50 organizing ideas

8/9/2019 50 Organizing Ideas

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Published by BlueMoon Publishing.

Copyright © 1997-2011 by Maria Gracia.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproducedin any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording, taping, or informational

storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the

copyright owner and publisher of this publication.

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information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is offered

with the understanding that the publisher and the copyrightowner are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other

professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is

required, the services of a competent professional person who

specializes in that particular field should be sought.

While due care has been exercised in the compilation of this

ebook, we are not responsible for errors or omissions. This

reference is intended to assist in providing information to thepublic, and the information is delivered as accurately as possible.

Cover Design: Joseph Gracia

Please direct any comments, questions or suggestions regarding

this publication to:

BlueMoon Publishing611 Arlington Way

Watertown WI 53094

USA

Printed in the United States of America.


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ongratulations! By requesting the Get Organized Now! Idea-Pak,

you’ve just embarked on an organizing journey of a lifetime—

one that will help you clear the clutter, find more time, reach

your goals and live a happier, stress-free life. Here are 50 simple

tips and ideas to help you get started.

50 Simple Organizing Ideas

1. Determine your goals

Before you start anything, determine its goal. If you don't know whereyou're going, how will you ever get there? Set mini-goals and reward

yourself for successes.

2. Don’t rely on your memoryYou run the risk of letting tasks fall through the cracks. The best way to

never forget an appointment, a deadline or a detail again is to write

everything down.

3. Consolidate similar activitiesInstead of starting and stopping at different levels of activity, you'll save

time by making all of your outgoing telephone calls together, taking care

of all your errands at once, etc.

4. Clean out your filesBefore you go through the expense of purchasing more file cabinets,

folders and other organizing tools and supplies, take the time to purge all

unnecessary paperwork and materials.

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5. Use one calendarThe biggest mistake people make when using planning calendars is using

more than one at a time. Keep personal, professional and family items on

one calendar. It will help to eliminate scheduling conflicts. Heed thesaying, “the man who wears two watches, never knows the correct time.”

6. Reduce telephone tagPlan telephone calls―whether to doctors, plumbers, clients, etc.

―whenever possible. Have all necessary materials in front of you. Write

key questions down in advance.

7. Set up files for projectsDon't waste time searching for papers when you need them. Keep all

paperwork that pertains to a certain project together in one large folder.

8. Set time limitsSay, “I've got only 5 minutes to talk.” Outline your calls, Say, “I'd like to

discuss these 2 possible solutions to problem A . . .”

9. Make time for yourselfMake at least one screened appointment with yourself each day. Screened

time is quiet, uninterrupted time that allows you to concentrate on a

project or catch up on your reading.

10. Declutter your deskAn uncluttered desk erases unnecessary distractions and helps keep your

mind on tasks that need immediate attention. Keep only the items on your

desk that relate to your current projects. Once you do, your creativity will

begin to soar!


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11. DelegateRealize that you can't do everything. Delegate in the office and at home.

To use an effective delegation system, you must train, entrust, follow-up

and evaluate.

12. Don’t overstuff filing cabinetsIt’s extremely frustrating having to file papers in a filing cabinet that is

overloaded! Leave enough room in file drawers so that you're not using all

your energy to get a piece of paper in or out.

13. Develop false deadlinesIf you have a deadline at the end of the month, record the deadline four

days earlier. You'll eliminate the last-minute rush to complete the project

because you'll have given yourself ample padding.

14. Use timers and alarm clocksAllocate time for your daily activities, from working on projects to doing

household chores. Then set timers or alarm clocks to help keep you on

schedule.

15. Make good use of spaceAdd shelving for reference books and manuals. Add space extenders in

desk drawers. Buy full-suspension filing cabinets. Use stacking bins.

16. Make the most of idle timeCatch up on your reading or balance your checkbook while you wait for

appointments. Audio cassettes of an educational or motivational nature are

a great way to make use of your time while driving to work.


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17. Get the kids off to school quickerDon't leave decision-making for the morning. The night before, help your

children choose their outfits, decide what they want to eat, and determine

what they need for school.

18. Set time limitsIf you have to work late, or during the weekend, set time limits for

yourself. Once you hit that limit, stop working and enjoy the rest of the

evening or weekend.

19. IdentifyDon't just toss your spare keys and other widgits in a shoebox without first

identifying them. Label each item or packet..

20. Eliminate brush firesBrush fires are almost always caused by disorganization. Eliminate the

disorganization and you'll eliminate the brush fires.

21. Determine the best time for tasksUse your most productive time to do your most productive work. Are you

more alert in the morning, or do you consider yourself more of a night

owl? Tackle your most difficult, important work during the time of day

when you're at your best and you're most likely to complete

it―accurately.

22. Use Master Lists and To Do ListsTake control of your time. When used properly, these effective tools give

you a specific idea of what you need to accomplish.


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23. Set deadlinesSetting a deadline forces you to work towards it. Set a definite date and

time. Saying, “When I get a chance” or “Sometime in the near future” is

both insufficient and ineffective.

24. Use a greeting card organizerConsider a greeting card organizer to remember birthdays, anniversaries

and other special events. These look like a notebook, except that each page

has a monthly pocket to hold cards. You can pencil in birthdays, events,

etc. for each month, plus, you can purchase your cards ahead of time!

25. Plan your garden earlyStart planning your garden in the winter. Decide what you'll plant. Read

up on the proper care of your plants, flowers and veggies. Sketch your

garden out on paper. When spring arrives you'll be ready to “grow.”

26. Store similar items togetherCategorization is very important when you're getting organized. Keep all

bill paying supplies in one place. Gather all of your craft supplies in a

basket. Keep your photo supplies in one plastic bin. When you need to

work on something, everything will be easily accessible.

27. Categorize your filesFirst, decide on broad categories according to the particular work

materials in your office. Then, file alphabetically or chronologically

within these categories.


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28. Plan your mealsPlan your meals before you write out your shopping list. It will save time

because you'll know exactly what you need. Your meals should 1) be well-

balanced and nutritious, 2) offer variety, 3) be within your food budget,and 4) fit your time and energy limits.

29. Put things away each dayTake time to put things back where they belong. Put things back

immediately after you're finished with them or set up a 15-minute

appointment with yourself to put things back at the end of each day.

30. Toss old reading materialGo through your reading stack. Get rid of outdated newspapers. Ditch

magazines older than three months. Keep only a few catalogs that you

truly enjoy.

31. Clean out your libraryLook through your bookcases and give away books you've had for years

and will never look at again. Charities are always looking for donations to

their reading programs.

32. Enlist your friendsPerhaps your house needs to be painted, or your basement needs to be

organized, or you can use some help at your next rummage sale. A great

way to get the job done quickly is to throw a party. Your friends supply

the help. You supply the pizza, snacks, beverages and dessert.


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33. Keep receipts togetherKeep an envelope in your purse or wallet to hold receipts that you may

need for expense records or tax purposes. When you get back to the office,

put the receipts in pre-designated envelopes―

business meals, fuel, rentalexpenses―then keep all the envelopes in a larger expanding file or box.

34. Ditch outdated computer stuffUnless you can donate them, toss software disks, CDs, computer manuals,

etc. for computer programs you no longer use and never will again.

Chances are, if they’re outdated, they won’t be useful to most people.

35. Coordinate with othersWork together with others―family, co-workers, friends―to come up with

organizational systems that are simple and effective for everyone

involved.

36. Use a desk organizerKeep a sufficient supply of pens, pencils, paperclips, scissors and other

necessary supplies in a desktop holder on your desk or a tray inside your

desk.

37. Create an effective work areaCreate a pleasant, well-equipped work area. Whether it's a nook, cranny,

or a large office, your work area should be conducive to performing your

daily work. It should contain all necessary supplies and equipment within

arm’s reach or in easily accessible areas.


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38. Magnetize your medicine cabinetMount a long magnet along the back of your medicine cabinet to hold

tweezers, clippers, little scissors and other small metal objects.

39. Rest and relaxGet a good night's sleep―7 hours or more. Adequate rest tonight will help

you to be alert, on time, and effective tomorrow.

40. Make your move easy

Color code your boxes with a self-stick yellow dot for those that go to thekitchen, a red dot for the office, a blue dot for the garage and so on. Go to

your new residence ahead of time, and place a corresponding colored dot

on the appropriate rooms.

41. Prepare outgoing mail ahead of timeIf you mail out a rent check each month, make a sheet of labels on the

computer so you don’t have to keep writing out the address month after

month. If you send the same brochures and other materials to customers

for your home or office business, make your packages ahead of time.

Include all necessary materials and store them away until you need them.

Make outgoing mail ready to go in a snap.

42. Create reference listsReference lists are wonderful tools for remembering and accessing

everything easily. Create reference lists for:

• Personal goals and dreams

• Birthdays

• Favorite restaurant phone numbers


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47. Cut down on junk mailVisit the Direct Marketing Association Web site and ask them to remove

you from direct mail lists you don't wish to be on: http://www.the-dma.org

48. Combine your timeLook for things you can combine to save time and accomplish more. Walk

your dog and you'll be exercising at the same time. Go to the beach with a

motivational tape, and you'll be relaxing and getting inspired

simultaneously!

49. End each day on a good noteSave your easiest tasks for the end of each day. You'll be able to complete

them, and end each day on a positive, rewarding note!

50. Continuously improveGet organized and stay organized with the many free resources available

on the www.getorganizednow.com web site! You’ll find monthly

checklists, weekly challenges, reader tips, organizing clinics, quick tips,

organizing articles, e-courses, recipes, inspiration, our weekly blog, and

our world-famous discussion forum where you can post specific

organizing questions and comments, and get ideas and answers from

thousands of people around the world!

In addition, we offer tons of wonderful organizing products to help you on

your organizing journey. They’re all listed on the next page and are all

available on our web site:

www.getorganizednow.com


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Goodies Available from

Get Organized Now!

Finally Organized, Finally Free – For the Home

Discover tons of tips and ideas to help you get your home and your lifeorganized, including how to banish clutter, better manage your time, get more

done and so much more!

Finally Organized, Finally Free – For the Office

Discover tons of tips and ideas to help you get your office and your life

organized, including how to banish office clutter, better manage your time, be

more productive and more!

501 Tips and Ideas for Finding More Time For the Things You Love

Now you can have more time with your family, with your friends, with yourhobbies, for play, for achievement, for simply enjoying your life! You won’t

believe all the time you’re about to save for the people, events and things you

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My Oh-So-Organized Filing System

This is the new, revolutionary, easy and time-saving way to file, organize and

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The Easy Organizer

It's not just a planner. It's much, much more! Loaded with easy-to-use forms

to help you eliminate those notorious scraps of paper and consolidate all of

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The Easy Bill Paying System

Pay your home-related bills on time, easily organize your statements and

conveniently keep track of your expenses with this simple, but powerful,

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The Ultimate Guide for Professional Organizers

This comprehensive guide contains everything you need to know about

starting, running and growing your professional organizing business, while

making a great profit! If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own

professional organizing business, this guide is the only one you’ll need.


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The Give to Get Marketing Solution

Have a small to medium-sized business or thinking of starting one? Kick start

your marketing program into overdrive with this all-encompassing guide that

will help you develop a solid strategy for attracting customers to your

business. By Joe Gracia.The Christmas Holiday Planner

A must-have planner to help you get and stay organized for a stress-free,

enjoyable holiday season.

For more information about any of these products, please visit:

www.getorganizednow.com and click on the STORE link.


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About the author

Maria Gracia, founder of Get Organized Now!, specializes in helping people get

better organized to live the kind of stress-free life they've always dreamed of.

During Maria’s ten years with Dun and Bradstreet’s Nielsen Media Research in New York, Maria worked as a marketing, organizing and management specialist.

Throughout her tenure, she managed the data analysis department, worked with

hundreds of television stations and advertising agencies and developed effective,

productive systems for her clients and staff.

Today, Maria, her husband, Joe, and their beautiful daughter Amanda Grace, live

in Watertown, Wisconsin. Joe and Maria own and operate their company, Effective

Business Systems. Maria founded Get Organized Now! as a division of the

company in 1996.

The Get Organized Now! Web site is currently visited by over a million people per

year. Maria has hundreds of thousands of people on her Get Organized Now!

newsletter list.

Specializing in peak time and space management, Maria has over 20 years of

organizational experience. Her broad range of skills covers clutter control,

planning, scheduling, peak productivity, records management, space planning, time

and paper management, filing systems, computer oriented-organizational systems

and more.

Maria Gracia has appeared at, wrote for, or has been interviewed by hundreds ofinternational, national and local media and organizations such as Woman’s Day

Magazine, Country Living Magazine, Access Magazine, USA Today, Staples and

hundreds of television and radio stations.

Maria is the author of the Finally Organized, Finally Free series. Her books have

been read by thousands of people all over the world. In addition, she has created a

variety of other helpful organizing products, sold worldwide, which can be found

in her Get Organized Now! Store on her Web site: www.getorganizednow.com

On the homefront, Maria is a huge proponent of family time and enjoys as much

time as possible with her husband Joe and daughter Amanda. She has served on the board of the Watertown Newcomers Club and the St. Bernard’s Home and School

Association in Wisconsin, including being President of each for several years.

Maria is an avid scrapbooker, attends monthly book chats and enjoys cooking,

traveling and entertaining.


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Your Tips, Ideas and Comments

Write to us

Do you have an organizing tip, success story or comment you’d like to share?

We’d love to hear from you. Feel free to email us at [email protected] OR write to us at:

Get Organized Now!

611 Arlington Way

Watertown WI 53094 USA

Please include your name and full mailing address on all correspondence. If

you send an organizing tip or a success story, we may publish it, along with

your name, city and state as the contributor, on our Web site, in ournewsletter, in a media press release or in one of our future products.

Spelling or link corrections

While careful care has gone into the writing and editing of this book, there’s

always the possibility that we may have missed something. In light of this, if

you happen to notice a spelling error or a Web site link that no longer works,

please feel free to write to us at the above address. We’ll then have the

opportunity to correct it in future printings. Please be sure to include the page

number where you located the error.Grammatical corrections

As far as grammatical errors, Maria Gracia has always said, “I write the way

I speak. If I followed every grammatical rule there was, my writing would beawfully stiff and stuffy. My main concern is that I get my point across.” But

feel free to write to us about any grammatical error that truly bothers you and

we’ll bring it to Maria’s attention for consideration.

Correspondence

Although we do respond personally to some of our mail, due to the thousandsof email messages we receive each week, we regret that we can’t respond

personally to every single one we receive. However, please be assured that

we do read and consider all correspondence.

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