Creating a Functional Kitchen

STEP ONE: ANALYSIS
As you ponder where to place your kitchen things, begin by analyzing your old storage systems. Were some things working well? If so, don’t change them! If you love storing your mugs by the coffee maker, stick with it. If it’s convenient to have your recipe books on the countertop, keep it up.

Now ponder anything inconvenient. How could you make those things work a little better? For example, if you hate having piles of cans and bottles littering your countertop as they await a trip outside for recycling, then make a new plan. Clear space under the sink to install a pull-out trash can to capture those recyclables immediately after use. If you hate reaching to the top shelf to get your favorite, frequently-used mixing bowls, make a plan to house them in a more convenient location like an eye-level shelf. Where you put your stuff is as important as what you own. If you can’t find it when you need it, or it’s inconvenient to reach, you’ll likely not use it!

STEP TWO: PLACEMENT
As you look over your groupings of kitchen items, start pulling aside the things you use most often. Then store them where you use them. For example, your everyday dishes might work great directly above your dishwasher or close to the table. Perhaps your pots and pans and cookie sheets could go near the stove.

Keeping similar things together will help you navigate your kitchen more easily. For example, store everything related to cooking in one area. You might group your pots and pans, bakeware, hot mitts, and cooking utensils in one area. Create a food preparation area by grouping cutting boards, knives, and mixing bowls. If you love to bake, consolidate cookie cutters, mixers, measuring cups and spoons in one area.

There are many helpful organizing products available to keep your kitchen orderly. Baskets and bins come in a variety of sizes and hold foods, like onions and potatoes, as well as cleaning supplies. A wall-mounted spice rack saves cupboard space. Inside cupboards, double-decker wire shelf stackers double storage space. Wooden cookware racks keep pot lids tidy. An attractive vase or crock near your stove top corrals utensils.

If you use something frequently, keep it close and convenient. Put infrequently used items way up high, down low, or in the back. Place anything you use daily (such as everyday dishes) at eye level, so you’re not stooping down or reaching on tip-toe. Keep heavy things down low and lighter things up high. For example, if you use your turkey platter or punch bowl only once or twice a year, place them on a bottom shelf.

STEP THREE: MAINTENANCE
Once your kitchen is organized, pat yourself on the back. Job well done! But you’re not quite finished... Establish an “in/out” system where some purging takes place before you purchase a new item. If you buy a new set of plastic storage containers, toss out an equal amount of your old Tupperware®. If you come home with a new mug, an old one must go! It may be helpful to stash a donation box somewhere nearby as an easy reminder of this rule. Also, take time once each year to review your kitchen and all its accouterments. Discard anything broken, donate
anything unused in the past 12 months, and make sure the storage systems still make sense for you and your housemates. Consider your kitchen a work in progress, and like fine wine it will only get better with time.

Strategize & Organize
http://annemcgurty.com/residential/
480-442-2014

Five Sure Fire Ways to End Your Year of Filing

As we’re approaching the end of the year, it’s time to take a day and do what is called “the file clean out day”. Once you know what you have, you can make decisions on what to purge, save, and possibly scan or archive.

Are you asking yourself, “what’s going on here?”. Consider what shape your filing system is in? Are your filing drawers stuffed so full that it’s nearly impossible to get another piece of paper into – or out of them? Are you hurting your knuckles every time you pull a file out? This time of year is a great time to review your files and purge as much as possible, creating space for next year’s papers.

If you’re using The Paper Tiger software, it’s pretty easy, as all you need to do is run a “file clean out report” and review it to assist you in the process. Don’t use Paper Tiger? Here’s what you can do to get through all your old papers and prepare yourself for the new year.

1. Determine what to keep. As you sort through papers, ask yourself, “What’s the value of keeping this piece of paper?”, “Can I find it somewhere online?” and “Are there any financial or legal concerns if I did not have the original?”. If the answers to these questions have minimal value, let the file go. Statistics indicate that 80% of the things you file will never get referred to again!

2. If you don’t have corporate records retention guidelines, create guidelines and use them as you purge your documents. Your accountant, attorney, or productivity consultant can advise you which documents you should keep for non-proprietary papers.

3. Keep only day-to-day paperwork at your fingertips. For rarely-used files that must be kept, I call these reference files. Store them in an out-of-the-way area. For rarely accessed but critical to keep files, store them ideally at an off-site storage facility or consider streamlining those types of papers to an electronic filing system. Scanning these documents upfront will minimize the need to keep moving them from one area to the next.

4. Toss the obvious. Instruction manuals for products you no longer own, research materials for no longer active ideas, drafts of letters, out-of-date magazines and articles, and receipts for items not needed for reimbursement or tax purposes.

5. File important documents in a fire safe filing cabinet. For your home office, consider a safety deposit box. The contents of your safety deposit box or home safe would include: passports; birth, death, and marriage certificates; deeds; divorce decrees; adoption and citizenship papers, insurance policy papers; lease agreements and loan documents; mortgage papers; personal property appraisals (jewelry, collectibles); Social Security cards; stock and bond certificates; vehicle titles; copies of wills; and powers of attorney papers. You get the picture. We still need the originals of a lot of these documents, so protect yourself and your assets. Remember to protect your combinations.

While you’re in the mood to be cleaning out files, don’t forget your PC. It also has files that you no longer need, slowing down your processing of work.

You can run maintenance programs which can ‘defrag’ your files– in other words clean up and arrange them in a way which makes it easier for your PC to find and the speed for running programs will be improved.

Empty your recycle bin. When you delete a file, you are only moving it to the Recycle Bin. If you do not regularly empty your Bin, the files inside may take up valuable disk space. Oftentimes, people overlook this task. You should empty your Recycle Bin regularly, at least once a week. So if you haven’t been doing it, add it to your file clean out day.

Remove Temporary Files. Temporary or junk files are left over by programs and are usually no longer needed. Internet Explorer stores many of the files used on the web pages you visit so that next time you go to a site it doesn’t have to download the same files again. However, this can build up over time and take up a lot of disk space. They waste space and that may eventually slow your PC down.

Another benefit of getting your papers organized is that you will feel more confident to go paperless. When you go paperless, you can store your files in the cloud with Google Drive.  You'll have the best of both worlds being organized with paper and digitally.  

Office Space! Are you squeezed into a corner?

Maximize whatever space you have.

Winston Churchill once said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter, they shape us.” How true, not just for buildings but for our offices as well.

Studies have found that the physical space in which we work affects satisfaction, productivity, and even learning. Yet few of us take time to strategize and organize our workplaces or our homes.  Business consulting is more than creating strategies, it starts with building a foundation with the right space.

Imagine an office where you show up every day and feel excited each day to get started because your desk is inviting you to sit down. Your chair is ergonomically correct, you have all the latest technology, and you have comfortable seats for your guests. When your office is right, you will feel comfortable and energized. When you check into your office each morning, you will have the right keys for being organized.

Here are a few keys and a few simple steps, ranging from the right workspace system to ergonomic-friendly products that can help businesses boost employee productivity and ease.

1.  Be ergonomically correct

Keep a massage ball handy to free your hands from stress. People performing repetitive activities on a keyboard or an adding machine can injure their hands. A stress ball will help you or your staff exercise your hands in new ways, rather than just typing.

Arrange your office room in such a way as to maintain appropriate air circulation. Position yourself away from air conditioning vents that push air right on top of you.

Position your computer monitor twenty-four to thirty-seven inches away from you with the screen at or below eye level to reduce strain on your neck and shoulders.

If you are on the phone a lot, use a Bluetooth device, headset or a quality speakerphone so that you can listen and write notes at the same time.

2.  Create an at-home workspace

Designate a spot in your home to do your business and money activities such as Internet research, writing thank-you notes, managing your schedule, and paying bills.

Always do work activities in that space and only that space.  Then you’ll always know where everything is.

3.  Arrange your main office

Arrange your office furniture for maximum use of the space.

Create a specific location for specific things, such as client files, supplies, books, calendar, briefcase, and appointment book.

Place your most frequently accessed files nearest your work desk.

Place peripherals and hardware where you can reach them without crossing the room.

Secure cables off the floor. Label them, so you always know what they are and to which equipment they connect.

4.  Work anywhere

Wherever you are, keep your work flowing.

5.  Create a portable office

Have an “on the go” system ready to roll whenever and wherever you go. Even at a moment’s notice, you can always have your schedule, work plan, and appointments list handy—in the car or however you travel.

6.  Get set up for mobility

Keep your critical information at hand by using a SmartPhone. These devices have the functionality of a computer but are compact enough to throw in a briefcase, handbag, or pocket (e.g., iPhone, Droid). This mobility can also be done with a laptop, which can be set up so you can work offline on your email, and once you hook up to the Internet it will synch, send, and reconcile your email.

Through Microsoft Outlook, you can synchronize your task list, calendar, and address book to your home computer using Microsoft Exchange or Google Apps for Business.   However, assess your true needs before you purchase. Keep it simple.

7.  Use the same organizing methods

Wherever you work—at the office or at home—consistency simplifies your thought process.  Use the same system.

Unclutter your brain. Let organizing do the work for you…so you do not have to try to remember what you were doing or where you put something.

7 Tips for Clearing the Clutter from Your Closet

Clear your Closet: Change your Life

Discover 7 tips for clearing the clutter from your closet so you can make space for more of what you want in your life. In Feng Shui your closet represents secrets. Once you unlock the energy in your closet you could possibly find something beautiful coming your way.

Imagine you've written your life long autobiography and it didn’t flow well?  How do you fix it?

At my www.howtospeakinaweek.com seminar recently one of my clients was surprised to hear my recommendation:

"First you declutter your stories. You eliminate any phrases which doesn't sound right..... words, anecdotes, whole ideas. And even if you are left with only one short story, you've created space for something totally new to surface."

Does this sound familiar?

While working with a busy executive client the other day, we decluttered her closet - we took out two thirds of her clothes and gave them to charity. Within 2 days she found herself writing, day and night. She couldn't stop.

Four years earlier, she had started writing her autobiography and she'd got stuck. It had been on her mind ever since.

Now it was flowing out of her. She told me her family had a lot of secrets and she'd got stuck trying to write about them.

What she didn't know until then, was that closets represent secrets. Things hidden away. Once she freed up the energy in her closet, her writing energy freed up and she found herself writing about the secrets that had stopped her in her tracks years before.

So, how is your closet, and what do you think decluttering might free up in your life?

If your closet has clothes you don't wear, it's messy and disorganized and/or you have clothes that don't make you feel great when you wear them, this will create an energy block which will keep your life from flowing as easily as it might. As you're decluttering ask yourself these questions about each piece of clothing:

1. When was the last time I wore this? Sometimes you need to give things a rest for a while - but if your reason for not wearing it is that something else always feels better then perhaps it's time to let it go.

2. Does it fit? Keeping clothes you no longer fit into can really bring your energy down. Let go of them and focus on living in the present. It doesn't mean your weight might not change in the future.

Having clothes that don't fit is a constant reminder of the past. Consider promising yourself some new clothes if you clear out those clothes that represent who you used to be?

3. Do I look good in it? There's no point keeping things that don't make you look your best - even if you paid lots for them. You're not going to wear them. Take them to a consignment shop and get some money for them. Take a look at what inspired you to purchase them in the first place - how can you make a wiser decision next time? Now, go out and buy yourself something that makes you feel on top of the world.

4. Do I feel good in it? Given that your clothes are a reflection of who you are, why keep anything that doesn't make you feel good?

5. Does it fit my current or desired lifestyle? Do you have clothes from a past lifestyle still in your closet? Any corporate suits that are no longer appropriate? Anything you bought because it looked wonderful but it doesn't fit who you are? In Feng Shui it's important to surround yourself with things that represent who you truly are now.

6. Is it in good condition? You'll not wear old clothes, except to paint in and you only need one set of those. Throw anything out that's past its best.

7. Is it ready to wear or does it need repair or cleaning? Set it aside to do now so you can wear these things.

The clothes that will be most difficult to let go of will likely be those you paid a lot of money for. Giving clothes to charity can help move past those guilty feelings. It will make you feel good if you focus on the value you're creating in someone else's life.

Action Step: This week set aside some time to declutter your closet.

Just as in reworking a poem, the easiest way I know to declutter a closet is to take everything out, clean the closet, and only put back what you'd like to keep.

And once you've done that, do the same in a month's time - you'll find you can let go of even more.

When you unlock the energy in your closet, you might just find something wonderful coming your way. Perhaps you'll start writing again and get that book published.

May is National Move Month

Is moving day fast approaching? Based on the Employee Relocation Council, moving to a new residence is the third most stressful life event (after dying and divorce or separation). To ease the disruption, try these tips to help make your move easier.

1. Think about “staging” your home. This approach to neutralizing, decluttering, organizing, and beautifying helps prospective buyers to imagine themselves residing inside your home by touching on their emotions and thoughts. Staging also begins the “letting go” process for the sellers, as they adjust their much loved home to a more neutral-looking house. Staging will help you sell your home fairly quickly, at the best possible selling price.
2. Schedule your move date at a minimum of four to six weeks in advance. Typically the most popular months for moves include May through September and the very beginning and end of each month. So if you’re contracting a moving company, get in touch with them soon.   Connect with family and friends for reliable moving company recommendations. 
3. Begin packing up seldom-used belongings now. Check with your grocery market to get cardboard boxes for you. Pack heavier items in smaller sized boxes and less heavy items in bigger boxes. 
4.  Organize your boxes. Number each box and label which room it belongs in. Keep a separate list indicating the box number and its contents. You can create this list in MS Word, Excel, or The Paper Tiger. When you get to your new place, unpack everything as soon as possible. (Paper Tiger users, create a new database!) 
5. Complete change-of-address forms at the post office or online. And be sure to update vital records and documents including your address and phone number (e.g. driver’s license, checks). If you still have physical phone books with notes all over them, bring your existing phone books to your new home in case you will need get in touch with folks in your old town. 
6. Transport valuable items personally. Irreplaceable family pictures, heirlooms, and financial and legal documents should be packed and moved by you preferably instead of the moving company. 
7. Mail out postcards to family and friends with your updated address and phone number, along with a photo of your new home! My recommendation is to automate it using Send Out Cards.

If you are in the metro Phoenix area and need some help organizing your move, call me now at 480-442-2014.

Top Ten Tips for Organizing Your Paper Files

Did you know that the average executive spends six weeks per year retrieving or replacing lost documents?  Naturally, it makes sense to create a system that is quick and easy so you can save that lost time.  Here are some ideas to get it done now once you have The Paper Tiger.  If you don’t have The Paper Tiger now, download this link to get started.  Here are the top ten tips I recommend:

1    Look at the “hot spot of files”.  You know the pile that seems the most urgent and makes your stomach churn every time you look at it.  Take the paperwork and make a decision on each piece and separate into four piles:

a          Reference, those items you need, just not right now

b         Action, current projects, ongoing projects

c         Toss, you know where those are going

d         Timed, you need these on a specific date.

2    When deciding on whether to file something or throw it away, ask yourself if how difficult would it be to find this information again?  Does it have any legal or financial ramifications if you were to throw it away?  If you can live with the answer of throwing it away after those thoughts, let it go.

3    Set up the Paper Tiger Filing System Software and Document Management, an indexing system that works like a search engine for paper files to help you get organized and stay organized.  It’s essentially creating an inventory for all of your files.

4    Use names that you will be able to recall easily.  The obvious file names that you’ve used in the past.  Then the interesting thing is with The Paper Tiger is that will also be able to add keywords into the database so that any name you think of when you need to find a file, the software will be able to tell you where it is in seconds. So in the case of “Auto” the Item Name would be “Ford Explorer”, and in the keywords section, you would input the name of the company, i.e., “Vehicle, Car”, possible the name of the dealer, the service person’s name, etc., and you might use “Personal” in the Category section.

5    Oftentimes, people receive notices of an event and they never know what to do with the postcard. Set up a monthly filing system (a Tickler File) to keep track of when to throw them away.  Create 12 hanging file folders, one for each month.  As you rsvp or pull the information for “dress code” or directions. When the day rolls around, you can retrieve it for a reminder. This will ensure that you never miss an event or an expiration date on an rsvp or offer.

6    When sorting through paperwork make a decision. If you’re not in a decision-making mood, have a place set up for “unprocessed paperwork”.  Then when you’re ready, if you need to take action, do it now or place it in the appropriate action file.  If someone else needs to attend to it, give it to them.  If it is something to reference later on, add it to a reference file and place it there. Putting it back in the pile to address later is no longer an option for you as an organized person.

7    When you have a lot of tasks to do for the day, quickly sort the tasks in order of importance.  Do what is most profitable or important to you first, then move on from there.  Therefore, if you only have a little bit of time you will be addressing the most critical issues first.  All other tasks need to be scheduled for the when it makes sense.  This final step is critical otherwise you’ll be starting a new pile.

8    Print out reports of what you have inventoried in your filing system, place a folder in the front of each door labeled “File Index”.  Having a quick and easy reference when you don’t want to open your computer makes it easier to find quickly.

9     Get into a maintenance habit of printing out a report of all of your files, quarterly or no less often than annually, and identify what you no longer need and purge or create steps to archive via off site store or scanning. 

10 .Finally, create a time management habit.  Take 10-15 minutes every morning looking at your priorities, including your Actions within your Paper Tiger system and pulling files from your Tickler File.  Do the same thing each evening by placing all documents collected through the day back into your systems. 

Congratulations on your progress, if you haven’t done it yet.  Set up your Paper Tiger system now and get started.  As you go throughout your day, keep in mind the task at hand and focus on completing that one task.  Remember that “things don’t clutter, people clutter”.  When we make simple decisions and take action, we can improve the quality of our life at work and at home.

Anne McGurty

www.StrategizeAndOrganize.com

480-442-2014 – Arizona

Anne McGurty is CEO of Strategize & Organize, a company devoted to training individual’s to be more effective with the tools and resources to be productive in their work environment.

If you liked these tips, Anne is a dynamic strategist.   She can help you organize your business — and yourself — ranging from consulting to keynote speaking and corporate training programs to improve efficiencies in the workplace and improve productivity.

While Anne is best known for her expertise in productivity and expert office organizing, her clients share that her biggest impact comes from her philosophy of “personalizing her programs to fit the needs of her clients so they can streamline more efficiently with existing processes” – ensuring to create a sustainable work environment. This, Anne says, is the most important key to bringing an individual to personal freedom with time and organization.

Keeping It Organized

Twenty percent of a person's effort generates 80 percent of the person's results. The corollary (result) to this is that 20 percent of one's results absorb 80 percent of one's resources or efforts. ~Pareto Principle

To maximize personal productivity, realize that 80 percent of one's time is spent on many trivial activities. When it registers with you that you need to get back on track, assess what’s going on there. When you see which activities produce the most value to your company, you can find the right keys to open the right doors of opportunity to then change your focus so that you concentrate on the vital 20 percent. What do you do with those tasks that are left over? Get organized; delegate them or discontinue doing them.

Here are three quick tips to stay organized and to manage your changes each day.

Follow Up - File for follow up anything that is still pending– you need to keep this piece of paper because you, and only you, must take further action on the item.

Tidy up - When you’re done with it, put it away. Tidying up files and supplies as you go keeps items always ready to use.

Have a “clean out files” day - Do it! Once every six or twelve months, plan an event to clean out files. This event may be the day to hire a professional organizer or productivity consultant to come in and help accomplish the project faster and more efficiently.

How to Keep Your House Safe During the Holidays

Through the celebration and enjoyment of the holiday season, make sure you are safe and smart.

In this article are 7 simple tips to keep you safe!

Take these simple safety measures to help keep your home safe while you're gone.

•   Do not put out the "we're not home" indicators -- use timers on lights and music or television so your house appears and sounds lived in.

•   Inform trusted friends and neighbors letting them know how long you'll be away and the way to get in touch with you in an emergency. Ask them to keep a watchful eye on your house. Ask them to pick up your mail and newspapers, or better yet, hold shipping and delivery until you get back. Perhaps they could park their cars in your driveway from time to time. In snowy locations, ask them to shovel your walkway and driveway.

•   Take off personal information and home phone number from your suitcase tags and add your cell-phone number instead, in case a ruthless baggage collector gets any suspect ideas.

•   Secure and hide your valuable items. Remember to keep blinds mostly closed to keep high dollar items (such as your big-screen TV) out of sight. (But be sure not to entirely close all window covers, or it will be evident that no one is home.)

•   Adjust the thermostat to an energy-saving level. Unplug most electrical devices to avoid wasting electricity. Turn off your wireless router too, so no one can snoop into your network.

•   Clean out all perishable foods from the fridge, and take out the rubbish so you don't come back to unpleasant odors.

It may seem obvious, but don't forget to lock all doors and windows. If you leave a vehicle in the drive, make sure you take out any garage door openers.

Wishing you a happy holiday season, making certain you will be safe as well as sensible.

Source:

http://www.facebook.com/strategizeandorganize
http://www.strategizeandorganize.com
http://www.linkedin.com/annemcgurty
amcgurty@strategizeandorganizecom  480-442-2014

Work in the Cloud Using Google Drive

Post by Strategize and Organize.

How to File and be Guaranteed to Find It!

Did you know that the average executive spends six weeks per year retrieving or replacing lost documents?  Naturally, it makes sense to create a system that is quick and easy so you can save that lost time.  Here are some ideas to get it done now once you have The Paper Tiger.  If you don’t have The Paper Tiger now, download this link to get started.  Here are the top ten tips I recommend:

           1    Look at the “hot spot of files”.  You know the pile that seems the most urgent and makes your stomach churn every time you look at it.  Take the paperwork and make a decision on each piece and separate into four piles:

            a         Reference, those items you need, just not right now

            b         Action, current projects, ongoing projects

            c         Toss, you know where those are going

            d         Timed, you need these on a specific date.

            2    When deciding on whether to file something or throw it away, ask yourself if how difficult would it be to find this information again?  Does it have any legal or financial ramifications if you were to throw it away?  If you can live with the answer of throwing it away after those thoughts, let it go.

3    Set up the Paper Tiger Filing System Software and Document Management, an indexing system that works like a search engine for paper files to help you get organized and stay organized.  It’s essentially creating an inventory for all of your files.

4    Use names that you will be able to recall easily.  The obvious file names that you’ve used in the past.  Then the interesting thing is with The Paper Tiger is that will also be able to add keywords into the database so that any name you think of when you need to find a file, the software will be able to tell you where it is in seconds. So in the case of “Auto” the Item Name would be “Ford Explorer”, and in the keywords section, you would input the name of the company, i.e., “Vehicle, Car”, possible the name of the dealer, the service person’s name, etc., and you might use “Personal” in the Category section.

5    Oftentimes, people receive notices of an event and they never know what to do with the postcard. Set up a monthly filing system (a Tickler File) to keep track of when to throw them away.  Create 12 hanging file folders, one for each month.  As you rsvp or pull the information for “dress code” or directions. When the day rolls around, you can retrieve it for a reminder. This will ensure that you never miss an event or an expiration date on an rsvp or offer.

6    When sorting through paperwork make a decision. If you’re not in a decision-making mood, have a place set up for “unprocessed paperwork”.  Then when you’re ready, if you need to take action, do it now or place it in the appropriate action file.  If someone else needs to attend to it, give it to them.  If it is something to reference later on, add it to a reference file and place it there. Putting it back in the pile to address later is no longer an option for you as an organized person.

7    When you have a lot of tasks to do for the day, quickly sort the tasks in order of importance.  Do what is most profitable or important to you first, then move on from there.  Therefore, if you only have a little bit of time you will be addressing the most critical issues first.  All other tasks need to be scheduled for the when it makes sense.  This final step is critical otherwise you’ll be starting a new pile.

8    Print out reports of what you have inventoried in your filing system, place a folder in the front of each door labeled “File Index”.  Having a quick and easy reference when you don’t want to open your computer makes it easier to find quickly.

9     Get into a maintenance habit of printing out a report of all of your files, quarterly or no less often than annually, and identify what you no longer need and purge or create steps to archive via off site store or scanning. 

10 .Finally, create a time management habit.  Take 10-15 minutes every morning looking at your priorities, including your Actions within your Paper Tiger system and pulling files from your Tickler File.  Do the same thing each evening by placing all documents collected through the day back into your systems. 

Congratulations on your progress, if you haven’t done it yet.  Set up your Paper Tiger system now and get started.  As you go throughout your day, keep in mind the task at hand and focus on completing that one task.  Remember that “things don’t clutter, people clutter”.  When we make simple decisions and take action, we can improve the quality of our life at work and at home.