Peace of Mind Organizing

I'm bringing you a DailyFeats Challenge!

23 July 2012

In June, I wrote about DailyFeats an interactive website that helps you build daily habits. In a nutshell, you select habits you want to create, check in daily and receive points for doing what you say you’ll do. Points are redeemable for gift cards, charitable donations, and deals.

One aspect of DailyFeats that I didn’t mention in my blog post is the Challenges. You can sign up for a variety of Challenges, some of which are multi-feat and some single feat, and receive bonus points for fulfilling them. Challenges are typically brought to you by a person or company. A look at the Challenges page shows Challenges brought to you by Deepak Chopra, Ian Somerhalder, the World Wildlife Federation and me! Yep, that’s my photo right next to the photo of Ian Somerhalder (and a cute dog).

That’s because a month or two ago, the folks at DailyFeats approached me about doing a challenge with them. I was thrilled, since I’m all about habits and routines. I’m also all about staying on top of your mail (as evidenced by my e-course, Make Peace with Your Mail and my Organizing Guide, How to Fall in Love with the Mail Carrier All Over Again), so I suggested we do something that involved creating the habit of sorting the mail.

I explained how the habit of sorting the mail every day can have such an impact on people’s lives. So the DailyFeats team created a Sort Mail feat. And then we created a Just One Thing challenge to Sort the Mail each day for a week. It’ll be available only through August 5.

To check out this challenge, go to this landing page. When you join this challenge, you’ll commit to sorting your mail once a day for a week and, when you do, you’ll receive 100 bonus points, on top of the 3 points a day you get for doing the feat. Don’t stop at a week, though!

(I also did a guest blog post for DailyFeats with expanded information on why sorting the mail is so important.)

I’ve been using DailyFeats for a couple of months now and I find it’s fantastic for reinforcing habit creation. It’s fun to click on the feats and amass points. It’s also fun to redeem them! When I check in each day, I look over the feats I’ve added to my Feats I Do list and it reminds me of the healthy habits I’m trying to create.

DailyFeats does a great job of making habits fun. I urge you to give it a try. And what better way than through my Sort the Mail Challenge?. And here’s a little more good news: When you join via that link, you’ll get 100 points deposited into your account!

App of the week: Reunion

20 July 2012

As I revealed earlier this week, I’m really getting into my genealogy research. Exploring my family history is loads of fun and, so far, I’ve been able to do most of it sitting at my computer.

I use the Reunion for MacIntosh software to enter data on my family tree. I’m only entering verified data and, as my family tree grows, I feel proud of my accomplishments and confident that what’s there is accurate.

I recently purchased the Reunion for iPhone app. (There’s a separate Reunion for iPad app.) I was prompted to buy it when I was at an exhibit about the Civil War at the Missouri History Museum. I knew that I had ancestors who lived in Missouri during that war, but I couldn’t remember where they lived. It made me wish I had that data at my fingertips (since it certainly doesn’t fit in my brain).

The app also comes in handy when, at the dinner table, I’m discussing interesting things I’ve learned about an ancestor and my husband asks me how this person is related to me. My iPhone is usually with me, so I can just look up the answer if I can’t remember.

The app will also be useful when I travel to visit my parents next month. I plan to pepper them (and my aunt) with questions about family lore and having the tree handy will be really helpful.

The app is nicely designed and complements the software well. Just touch a person’s name to get more information about them. Family trees can get quite large and overwhelming looking. One thing I love about this iPhone app is that it just presents one couple, their parents and their children on the screen. So I don’t have to pinch to enlarge the screen; everything’s perfectly legible.

It’s easy to synch the app to the file on the computer. But I sometimes forget to do the synch, since I’ve become so accustomed to my apps synching automatically through iCloud. I need to set a reminder to manually synch the Reunion desktop and app. (It’s wireless, it just requires a few keystrokes.)

If you use Reunion software and have an iPhone or an iPad, I’d say that it’s worth considering making the $15 investment in the app.

Rebooting the day

19 July 2012

So it’s only 7:23 a.m. as I write this and I already feel like rebooting my day. Why? My cat, Joe, who’s been driving me nuts lately by lolling around on my desktop (frequently on top of my keyboard and mouse) rolled right into my full coffee cup, emptying it all over my desk. He spilled the coffee away from himself, so he didn’t even get up when it happened. I got him up.

I frantically found towels and paper towels to take care of the mess, fuming all the while and probably alarming my innocent standard poodle, Kirby, in the process.

Joe, unapologetic desktop dominator

But now that I’ve cleaned up the mess, brewed and drunk another cup and calmed down, I’m trying not to let such an inauspicious beginning to the day ruin the whole thing.

There are some things to be grateful for in the situation:

• My desk wasn’t super cluttered
• None of the ruined paper products were important
• The coffee didn’t seem to affect the electronics it touched
• The coffee didn’t hit my Bingo board which I was in the process of setting up for the day when the mug was knocked over
• Joe wasn’t burned
• My desktop is now actually clean, rather than just tidy
• This might serve as incentive for me to do a better job of discouraging Joe from hanging around on my desk (wish me luck with that)
• I got a blog post out of the deal

When misfortunes occur, I tend to be something of a Pollyanna. I can usually see the good aspect of any situation, and for that I am so grateful.

Joe’s little indiscretion is a nice reminder that while I can’t control the actions of others, I can control my reaction to them. I was really, really annoyed when it happened and now I can shrug it off.

Here’s to a great day!

Product review: Filertek dry-erase hanging file tabs

18 July 2012

A couple of years ago at the NAPO conference I was given a small package of Filertek dry-erase hanging file-folder labels. To be honest, these reusable tabs seemed to solve a problem I didn’t have and I brought home the sample and then never used it.

A company rep contacted me earlier this year about the product and I explained how I didn’t really see the need for them. When I set up a file system for a client, I use Post-It® notes as temporary file folder labels and typically replace them with adhesive Freedom Filer® labels.

The rep patiently explained to me that these Dry-Erase labels (which have a plastic cover that goes over the dry-erase part, so you don’t have to worry about smudging) can act as both temporary and permanent labels. After you’re satisfied with a category, you can slip a paper label into a slot in the top of the label, so you can easily have a printed label. Or you can adhere a label maker label right over the dry erase part. She offered to send me more product samples, with no obligation to review. I think she just wanted me to see the light.

So I took a box to a client’s home. We already had a Freedom Filer system set up for her, but she wanted a separate, non-Freedom Filer system for her husband’s few files which live in their own drawer. A few years back, we’d used Post-It notes as temporary tabs, then we took a hiatus from working together. Now she was ready for something that felt a little more permanent and was happy to give Filertek a try.

I’ll tell you what: The Filertek labels were perfect for this application. While we were tweaking the file system, we actually changed the names of the categories a few times. A quick swipe of the dry erase area and the old category was gone. I love having that flexibility as the file system develops. My client has great handwriting, so she doesn’t mind having hand written labels. We’ll probably never use inserts with her system. But it’s nice to know we can.

I also love that the file tabs are sturdy and reusable. They clip right onto the hanging file folder; I don’t have to insert them into slots. No fiddling around.

These hanging file folder tabs are a little more expensive than the light weight plastic ones. You can get a box of 50 tabs at Amazon for $13.53. Also at Amazon, Smead hanging folder 1/5 cut tabs are $4.65 for a pack of 25. But the difference is that the Filertek labels feel permanent and the poly tabs feel disposable.

I do believe I’ll be using these with clients again. I have to admit, they were a pleasant surprise, and a reminder that I should keep an open mind when it comes to new products!

My new blog: Organize Your Family History

17 July 2012

Last week, I wrote blogged about making time for the things you love and I mentioned that the thing I’m finding time for is family history research.

Today, I’m excited to announce that I’ve started a new blog, Organize Your Family History to chronicle my journey with my family history research, in hopes of helping readers feel less overwhelmed and have more fun as they do their own research.

It’s written very much from a beginning genealogist’s point of view and it’s personal but, I hope, helpful.

I love blogging, so this is the perfect marriage of two interests. The new blog won’t have any effect on this blog. I’ll still be blogging regularly here. But I’m excited to be researching my family history (I’m already finding out interesting things) and to have the opportunity to write about it at the same time.

Please check it out and let me know what you think!

Just too much

16 July 2012

In the past, I have belonged to Sam’s Club and Costco, the giant discount warehouse stores. About five years ago, we let our Costco membership lapse because we realized we were throwing away so much. For our family of two, bulk shopping just doesn’t make sense.

So I actually hadn’t stepped foot into one of those stores in five years when I went to Sam’s Club today to buy four new tires. Their prices were so good it made sense to join. I had an hour or so to peruse the offerings as I waited for my car.

I found the giant store packed with large packages of so many items so overwhelming and such a symptom of our culture of overconsumption. I didn’t buy anything (besides tires), but did note some good prices on some everyday non-perishable items we use. (I snapped photos of those price tags for next time we run out.)

As I walked through the aisles, I remembered how I used to feel a sense of urgency as I shopped there. Like there were deals I just couldn’t pass up. That turned out to be a false economy when we didn’t use the items before they expired.

One reason I didn’t buy today was that I didn’t really need anything. (Being a professional organizer has really helped me be more discerning about what I bring into the house.) But even for the items we do use, I hesitated to buy (despite good prices) because of the quantity. Where would I store that stuff? I have seen with my clients how bulk purchases can lead to clutter. I don’t want the stuff sitting out and I don’t want to have to reorganize a closet to make room for a huge supply of toilet paper just to save a few dollars.

I have nothing against these stores or people who shop in them. But I have to say spending time there (despite it not being crowded) made me a little stressed and sad. I don’t see myself doing a lot of shopping there, except for specific items, like tires or shelving, where I can get a great deal without buying in huge quantities.

I have to admit, I was kind of amazed that the thrill of shopping at these stores was gone. I think it’s just one of the ways that becoming a professional organizer has changed me.

App of the week: Paper Karma

13 July 2012

My friend, social media expert Jacquelyn Kittredge, told me about Paper Karma, a free app that helps you stop junk mail and unwanted catalogs.

This app is out-of-this-world easy. Once you’ve downloaded it and registered, all you do is open the app and press Take Photo to take a photograph of any junk mail you want to stop. Then press Use when you’re looking at the preview and that’s that. They contact the company that sent you the mail on your behalf. It literally takes seconds.

As soon as I heard about it, I downloaded it and registered. I found two pieces of mail to stop and took photos and sent them. It’s too soon to know whether they’ll actually stop coming, but Jacquelyn has been happy with it.

It almost makes me wish I got more catalogs, so I could have the enjoyment and jolt of empowerment of using Paper Karma to stop them!