be back here at the OTR blog once again. I hope all of you are well. In my last blog post, I spoke of how I use tech and conventional methods to manage my time and as mentioned, the combination of the two works pretty well for me….generally.
I was on Twitter very recently and came across a tweet by a follower (fellow musician and producer) who posted in his timeline, a tweet that read something close to this:
“So much for my studying/productivity today, tomorrow I am SO on it.”
If that didn’t strike home with me in a BIG way, especially since my last blog post here, I don’t know WHAT did! Generally, with all I have going on, it is a disaster for me NOT to follow a daily schedule. There have been times that I didn’t and my life, as I know it, pretty much crashed and burned whenever I decided to wing it (smile). But, I’ve come to realize that maybe, just maybe, it’s unrealistic to operate on full throttle EVERY day, even via the best laid plans.
An example quickly comes to mind. I currently have five different music production projects I am working on which constantly requires me to keep a calendar of different studio sessions. Of course, that is not the ONLY calendar that I keep, especially with a wife and two kids – a son who is a Cub Scout and has been participating in a local sports program, a daughter who is in the Girls Scouts and a wife who is in school. The calendar is my friend indeed. Did I mention the multiple meetings I have to attend each week and the crunch time hours at work for a big June deadline?
The recording sessions take place on the weekend, usually, and with multiple ones, sometimes I have to them plan out a few months ahead of time. Recently, Mr. Organized failed to check with his wife to see if there were any scheduling conflicts. As you may be guessing by now…there were (cue ominous and dramatic soap opera music here). While I LOVE being able to see these musical projects take life (a long time dream manifested), last week I threw all of it to the wind…and did absolutely nothing (yes, the Pareto Principle I generally subscribe to got thrown out of the window, too!)
While I (expectedly) got frustrated with myself for even thinking (and, furthermore, doing) that, I found that it was something that I probably need to consider doing occasionally. While life didn’t REALLY crash and burn, per se, I got a chance to reorganize and revitalize (shameless plug). I found that by not abandoning the use of my Blackberry syncing process with my Google Calendars…and still keeping my daily to-do lists during that “vacation from the procedural,” I was still able to maintain some semblance of order…which in the end, didn’t make the sting feel too bad.
The bottom line, I realized, and leave with you (though not in the least unusual), is: Life Happens. Generally, I’m very driven and definitely need some order in place to get my various jobs done and goals accomplished, but lately, I’m learning not to sweat it so much.
For those of you that seem to accomplish things without the need for any kind of pre-planned scheduling, it would be interesting to read your comments about this post and how you go about getting the job done. Thanks in advance, and have a productive day.
*Doug has joined the OTR blogging team as a regular author. Look out for his weekly posts about his adventures with multiple projects and love affair with technology. As our “Time Tech Guy,” he’s happy to answer any questions you might have. ~Deb
Once you’ve got your filing system down pat, create a master list (ML) of contents of your file cabinet or open file cart. Why?
- Image by Marcin Wichary via Flickr
- Make it easy to find what you’re looking for when you’re short on time.
- Know what files you have already created so that you don’t create duplicates.
- Make it easy for someone who’s unfamiliar (e.g., a temp, your spouse, etc.) with your filing system to find a document.
List the files on your ML exactly as they are positioned in the file drawer. Be sure to update the ML each time you add or remove a file, and keep it inside the file drawer in front of all the files…or post it directly on the front of the file cabinet.
Who said organizing isn’t fun!? Swedish artist, Michael Johansson, has found a creative way to put order to very ordinary things. He repurposes familiar yet unrelated items by combining them to make organized, 3D sculptures. Notice how he puts particular focus on shape and color. It’s a very interesting take on organization as art…or perhaps, formerly useful items as art…
“I am fascinated walking around flea markets finding doubles of seemingly unique, though often useless objects I have already purchased at another flea market. Despite the fact that I did not have any use for them even the first time, the desire to own two of these objects becomes too strong to resist.” ~Michael Johansson
“I am intrigued by irregularities in daily life. Not those that appear when something extraordinary occurs, but those that are created by an exaggerated form of regularity.” ~Michael Johansson
Many thanks to Terragenesis LLC for sharing the article, Sculptural Color Palettes By Michael Johansson by Evad at COLOURlovers.
People who multitask are actually less efficient than those who focus on one project at a time, according to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.
[New Studies Show Pitfalls Of Doing Too Much at Once · Sue Shellenbarger · The Wall Street Journal · 02.27.2003 · Source: NAPO]
Studies have shown that most New Year’s resolutions are forgotten soon after the new year begins. Certified Professional Organizer®, Helene Segura, shares a few tips on how you can keep your resolution to stay organized.
As December was ending and January approached, you were excited about the prospect of your New Year’s resolution: Get Organized! When the after Christmas sales started, you ran out and bought every container imaginable: huge bins, tiny boxes, and those cute little containers that just looked absolutely perfect in the display.
You dove head-on into your first project. You tore up a room, spread stuff out everywhere – and then got stuck. So you moved on to another room. And spread stuff out everywhere. Before you knew it, you had more clutter in more places than before you started. Sound familiar? Don’t worry. You’re not alone. You were in the state of inspiration and then crossed the border into the state of overwhelm. If you want to leave this state and jump back on the decluttering wagon, here are five ways to help yourself get back on track:
1. Take a deep breath. While the task ahead may seem daunting, it is not impossible. Relax as much as you can and stay positive.
2. Acknowledge the fact that your organizing projects will not be complete overnight. It took time for your clutter to build up, so it will take time to declutter. Decide if you want to devote a couple of long weekends to your project or if you want to work in small chunks of time each day.
3. Pick one room. And stick to it. If you hop around from area to area, it will seem like you’re not getting anything done, and that will deflate your enthusiasm. If you concentrate on just one area, you’ll see visible progress.
4. Divide your room up into sections. Either mentally (in your head) or literally (on paper) draw dividers in your chosen room. Create a clock pattern and work your way from 6:00 to 7:00 to 8:00 – and so on – all the way back around to 6:00 again. Or, divide the room into a checkerboard and work on one square at a time. Cover the room with sheets if the sight of the rest of your stuff distracts you. Just chip away slowly but surely.
5. Reward yourself at the end of each session. So many times we focus on what we didn’t get done, and that negativity brings us down. Instead, focus on what you did accomplish and celebrate that progress.
Rome wasn’t built in a day…or two…or even three. It takes time to build solid foundations. Pick yourself up by your boot straps and hop back up on the decluttering wagon. The road to organization might be a bit bumpy at times, but the end destination will be worth the journey.
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About the Author
Helene Segura is the owner of LivingOrder® San Antonio. She teaches clients how to understand their core 
issues causing disorganization and thereby prevent it in the future. She also conducts organizing workshops for larger groups and is a member of the trailblazing team providing expert organizing help online at The Clutter Diet. Helene writes an organizing column for ezine Concierge and has been a featured organizing expert in articles in the San Antonio Express-News, as well as on Great Day S.A. on KENS TV. To get more information, visit her website at www.LivingOrderSA.com or follow her tweets on Twitter.
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Last year, I found out about a new gadget called Peek. It piqued (sorry, couldn’t help it) my interest, and I wondered why anyone would choose it over an iPhone or other smartphone. It seemed (and still does) that there are so many more benefits to having a smartphone, one of them being that you have access to many apps that can help you stay organized and manage your life.
So, I contacted the company in December to request an interview and to hear why they think it’s a better choice. So far, no one has gotten back to me but they did send me one of their products to test.
Here’s a run down of my experience with TwitterPeek…
Pros
1. Shipping. TwitterPeek arrived quickly! I was impressed by how fast it was delivered, though the plastic packaging was already open. I assumed this was because it was a test model and wasn’t too concerned.
2. Familiar Look. The Peek has the look of a BlackBerry with a keyboard and scroll wheel.
3. Function & Ease of Use. I really liked some key things about this device.
a. Power Button. The power button was easy find and the battery cover didn’t require a crowbar to get it open.
b. Back button. Love this! It’s the little things, yes? =) It was great having a button dedicated to going back to the previous screen…efficient and easy to use.
c. Scroll Wheel. I liked that the scroll wheel did what it was supposed to do – let you move down the screen – and, if you pushed it in, you would advance to the next screen or see a list commands to choose from.
4. Portability. It is super lightweight and can easily be stored in a purse or pocket. It’s slim profile makes it easy to carry.
5. Customer Service. When I took their offer to test out the product, I received a quick and enthusiastic e-mail with instructions on what to do once I got the device. The folks at Peek were also responsive (mostly) when I ran into a few problems, but more on that later.
Cons
1. Overall Function. I got half way through the registration process and it stalled. It wouldn’t accept the most crucial piece of information: my Twitter user name and password. I tried for several days to get it to work (and again last night), but no luck.
2. Customer Service. As I mentioned before, I contacted Peek on Twitter and each time got a response. They checked with the carrier who said that it may be due to a “coverage issue.” They also said it could be that the “SIM was disconnected.” The problem here is that they stopped following up with me. I realized that each time they contacted me, it was as a result of me following up and asking for more help. When I stopped sending them inquiries, they dropped the ball. The last response I got was on December 14th…and that e-mail request for an interview on December 3rd – still waiting to hear back.
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Final Word
While I love it’s cool buttons and it looks, the fact that it didn’t work trumped all it’s positives. There was no way for me to really see why this device would be the picked over a smartphone. Yes, it’s cute, but entrepreneurs need more than cute. Perhaps it’s a less expensive option, but I’d rather spend more for function and figure out how cut costs elsewhere. If you’re using one – and love it – please tell me why because I just don’t get it.
Sorry, TwitterPeak. You #Fail.
When the paper piles start growing and your best efforts to reduce them are thwarted, there’s only one thing to do: get FAT.
• File: Whether you use an open file cart, desktop filing system, or a typical file cabinet, put away the papers you must keep.
• Act: These are the papers you need to do something about or act on. Keep them in a location that you access them easily.
• Toss: Everyone has stuff that needs to hit the garbage can, so say goodbye to papers of little or no value. Consider tossing papers first so that you can easily see and separate those that you need to file or act on.
Get FAT & Watch Your Papers Get Skinny
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