A little education

There are so many books on the subject of organizing that it can be too overwhelming to choose from.

Some of the newest additions to the world of organizing books that I recommend are (click to buy or read details):

As for me … I’m checking out lots of books on interior decorating, and am currently reading:

And, I can’t neglect to mention that you’ll find a very comprehensive list of organizing books at
www.organized-living.com/bookstore.html.

Nationwide Day to Toss

Motivational speaker Martha J. Ross-Rodgers is recognized by Chase’s Calendar of Events for “Toss Away the Could Haves and Should Haves Day, celebrated nationwide on July 16, 2005.

Although her motivation was to encourage people to get rid of their could haves and should haves relating to moving forward in life instead of wallowing in the past on all the things we should have and could have acted upon, I believe we can celebrate this in another way … a physical way.

Letting go of regrets is one thing, however letting go of stuff is another thing, and equally beneficial. I don’t believe we need a national event to do either, although whatever motivates people to do something positive, I’m all for it.

Similar to letting go of regrets, we can let go of stuff in a parallel fashion.

1. The past is past. It’s the present that matters, so decisions can be made based on the value of things in the now. Let go of old attachments and keep only what you need now.
2. View things as an opportunity to grow. When we detach ourselves from stuff, we can streamline our lifestyle and live more simply.
3. Move forward to the present. We often keep more than we need, and/or keep things that are no longer useful or used. Take a look at what you need now, and let go of everything else.

Hope I’ve motivated someone!

Products to Clear the Clutter

In a May 26, 2005 article published in the Salt Lake Tribune, The Good Housekeeping Institute tested products to help individuals get organized and lists their top 8 choices.

You can see the article at: http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_2763306

Although this is not a comprehensive list of organizing products (it only lists 8), it does seem to make some good recommendations to certain organizing problems. I’m not familiar with some of the ones they tested and recommended, however it’s good to learn what options are available to us.

And, of course, you’ll find lots more products to help organize stuff at *Organized-Living.com (*now OrganizedLifestyles.com). What can I say, I play favorites!

*Organized Living Message Board

I’m surprised at myself … I haven’t announced our new message board at Organized-Living.com!

So, I’m here to tell you now — we have a new way to interact and share your organizing issues and solutions. It’s the start of our Organized-Living.com community and I hope you’ll join in. Check it out:

*Now at: www.organizedlifestyles.com/forum

Selling stuff online

Not long ago I had a high-priced item for sell at eBay and received an email request from someone in South Africa to buy it with a cashier’s check. The request included details of sending the cashier’s check for an amount higher than the purchase price to cover his shipper … that I was to deposit the check, wait for it to clear the bank, and wire the extra money to his shipper, who would come for delivery of the item. It all sounded great, until I was informed of the scams so prevalant from would-be buyers in another country.

In checking out the scam references, I discovered a disturbing fact — that my potential buyer fit the scam to every detail. Apparently, when the check “clears” the bank in 5-10 days, the person then pays out the extra $1-2000 or so to the shipper. In actuality, a check takes about 2 weeks to clear the bank but they are not allowed to hold funds that long. When the bank discovers the check to be a fraudulent one, the account holder is responsible for those funds deposited into their account, and it must be reimbursed to the bank.

I mention this in detail because I almost fell into this scam… twice. I had another expensive item posted on Craigs List and received the same request.

So, it could happen at any place on the Internet where goods are sold. And, we just need to be alert to these kind of things and be cautious. I wouldn’t sell any item now without the buyer paying through PayPal, for instance. People doing scams do not want to pay using this method, as they can’t get away with the scam.

For more information about Internet buying scams, check out:

http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

It’s great to have places on the Internet to sell the things of high value we don’t want anymore, but we just need to be careful, that’s all.

Today’s To Do

My days have contained more variables than usual, and it’s always been up to my List to keep me focused. It can be disheartening when you’ve got your day planned, you’re going along checking things off the list, and then suddenly “things” happen.

Although this is not an uncommon occurrence for people, it still throws my activity rhythm off. Not much we can do about these matters, however how we deal with it can mean a productive day or an unproductive day.

At one time I tried to develop a habit of writing daily emails in the morning to my friend / associate that listed my To-do’s of what I was planning to accomplish that day. I did this for over a week, and it was a fun game to ensure I achieved everything I set out to do for that day.

I’m not sure what happened, but the habit fell off. I still have my To-do list each day, but it doesn’t seem to have the same impact as before, which helped ensure that I do the tasks. Maybe it’s because I don’t have anyone to answer to now?

So, to answer my own question … yes, I shall return to my successful action and start my email to-do list habit again. Besides, it’s always more fun to have a game when we have things to do!

Content Distribution for Blog

As I become more and more aware of blogging technology and distribution channels to feed my Get Organized Tips Blog through, I get excited about the potential of reaching more people. One recent discovery is being able to submit my blog to MyYahoo.

I use MyYahoo as my Internet homepage to quickly see all the content I want to have easy access to on a daily or frequent basis. This page allows me to change it, add to it, and customize it, so a lot of information is at my fingertips when I get on the Internet. One of the things new to MyYahoo is the ability to feed your favorite blogs to MyYahoo. This is done with RSS feeds (Really Simple Syndication).

Now, blog visitors can add my Get Organized Tips content to their MyYahoo page, on their web site, or subscribe to receive the content to their email box. You’ll see the new MyYahoo button to feed to your MyYahoo page, and an orange xml button to feed content to your site.

Didn’t life just get easier?!

An Organized World

The global trends of family structure and speed of daily life have changed the landscape of retail merchandise toward organizing the home and providing decorative storage solutions. These trends have also increased the demand for professional organizers, as more and more people get backlogs of clutter.

TV shows like Bravo’s Queer Eye for a Straight Guy, TLC’s Clean Sweep, and HGTV’s Mission Organization have all put the focus on getting organized. Even decorating, talk shows, and news programs have jumped in to feature disorganization issues.

Real Simple Magazine puts emphasis on organization and organizing products, as do many catalog companies, like Lillian Vernon and Get Organized. Specialty stores such as The Container Store and Organized Living are popping up in nationwide markets. Newspaper and magazine articles featuring people getting organized are printed every day.

With all the emphasis on getting organized, we’re going to continue seeing a lot more people taking measures to make changes in their disorganized lives.

There’s a lot of organization tools out there now to get and stay organized — and you can check out some great organizing products at www.organizedlifestyles.com.

New Articles

(reposted from the Get Organized Blog)

To kick off my campaign on eco-organizingâ„¢, I have written a couple articles for a little more in-depth information about the principles of it:

Eco-styled Living Helps Optimize Resources In Your Home

Eco-organizedâ„¢ Homes Lead To A Healthy Environment

I’m very excited about utilizing these priniciples and helping others organize their home toward more eco-friendly living.

Cyndi Seidler
“The Eco-organizerâ„¢”