Innovative Idea: Organizing Your Ribbons

this entry has 0 Comments/ in Bags and Bins, Gifts and Holidays, Innovative Idea, Residential Organizing / by Innovatively Organized

February 28, 2012

We love this idea for organizing your ribbon! Crafts and wrapping supplies are often difficult to keep orderly because they come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Ribbon can easily become a cluttered and tangled box of satins and colors. Martha Steward Living gives detailed directions for making this simple box (can even be a shoe box) into a ribbon organizer. Everything will stay separated and organized, plus you’ll save time while wrapping gifts!

What are your thoughts? How do you keep your ribbons untangled?

Stuff Equals Time

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February 27, 2012

Aby Garvey’s article “Stuff Equals Time” explains an interesting concept often overlooked. She says:

“Every item you bring into your home, whether it is food, clothing, jewelry, books, magazines or anything else, requires your time. Stuff takes time to put away. Stuff takes time to use and put away again when you’re finished using it. And ultimately, when you don’t want your stuff any more, it takes time to get rid of it-whether you donate it, sell it or simply pitch it in the recycle bin.

It’s easy to make the connection between stuff and money. Stuff costs money. But, as you go about deciding which items to bring into your home, remember this: stuff equals time.

Which items are worth your time?”

Read the full article to learn more about her revelation. Time management is not only about creating schedules and staying on task, it’s about making sure other things don’t eat up all of your time unexpectedly. In the long run, the more stuff you have, the less time you have.

Tips to Use TaskRabbit to Get Things Done

this entry has 0 Comments/ in App of the Week, Product Spotlight, Resources, Time Management and Productivity, Tools and Apps / by Innovatively Organized

February 27, 2012

Description:
We all have them – projects and errands we need to do, but just can’t find the time or energy to complete. Well what if you were able to easily find someone else to complete the task at a reasonable price? Recently we came across a company called TaskRabbit, and when we heard about what they do, we got excited! With TaskRabbit you have ‘Rabbits’ that complete your tasks for you, allowing you to finally turn those to-do’s into dones! It takes just three easy steps:

1) Post a task (deliveries, office work, shopping, chores, handyman work, etc.)
2) ‘Rabbits’ make offers and the lowest bidder will be assigned the task
3) You pay when the task is done

Why it’s unique:
Each of the ‘Rabbits’ go “through a multiple step application process which includes an essay, video interviews and a background check before being selected to run Tasks.” Here are a few things that set it apart:

Saves You Time - At Innovatively Organized, we love to help people save time, and delegating tasks is one of the easiest ways to do that.
Easy to Use – The website is very user friendly, allowing you to post your task quickly. They also have an app.
Fast Turnaround – Need to get a project done same-day? We enjoy that TaskRabbit allows you to set a deadline for your project, which keeps you organized of course!
Competitive Prices – We like that you don’t have to worry about over-spending since bidding is involved, you are more likely to receive a competitive price.

Stay tuned for a detailed look at our experience testing TaskRabbit.

Innovative Idea: Keep Your Linens Together

this entry has 0 Comments/ in Clothes and Closet Organizing, Innovative Idea, Residential Organizing, Time Management and Productivity / by Innovatively Organized

February 24, 2012

In the shuffle of doing laundry−cleaning, folding, and storing−some sets and pairs get separated. For instance, linens never seem to stick together. So when it’s time to change your sheets, you end up searching through your closet and laundry room for 15 or 20 minutes looking for that last matching pillowcase or fitted sheet. This idea is not only innovative, but guaranteed to keep your linens organized. Match and fold entire linen sets, then store them inside one of the set’s pillowcases. This way, everything stays together and you can easily identify sheet sets. A little time saved does a lot of de-stressing!

What are your thoughts? Do you have a different system for organizing your linens?

Article: 5 Best Time-Tracking Applications

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February 23, 2012

One of the most important elements to good time management is knowing how you spend your time. Most people don’t track how long it takes them to complete a task (and then compare that number to how long you thought it would take). But it’s valuable to know if you’re overestimating or underestimating how long projects and activities will take you to accomplish. If you’re constantly underestimating, your schedule will never work! This article, “5 Best Time-Tracking Applications,” lists good tools to help you track the minutes. Try them out to see where your time goes.

What do you think? Do you use any of these tools already?

Checklist: Record Your Online Account Information to Save Time

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February 22, 2012

Now that we all have about 50 different online accounts, with a variety of email accounts and password variations, it’s getting harder to remember every log in. Spending time entering password guesses to access your account is frustrating. Waiting for an email to reset your password is ever more frustrating. Help yourself out and record your online account information on this organized form! It will keep everything together and easily accessible. You can even store your favorite websites and add notes to reference.

Get organized now with our Online Accounts and Favorite Websites form!

App of the Week: Sleepyti.me to Make Sure You Get A Good Night’s Sleep

this entry has 2 Comments/ in App of the Week, Time Management and Productivity, Tools and Apps / by Innovatively Organized

February 21, 2012

Description:
Being well-rested and energized is a key component to good time management during the day. In order to remain productive and efficient while working, you can’t be drowsy or nodding off at your desk! Sleepyti.me is a webapp that considers sleep cycles to calculate when you should fall asleep or set your alarm for the next morning.

Abilities:
• Lists best times for you to fall asleep based on when you want to wake up
• Makes sure you don’t interrupt sleep cycles

Great for:
• Feeling better rested and refreshed
• Improving time management

Cost: Free

And here’s an interesting article on tricks to set your alarm so you wake up more peacefully!

http://sleepyti.me/

Article: Master Your Time (Finally!)

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February 20, 2012

We all know “time is money,” so it’s about time you finally start ruling the clock. No more racing around to get everything done in the day; you can master your time with better time management. This article, “10 Time Management Tips That Work” is full of great tips! For busy professionals and entrepreneurs, these tips will help you make better use of your time.

One tip they explain is to schedule time for interruptions, since people will always come to ask a question. We suggest you also factor in commute time if you’re traveling to a meeting or appointment. They also suggest taking 30 minutes every day to plan your schedule; we actually recommend you spend this time first thing in the morning or right before you go to bed, to make sure everything is ready to go. Another great tip they share is to block out distractions like Facebook while you’re trying to work. In fact, we think you should turn off your email notifications while trying to work- every time a little box shows a new email at the bottom of your screen, you lose focus and are tempted to respond. Read the article for more great time management tips!

What are your thoughts? Which of these tips have you had great success with?

Before and After of the Week: Home Office Organizing

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February 19, 2012

Service: Residential Organizing

Challenge:
The office in this client’s home was the only room she unpacked after the move and she didn’t know how to plan her space to make it functional. She bought all these great organizing products but didn’t know how to make them work for her.

Solution:
We sorted through and categorized all the piles of paper on the countertop, chair, floor and in the boxes. Once we knew exactly what we had, we designed a map of her existing space to reflect the appropriate storage needed for each category. This map was how we determined where each category should go on her existing shelving system.

Result:
The result is a much more functional office. Because everything is labeled and categorized, our client can now easily find all her office supplies, files, craft supplies and books. Our client exclaimed, “I am so excited to come into this space now, whereas before I just shut the door. I am excited to show it off!”

View more Before and After photos on our Facebook Fan Page!

Innovatively Organized on King 5 News!

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February 16, 2012

Elizabeth Bowman, President of Innovatively Organized, was recently featured on the King 5 News segment “Let Jesse Buy It.” Bowman helped Seattleite Lindsey Minerva test-drive the Wonderfile, a product that promises to turn “any space into an organized workspace.” Minerva was looking for a product or system for organizing all of her craft supplies – a huge box of papers, ribbons, glitters, fabrics, and glue guns. Minerva and Bowman try to use the Wonderfile to contain and organize all of these crafts. Watch the video to see if the Wonderfile passed the test!

What are your thoughts? What products do you use to organize your crafts?