Williamson County Free Shred & Medicine Disposal in April!

April 17, 2010

The Williamson County Sheriff Dept, Franklin Police Dept. and HomeInstead Health Care are holding a medicine collection from 9 a.m. to noon, on the square in downtown Franklin.

Don’t throw expired medicines in our water system – take them here and have them disposed of properly!

Organizing For Entrepreneurs :: Finding Success Begins With Finding Your Stuff

A lot of my clients are small business owners either in a home office or outside location.  Each time I work with one of them, I kept noticing they were having pretty much the same issues over and over again.  And I found myself saying the same solutions over and over again – simply tweaking it for their particular needs.  But mostly it’s paper, business cards from networking, client information, email management, filing, etc.

So I decided to take all of this fabulous information and combine it into a three hour seminar.  I’m going to teach entrepreneurs the basics of managing all of the stuff that comes with being a business owner.

This class is designed for someone who is great at what they do but does not have the organizing principles needed to keep track of their stuff.  This may mean YOU!

The class is called “Organizing For Entrepreneurs” and is designed to give you the skills you need to help save you time and money as you go about your day.  It is being held on Friday, March 26th, 2010 from 8:30-11:30 at CoLab Nashville, and is only $95.  This also includes a 1/2 hour follow up phone consultation.  It’s a great deal – especially since I’m limiting it to 15 people so you can get some individualized attention along with this super important information.

Ask yourself how much time you waste every day looking for things you need or being frustrated with piles of papers or office supplies.  And then ask yourself how much your time is worth.

Register now as space is limited! *Please keep in mind that the class is located in Nashville, TN.

Also, check out Knight Stivender’s blog post about this event “Organizer helps entrepreneurs save time”!

Org Junkie “Command Central” Round Up

Org Junkie (one of my favorite bloggers) is doing a round up of “Command Central” ideas. I haven’t done a post on this recently so I thought I’d participate. It’s a great way for people to gather ideas – after all – everyone is different and has different needs but there are many similarities. The photos included here are AFTER shots of a recent client. Unfortunately I did not take before photos, but just imagine a countertop piled high with papers and miscellaneous items as well as crammed cupboards & drawers.

Here’s what we did:

1. Removed everything from this space we designated as “command central” that didn’t belong there such as toys, baby wipes, food items, etc.
2. Filed papers in two portable file bins (this client didn’t have a lot of papers but the ones she did have were everywhere). One bin is for archived (older) materials that she didn’t need to access often – this one is in the back of the cabinet. The other bin is for current items – things she needed to get to quickly – this bin is in the front. Both bins are labeled both inside and out.
3. Added a small shredder sitting on the countertop and a little cubby system I got at Target. It’s cute and simple enough for her needs. In it, she has supplies to mail bills, pens, and incoming mail. The shredder is to quickly destroy any incoming mail that has personal identification.
4. Added a small garbage can under the counter to toss garbage quickly so it doesn’t pile up – it’s not in the photo but we added it to the left side. Also, the few items on the shelf are now in a labeled bin.



5. Created a routine for incoming papers and items – where each thing goes and what to do with it when it gets there.

It’s working out well so far. We’ve made a few tweaks but overall – success!

Back To School: Tips for Organizing Your Day!

Back to school time can be easier if you put routines in place. Having set schedules is very helpful, and so is taking the time to set up stations for school day necessities.

1. Have a designated lunch station. Place all kids lunch foods in one spot in the refrigerator and in one spot in the pantry. I like to use bins for this. Lunch boxes, or lunch bags, go here as well, along with any other necessities such as plastic spoons, napkins, water bottles, etc.

   This has two benefits: When you are ready to make lunch, everything is right at your fingertips AND you can easily see if you are low on anything for grocery shopping. Nothing is worse that trying to make lunch at 7AM and you are out of your son’s favorite string cheese.



2. Have a designated homework station where you can supervise and make sure homework is completed. This station should have paper, pencils, calculator or whatever your child needs to get the work done. Placing all of these items in a labeled bin or lap desk is a great way to have all of your materials in one place. Plus it’s portable. For younger children, kitchen’s tend to be the place of choice for homework. Using a cabinet or drawer for supplies is great, or having a small desk or table works as well. For older kids, a desk in their room can be properly supplied.
3. Set up an “out the door” station. This is where backpacks, coats, shoes, etc. go, preferable right by the door. If you drive kids to school, make sure that any science projects, school supplies, extra materials, etc. are already in the car the night before. I don’t recommend this for live animals or perishable materials but you get the idea.

Having everything you need all in one spot is nothing new – simply good basic organizing techniques. You can use this for any area of the home, and for any routine you have. But for kids it works really well, primarily because when stuff is scattered around, it can cause their brains to scatter around as well – and who needs more of that?

Organizing is all about making life easier to manage – and setting up stations in your home to manage school routines can make the difference between having a crazy day or a calm one. The great thing about routines and stations is that when the inevitable crisis occurs – enough is in place that you can deal with it and move on. Think about what your days look like – and find the gaps in your routines. All it may take is some thought, some planning, and some bins!

being organized is a good thing… but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing!

I’m a very organized person – just ask anyone who knows me. It’s in my blood, I guess. I’m always straightening, labeling, putting things in bins, etc. But sometimes, I just get out of control – I mean it – hold me back . . .

When I got my new laptop, it had Vista. At the time I was using Neat Receipts, which is a fabulous portable scanner that files receipts, documents, etc. and also can convert them to pdf and a whole bunch of other great features. When I got my new laptop, Neat Receipts didn’t quite have the upgrade so I put it away for a while. Now they’ve got the Vista upgrade and I went to install it and start using my Neat Receipts again. Now, keep in mind that this is really embarrassing for me to write about but I COULDN’T FIND THE CABLE. Found the Neat Receipts scanner, got the download but the cable was nowhere to be found.

So where could it be, I wondered. Not in my drawer where I normally keep cables I use. Not in the closet where I store office stuff. I hunted everywhere. Now keep in mind that my house is only 1100 square feet. There are only so many places it could be. I wondered if I had accidentally disposed of it on Freecycle when I was doing a purge recently. Oh crap, that would suck.

I gave up for a while and figured I’d have to buy a new one when I went to my office supply closet to get some more paper for the printer. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied a black box and all of a sudden the light came on (not the actual light, mind you, but the one in my head that had been on dim apparently). It was my cable storage box from Kangaroom Storage! With trepidation, I opened up the box – and there was my cable! Not only was the cable neatly labeled (with my label maker) but the section that it was carefully wrapped and placed in was also neatly labeled. I mean, come on, how could I not remember this? But there it was – just waiting for me. Sheesh.

So the moral of this story is – organizing is great but the ultimate goal is to be able to find what you need when you need it. I’d say I failed on this one – had all good intentions but when it came down to it – it just shouldn’t take 3 weeks to find something!

PS If you want to purchase a Neat Receipts scanner – just let me know – I can order one for you and drop ship it directly to your house with no shipping cost! I love mine and my clients do as well.