Filed under: Home Management
Organized A to Z would like to introduce 3 new organizers that will make life a little easier for you! Whether you’re planning a night of take-out from your favorite restaurant, determined to send birthday and anniversary cards on time, or tracking maintenance records for your home, 
we’ve got you covered!
Our Take-Out Menu Organizer recognizes that everyone needs a night away from the kitchen. A stressful day at work and busy family schedules sometimes require a quick and easy call to your favorite pizza place or Chinese restaurant for a convenient and tasty meal delivered right to your door. With this organizer, there’s no more searching for menus or phone numbers. Keep it all within reach, and then enjoy the extra time with your family.
The hardcover 3-ring binder includes a tipping guide, helpful ordering advice, frequently called numbers list, pen and pad and 9 tabbed dividers with storage pockets.
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ext, we have our Greeting Card Organizer, a hardcover binder featuring a semi-eternal calendar, birthday tracker, holiday address book, and so much more. The special tabs help you keep your cards ordered by theme/occasion, and offer helpful tips to help you choose the perfect card or gift. There’ll be no more belated wishes from you!
Finally, we present our Home Maintenance Organizer, a handy tool for tracking all of the projects for your home. 
From recording maintenance dates on your heating and air system to tracking the model number and service contacts for your appliances, this organizer helps you keep it all straight. With easy guidelines for what to do when, along with one-stop storage for project tracking and important documents, this no-nonsense system appeals everyone. Includes a common conversions chart, frequently called numbers list, handy ruler, and so much more.
January 12, 2010
So here we are again, another year over and a new one just begun. What were your resolutions this year? If you are like many it included: Stop smoking, Get Fit, Lose Weight, Get Out of Debt, Get Organized, and Spend more time with the Family. All great goals to strive for with three things in common – spend less money, feel less stress and have more time!
Let’s start with getting organized…January is the National Association of Professional Organizer’s (NAPO) Get Organized MonthSM. During the first month of the year the professional organizing community dedicates time and resources to raising awareness of the benefits of getting organized and of hiring a professional organizer. Many of the over 4000 Professional Organizers around the globe are partner with organized A to Z.com. Check out our list and if you are at a place where you need help getting started, give one of them a call (consider one of Organized A to Z.com’s professional organizing partners).
If you want to try it on your own then here are a few helpful hints to get you going:
- Identify why you want to get organized – to make room for a new family addition, to fell comfortable having people over, to be able to find things without stress, to save money by only buying things you need and will use, etc. It is great to say “I want to get organized”, but without a real reason there is little motivation to do other than dream about it. He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. ~Friedrich Nietzsche
- Write it down – a dream does not become a goal until you write it down! Keep it posted in a place where you can read it everyday. It takes 21 days to create or change a habit. You need to be repeating your goal for those 21 days so that it “sinks in”. Some people dream of success… while others wake up and work hard at it. ~Author Unknown
- Make a plan – decide what you want to do, how you want to tackle it, when you are going to work on it and who is going to help. Read books, Blogs, articles on how to go about creating an organizing plan. We even have some that we have included in previous e-newsletters. Carve out time in your schedule and make a date on your calendar. It took time to get disorganized so you will have to make time to get organized again! And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Whether it is a friend, family members, or Professional Organizer, don’t be afraid to say you need some guidance. We are all gifted in different ways. Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Reward yourself – as you move through the process of getting organized, be it a large project to knock out a closet in a day or small habit changes that lead to the beginning steps of organization, remember to reward yourself. It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves. ~Edmund Hillary
Organizing is not rocket science, but it can be hard work. So roll up your sleeves and just make a start…let us know how your are doing by connecting with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/organizedatoz) or Twitter (http://twitter.com/organizedatoz). We would over to hear about your progress or answer any questions you might have.
Don’t forget to check out this month’s featured products at Organized A to Z.com! They were chosen to help jump-start your organizing products.
Here’s to your organized 2010!
January 5, 2010
Welcome to 2010! We hope you’re new year is off to a great start. Throughout this year, we’ll be sharing plenty of organizing tips and advice. Each month, we’ll focus on one room of your home. We know that organizing any room can seem like a big task when approached all at once, so we’ll offer you 4 step-by-step tasks that will get you started. Complete them all in one afternoon, or do one each week. Either way, you’ll end the each month with a neatly organized room and systems that are easy to implement.
So for January, let’s start with your home office and a find a way to clear the paper clutter:
Collect all of your passwords and write them down in one, secure spot, then shred the sticky notes and scraps of paper you were using. Our Password.log notebook will help you keep track of them. Once you have them together, store your password notebook in a locked drawer or file cabinet (of even a fire safe) for safe keeping.- Go through your stack of unread magazines. If there’s an article you want to read, clip them and place them in a 3-ring binder (sheet protectors work well for this). Recycle the rest!
- Using wall mount file holders, devise a vertical file system. Label each holder for the intended purpose – mail, bills to pay, school assignments, special events, etc. A vertical system helps you save desk space and makes your papers easy to see and access.
- Create a file system with horizontal folders. Label with categories or vendors (especially for small businesses) and place in an easy to access file drawer or crate – whatever works for you! If you don’t want to create your own, you might try our MyVitalFiles or our File Solutions Home Filing System.
And that’s it! If you can follow through on each of these tasks, you’ll be able to eliminate those paper piles and save yourself time when you need to refer to important paperwork. Next month, we’ll focus on your kitchen!
January 4, 2010
Organized A to Z is proud to announce that our products are featured in a 4-page article in Better Homes and Gardens’ Special Early Spring 2010 Storage Edition that goes on sale today, December 29!
In the article, “Month-by-month Storage Plan”, Organized A to Z owner Kathy Jenkins gives readers an organizing plan focusing on just one room of your home for each month of the year. Along with helpful organizing tips, an Organized A to Z product is featured for each month to help you accomplish your organizing goals.
For each month, we suggest ways to clear the clutter and create organizing systems that work for your needs in that particular room. Each of these mini projects, 4 for each month, takes about 1 hour to complete. You can do them all in one afternoon, or do one each week of the month – whatever works in your schedule!
For example, in January, we suggest focusing on your home office. Our Password.log is a great way to keep all of your passwords in one, secure place while eliminating those scraps of paper or keeping them stored on your computer, where they could be vulnerable to hackers. Additional tips help you creating filing systems and eliminate that pile of backlogged magazines that you’ve been meaning to read.
For June, tackle you kid’s rooms, We suggest reviewing all of their school papers and artwork that they have collected throughout the school year. Store them all in portable storage box, and then go through the box each June to choose the best of the best to keep for scrap books and memory boxes.
These are just 2 examples of the great tips you’ll find in this special magazine article. Follow our guide, and by the end of the month, you’ll have a place for everything and everything in it’s place, giving you a clean, organized look that you can maintain throughout the entire year!
The magazine is available anywhere Better Homes and Gardens is sold. Be sure to get your copy today for a more organized home in 2010!
December 29, 2009
Organized A to Z.com has added Made Smart Desk Drawer Organizers to its product line to help you organize and simply your lives!
These distinctive organizers are ergonomically-shaped with a low profile so they fit in almost any drawer. They blend nicely in any style of office with a chic, sophisticated look featuring rounded corners, soft, textured edges, and a sleek black color. We are carrying various sizes, including a 4-compartment tray, a 5-compartment tray, and an 8-compartment tray, making it easy to find the perfect fit for any drawer. Each compartment features an icon to designate a place for each item and help you remember where to replace items when you’re finished with them.
The desk drawer organizers are manufactured using an innovative, over-molding technology to give each compartment a silicone-like feel that also helps keep items stationary. The no-slip rubber feet also prevent the trays from sliding around in your drawers.
These organizers provide a home for all of you smaller office items – paper clips, rubber bands, push pins, extra staples, pens and pencils, and much more. Rather than searching through a cluttered desk drawer for something that you need, you can achieve a truly organized workspace that is not only functional but also easy to maintain.
December 22, 2009
Contributed by Organized A to Z Partner Heidi DeCoux
This is the 6th year that National Preparedness Month (NPM) is a nationwide effort sponsored by the Ready Campaign, with the support of Coalition Members across the US.
Are you prepared? Here are two simple steps a couple of helpful tips that will make you more prepared in the case of two different types of emergencies. These 2 simple steps don’t take long to do and can save you a ton of time, money and frustration! These steps are especially important to take if you travel.
Emergency #1 – Stolen Wallet
Take a few minutes and make a photocopy of everything in your wallet including the front and back of your credit cards and membership cards. Place the copied pages in a manila envelope and mark the envelope “Contents of Wallet” and date it. Place the envelope in your safe deposit box. Mark your calendar for 3 to 6 months’ from now to update your “Contents of Wallet” envelope. Now, if your wallet is lost or stolen you will now know exactly what you lost and whom you need to contact.
Emergency #2 – Flood, Fire or Break In
The best way to prepare for one of these emergencies is to have a safe that is both water and fireproof. You could opt to keep your items in a safe deposit box at the bank, it’s just a bit less accessible than one that is in your home. Last year there were some flood victims in SE MN who had to work hard to prove they own the property that was destroyed. They lost their mortgage, titles and deeds in the flood. Having your important difficult to replace documents in a safe along with an up to date household inventory (and appraisals or receipts of valuables) can save you quite a bit of time, money and headache if you have a flood, fire or break in.
Take a Household Inventory
Spend a few hours walking around your house with a digital camera and take a photo of all of your belongings. Burn the photos onto a CD or DVD. Make at least three copies. One copy goes in your safe deposit box, one should go to your insurance agent and one to the executor of your Will. If you have appraisals or receipts for any of your valuables, put those in your safe along with your CD or DVD of photos.
Protect Your Family Photos
In the case of a fire or flood you should be focused on getting your family out of the house not your photo albums, however, loosing years and years of precious photos could be devastating. A simple solution is to have your photo’s scanned and put on DVD’s. Keep one set of DVD’s in your safe, give a set to the executor of your Will and you could give some copies to family members, such as your parents, grown children and siblings.
Another Hot Tip:
Put your cell phone on ICE! Add a contact to your cell phone and name it: In Case of Emergency. Then list whom you would want to be contacted in the case you ended up in the hospital. Hospitals are now checking cell phones for emergency contacts.
By implementing these simple home organization and emergency planning tips you could end up saving yourself a lot of time, energy, money and frustration. For more helpful tips visit the Ready Campaigns government website at www.ready.gov/america/index.html.
Heidi DeCoux is the publisher of the Life Made Simple E-zine and is a speaker, author, and professional organizer in Minneapolis specializing in home organization. Heidi energizes her readers’ lives by simplifying their homes and schedules. For more info, free tips, and to receive her FREE report, The Fast & Easy Way to Get Organized and Stay Organized Forever, visit http://www.HeidiDeCoux.com and discover how to find what you want fast, end the frustration of endless searching for things, so you can spend more time having fun!
September 28, 2009
Contributed by Rita McGhee, Sort My Space, www.sortmyspace.com
Over the past several months I’ve had questions posed to me about the most recent viral explosion on the human population, H1N1, and how is the best way to clean and sanitize a home. As a mom of elementary-age children, viruses and bacteria enter my house DAILY! If my children bring something into the house, we all risk getting sick. With flu season approaching, including the H1N1 virus, getting sick comes with a host of complications ranging from sore throats to death.
According to the CDC web site, www.cdc.org, Congressional update on May 4, 2009, the H1N1 virus lives on a dry surface for minimum of “2-8 hours.” My first line of defense is hand washing when entering the house. As far as the children go, their school clothes are put in the laundry daily. If clothes can’t be washed, steam them or put them through the dryer on at least the medium setting – cook the little bugs! Wipe down back-pack handles & folders with a disinfectant cloth every day.
Each time I clean a room, special consideration goes to areas of high use. This is especially true at the first signs that a “bug” has entered the house – sneezing, coughing, fever or intestinal issues. I use a disinfectant cleaner on a cloth or paper towel and clean these areas first:
* Bathroom – Handles, switches, sink, cabinet edges, toilet.
* Kitchen – Sink, countertops, appliance handles and controls, switches & knobs.
* Common Areas – Switches, knobs, controllers, phones & keyboards.
I’ve done this routine so often that I can sanitize each room within just a few minutes. It has stopped many a bug in its tracks!
Rita McGhee is a professional organizer in Charleston, West Virginia and author of “Organize Your Home the Green Way.”
September 25, 2009
Jakoter Health Tag
When it comes to organizing your ever-lasting accumulation of medical documents do you wonder what should I keep, what can I throw or do I need to shred it? Medical information organizing is essential for being prepared for emergencies, as well as for doctor appointments and keeping track of medications and such.
Jakoter Health Organizers, www.jakoterhealthorganizers.com is the solution to getting all your medical information in one central location. These organizers will keep medical information organized, so when needed the information will be ready and available for all doctor appointments, surgeries, tests and those unexpected emergencies. And when you think about it…having your medical information organized and available for the emergency personnel could save yours or your loved ones life!
Jakoter Health Organizer
As well, they help caregivers and parents alike; keep track of medications, how the medications worked and/or if there was a reaction, appointments of all doctors (when, where, who, why, findings and follow up), bills & receipts, blood work, calendar charts, directions, doctor letters, immunizations, major events, and test results. They also include sections for notes, questions/answers, resources, baby milestones and two blank sections to use for whatever you need.
Jakoter Health Organizers offer Medical Information Organizing in many venues to fit your needs. We offer:
*Personal organizing to help you with your own personal medical information with the help of a Jakoter Health Consultant (JHC).
*Classes offered in small groups with hands-on organizing during a follow-up workshop.
*Webinars for those who prefer to learn virtually on how to organize their information. Also, available are webinars for those who would like to learn how to become a Jakoter Health Consultant or would like to teach others how to become a Jakoter Health Consultant.
Jakoter Medic Tag
*Speaking presentations are given to large groups on several different subjects, such as “The Ease and Power of the Health Tag”. Please contact us for more subjects offered.
*Companies who sell products for retail or online, we have great products for you to add to your line of retail and an opportunity for you to make a great profit.
Employers add a great benefit to your health insurance package by adding health organizing products for your employees. Give them the option to purchase at a discounted price or add the products in as a free benefit. Please contact us for details.
If you interested these products or as a small business owner are looking for something new to offer your clients and you would like more information about Jakoter Health Organizers, please contact me at Delight@jakoter.com or 952-297-2827. I am confident you will be as thrilled about these products as I was the first time I heard about them.
September 23, 2009
Would you like to know the secrets Professional Organizers use to keep everything in order? Stressed out and don’t know where to begin organizing your home, office or schedule? Then this class is for you! Begin he session by learning the basics of organizing and then get an opportunity to ask your specific questions related to your organizational challenges. Ages 18 and up.
Pre-registration and pre-payment are required for all classes and programs. To download a registration form, click here.
Course: 3012
Date: Thursday, October 1
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Fee: $19
Registration Ends September 24
Location: Mechanicsville Library
7179 Stonewall Parkway
Mechanicsville, VA 23111
Contact: Kathy Jenkins, Come To Order
Contact Email: kathy@cometoorderva.com
Contact Phone: 804-550-9428
September 21, 2009
Crucial project…
Focus on the estate…estate planning
Regardless of the unexpected, unpleasant episode that sets ones life in a tail spin, the effect upon the family is always the same. It is devastation and chaos. Therefore it is necessary to always be PREPARED for the unexpected. ESTATE PLANNING is not for just the wealthy, nor is it to be addressed after death.
Rather it is a life changing subject to be discussed with all family members while you are alive and well.
After having lost my father 4 years ago, my family and I have been involved in a web of endless, inconclusive legal matters concerning our father’s estate. After nine months of attempting to uncover the truths about the will, and speaking with five different lawyers we have unanimously agreed to retain a lawyer to represent my mom.
Essentially this event has paralleled a divorce, without the most important member present to represent himself.
What we have come to understand is that estate law is, as most law in our country, not only a foreign language to most but also not emphasized enough to families as a part of planning matters.
There are many featured articles in newspapers and magazines concerning the lawsuits that prevail from misunderstood wills and endless, costly disputes over generations of wealth. With a multitude of complex tax ramifications and forthcoming revisions it is crucial to protect whatever assets the family has worked hard to achieve. It is a pity to have monies be swept into the government channels.
Therefore, do not believe that estate planning is only for those with wealth. Act now , preparation for your protection is about the here and now, NOT the thereafter.
Contributed by Lisa Jacobs:
Lisa Jacobs is passionate about home organizing, fashion, and interior design make overs. IMAGINE IT DONE is the result of that passion. Lisa brings her deep aesthetic sensibilities and good taste to every consulting challenge. Her vast creative and management experience in the US and Europe allows IMAGINE IT DONE to deliver a full spectrum of services. She began her career in New York City working for the chief creative director, Nick Lamicella, of the ad agency Norman Craig&Kummel Inc. Her strengths and reputation eventually brought her to Paris, where she served as assistant to the creative director of Havas World Communications, again overseeing print production and managing talent for Garnier, Chanel and Bourjois. A master of organization and time management, Lisa has redecorated homes from Manhattan to the Hamptons. Lisa is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers. Visit her site at www.imagineitdone.net.
September 21, 2009
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