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I love to travel. I enjoy exploring Canada, North America, South America, Europe, The United Kingdom, Asia and Australia. I will go almost anywhere. Whether you travel in-person or virtually it is a joy to see new places, people, cultures and ideas. One of the fun things I like doing on my travels is finding things relating to organization. Sometimes the items are good product solutions, show a novel way to use a product, encourage recycling, a fun invention or a thought provoking work of art.
Good Products
I found these stacking laundry baskets in a store. I like them because they stack in a way that you can place items in either basket without unstacking them.
Look at this coffee cup! You fold the top in a specific way and it makes a spout. Everything is recyclable.
Novel Solutions
Once again I was shopping and noticed this shoe organizer that was being used in a novel way. It was holding maps that were for sale. It was easy to see the titles on the maps and quickly purchase the one you needed.
I am an avid cyclist so when I saw this bike repurposed it caught my eye.
Are there too many tea cups around your home? I have seen them used for planting, given away as part of a tea party brunch and hats for gnomes. Here is another first use them as light fixtures.
Do you have any old canvas pictures or wooden signs around taking up space? Convert it into a device to hang items. It keeps them visible, uses vertical space and looks interesting on the wall.
A client made a lovely table out of an old treadle sewing machine.
One of my hotel rooms had this garbage can. It is divided into 4 sections for recycling – plastic, paper, glass, cans and waste. I thought this was a fantastic way to get travellers to recycle. Everything was disposed of in one place.
Fun inventions
The first time I saw this I was a little confused. It is a tap and hand dryer all in one. No dripping across the floor to get a paper towel or use a hand dryer mounted on the wall. It also is a no-touch device that makes it easy to have clean hands when you’re done washing. How does it work? You wash your hands under the tap, the water is turned on by a sensor. Then you move your hands to the right and left ( I like to call them the airplane wings) and the air turns on to dry your hand.
I enjoy seeing furniture that has more than one purpose. These tables can be used as seating, they store nicely under each other and they are eye catching home decor.
Thought Provoking Artwork
Sometimes my organizational find is artwork. This piece is called Organization. It is oil on canvas, 1933-1936, painted by Armenia born, American artist Arshile Gorky. I wonder why he called it that. Any thoughts?
This metal sculpture is by Ruth Ewan, 2019. It is called the Silent Agitator. Ewan’s clock is based on an illustration by Ralph Chaplin. It is a nod to the Industrial Workers of the World labour party. (IWW). It is also a new timepiece adding to the historical collection of ones that helped sailors know what time it was.
Donation
I saw this very creative way to share donations. Items are bagged and tied onto a fence. Anyone can take an item they can use.
Competition
I have not travelled to Nepal, a friend has. She sent me this picture with the caption, competition? It was fun to see a very similar logo in another country.
Here a just a few fun organizing finds from some of my travels. Which one do you like best? Let me know in the comments.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Photo by BBH Singapore on Unsplash
Today I have a guest blogger, Haley Kieser of Zog Digital. She always shares an inspiring fresh approach to freshening up your home.
Organizing a master closet is one of those tasks that usually comes last on the list. Master closets are often where extra things get stored to be dealt with later. Instead of putting off this chore, make your closet functional right now by planning out what you’re going to do and then tackling the make-over.
Clean-Up
Take everything out of the closet. You won’t be doing yourself any favours if you tackle this project with all the things still in it, or by doing part of it at a time. You need to get a fresh start.
While everything’s out, do some paring down. You can use the Marie Kondo method, ask yourself these questions, or simply choose to get rid of items that you haven’t worn in a year or more. If none of these get you to the point of decluttering, consult with a professional organizer.
Lighting
Next, make sure there’s a bright light near or inside your closet so you can easily see your clothing. This may mean simply placing a lamp close by, or if you have the room, installing a light inside. If there’s no existing fixture, you can either hire an electrician to run the wiring inside or choose a wireless lighting option. There are many strong, high-quality LED lights that you can add. Choose the center of the closet as placement for a larger light or pick two or three smaller ones to provide plenty of light across the board.
If there’s already a light inside the closet, consider whether it’s bright enough and whether you like the fixture aesthetically. This is the time to choose something decorative that goes with your personal style, like a fun crystal piece.
Paint
A new coat of paint makes a huge difference inside a closet. Not only will it rid the walls of the wear and tear closets always get, it will also make them seem bigger and brighter. First, pick a shade and finish. WOW 1 Day Painting suggests using semi-gloss paint. This is a shiny finish that reflects light better than satin or eggshell, so you can better see your clothes. Choose a light-toned colour. It doesn’t have to be white but go for the lightest colour in your chosen colour family.
Organizational System
Decide whether your current shelving and clothing rod system is meeting your needs. Perhaps you want more shoe storage or don’t have enough space to hang your clothes.
Measure your closet both horizontally and vertically and sketch out a plan. You can do this on paper (graph paper works best) or use a software tool. When planning, keep in mind that generally, you want to have the things you use every day at your eye level. Little-used clothing, like formal dresses or overcoats, can go in a less-reachable space.
Consider whether or not you like to hang up or fold most of your clothes. If you like to fold them, then you’ll want shelves or drawers more than you want closet rods. Allow 40-42 inches of vertical space for hanging clothes.
There are lots of mostly pre-made closet systems available at home improvement stores these days. These come in single or multiple components, so you can mix and match them for your needs. For instance, if you have a lot of purses, you may want to install cubbies. The good thing about these systems is that they’re easy to install with some basic tools and are already painted.
You can also make your own shelving or hire a professional to do it. If you’re making your own shelving, then you’ll want to do this step before the paint, so you can paint everything at once. You’ll also need some higher-level handyman skills and tools like a table saw to do the job well.
Accessorize
Even if you don’t have much room, you can choose some things like fancy closet hooks to give your space some personal flair when you hang up necklaces and robes. A small chair or pouf to sit on is both practical and can reflect what you like.
Now that your closet system is in place, you can put all your clothing and accessories back. A functional closet is a lot more fun to use, and the organization system will make it easy to keep neat.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Don’t ditch your desk calendar: The benefits of handwriting events and tasks
My guest blogger this week is Jessica Pyykkonen.
Even with hundreds of available apps to help organize your life, a paper desk calendar may be just what you need to stay on top of your work schedule. Despite dire predictions, desk calendars are thriving in the digital age. Furthermore, desk calendars may even be gaining some ground. Between 2014 and 2016, the sales of calendars jumped 8 percent and the sales of planners grew 10 percent.
Why are people sticking with or rediscovering paper? As organizational guru David Allen says, “There’s still no tool better than a paper planner.” Scheduling with pen and paper even offers some advantages over digital calendars. Keep reading to learn about the benefits of analog scheduling and discover tips to improve your desk calendar.
The brain-hand connection
Typing and handwriting may seem similar, but our brains handle the two activities differently. Because handwriting requires you to make sequential strokes to form each letter, it activates large regions of the brain involved in thinking, language, and working memory. The same is not true for typing a letter on a keyboard.
In one study, pre-literate children were split into groups and taught how to draw letters by hand, trace letters, or type letters on a keyboard. Later they looked at the same letters while their brains were scanned in a functional MRI machine. Networks of the brain known to support successful reading activated in the students who’d written the letters, but not in the students who’d typed or traced.
The benefits of handwriting are also evident later in life. Older students comprehend lectures better when taking notes by hand rather than on a laptop. Moreover, adults are better able to learn a new alphabet when they practice letters by hand rather than on a computer.
What does this research on the brain-hand connection mean for your work calendar? You may remember your appointments better if you write them down on paper rather than typing them.
You could even think of jotting down tasks and appointments as exercise for your brain. “One of the advantages of moving away from the keyboard and doing something that requires greater flexibility in how we use our hands is that it also requires greater flexibility in how we use our brains,” writes Nancy Darling, a psychology professor at Oberlin College.
A desk calendar also provides a place to doodle. Scribbling idly may seem like a waste of time, but it’s a powerful way to improve concentration during boring tasks. In one study, people who were randomly assigned to doodle during an intentionally dull phone call remembered 29 percent more of the information transmitted on the call afterward. Doodling also quickly calms the mind, and most people find it enjoyable.
Dash digital fatigue
Of course, using a paper planner or calendar offers a way to step away from screens during your busy work day. If you feel like you spend too much time on mobile devices and are drowning in notifications and alerts, you’re not alone.
Devices are designed to be addictive. Our brains secrete the feel-good chemical dopamine when we hear a notification, and we experience real symptoms of anxiety if we can’t respond. American adults spend nearly 11 hours per day staring at screens, and iPhone users unlock their phones up to 80 times a day.
You may be suffering from spending too much time on technology without realizing it. The more time teens spend online, the more likely they are to say they’re unhappy. Adults randomly assigned to give up Facebook for a week ended up happier, less lonely, and less depressed at the end of the week than those who used Facebook.
Former tech employees are even raising an alarm about the negative impacts of the technology they helped create. A group of them started an organization called Center for Humane Technology; they feel too much technology erodes mental health and social relationships. Stepping away from your laptop and phone to schedule on paper is one way to decrease your time on digital devices at work.
Plan and personalize
Using a desk calendar may help with big-picture planning and organization because it’s easy to see all your appointments at a glance. Many people prefer the tangible feeling of paper. For instance, 92 percent of college students prefer to read print books versus reading on a digital device.
Furthermore, whether you love minimalist, elegant, or cute desk calendars, your calendar becomes as unique as you are once you put pen to paper. Personalize it exactly how you want and don’t be afraid to transform it into an efficient, artistic extension of your brain. Once you have your calendar, stock up on different highlighters, sticky notes, and colorful pens.
Long live the desk calendar
Digital devices aren’t going anywhere. Chances are you use some sort of online calendar, and you may want to continue doing so. But don’t ditch your desk calendar just yet. Many people use both a paper planning system and an online calendar because each offers different benefits. Writing down appointments helps you remember them better, gives you an opportunity to step away from screens, lends itself to big-picture planning and organizing, and offers a myriad of personalization options. Moreover, putting pen to paper may help you stay calmer and more focused.
Check-out this article for more information about the benefits of handwriting, Is handwriting dead? Hardly. We need it more than ever.
Do you agree with this article? Paper or electronic what works best for you?
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you to manage your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Click here to learn more about her online course Create an Organized Home.
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
