So you are probably like me and bought a Keurig® coffee maker and you had a gazillion coffee filters before you fully transitioned. If you haven't donated them to a friend and you find they are taking up valuable space in your pantry or cabinets but likewise don't want to them taking up space in the land-fills because they obviously are still useful, then here are some great suggestions from This Old House: 10 Uses for Coffee Filters
Make house plants less messy with coffee filters.
If you want the quick scoop This Old House suggested using coffee filters the following ways:
Preventing rust in cast iron skillets
Keeping hardware organized
Making air freshners
Keeping windows clean
Fixing wobbly table legs
Straining solvents
Making houseplants less messy
Absorbing spills on upholstery
Prepping a stain (as in the kind you use with a paintbrush)
Shining shoes.
For the great pictures to go along with the suggestions visit the article by clicking here.
What suggestion did you like best? Which one did you like least? I'd love to hear about it! Comment in the section below.
Did you know that Dexterous Organizing now represents Office Candy?
Office Candy is the place for cute & fun office supplies, desk accessories, decorative and designer office products and cute school supplies for those creative individuals who want to "spice it up" a little. We've got it all: cute file folders, funny sticky notes and pink desk accessories for those that believe that just because it's practical doesn't mean it can't be cute.
Go to OfficeCandy.com and use discount code: HANCOCK
So if you're a newlywed, it's kind of hard to get out of the cutesy-newlywed-everything-is-his-and-hers-decoration-mode. That's okay. You can still live on your bridal bliss even after "I do" with this cute little task-mastering notebook:
Great gift before or after the wedding
Now you have someone to share the best of your life and to help each other keep your house a happy home. I'd suggest being on the same page (pun intended) with knocking out a few things on a weekend morning and then rewarding yourself with a fun date. I've been married almost 10 years and this format usually still makes us happy. :)
Organization is beautiful! I think that you can also create your version of organized that works for you and helps you be a better person for yourself and those around you. It takes honesty, it takes guts, it takes work but that's what makes it beautiful.
So I like to read for both personal pleasure and business and personal improvement. I love, love, love the fact that many of the e-publications I download are with me when I have my mobile device(s) with me. So if I ever find myself with a few minutes to spare or waiting unexpectedly, I can get some reading done and turn otherwise wasted time twiddling my thumb into reading time.
In the last few months, just started getting back into audio books and began subscribing to Audible.com I griped at the monthly fee of $15/month, but realized that I did get through books much faster by adding a new way to digest a book. I found time to listen to books in my vehicle or when I'm doing mindless work like washing dishes or on the treadmill. But I soon noticed a challenge, as some books I have only on audio and some books I have only as a e-book or pdf. Which means some books only got completed during certain activities.
Then one day I decided a book I was reading was getting left by the wayside so I decided that I would use one of my audible.com credits and finish it off by listening to it. Then I found out an amazing discovery! Audible.com teamed up with Kindle a few years ago, (so I admit I'm slow on the uptake when it comes to keeping up with technological advances) and introduced a technology called Whispersync for Voice. This allows you to read on your Kindle device or app, and listen to the same publication on audio and they sync to your current place. That way you can work on one book whether you're listening to it the car or reading it at the doctor's office you can keep pace and complete the book faster.
Love it!
For a short clip of how the sync works:
Do you like to read? When do you find time to do so? Do you take advantage of technology to keep up on your reading? What technologies do you use? We want to hear from you! Let us know in the comment section below.
So you like to grill or garden, but you find yourself running in and out of the house to rinse things off. No need to call a plumber to install a sink, just use your outdoor hose to create this wonderful utility sink for your backyard.
This outdoor sink closes off to protect it from dirt, serves as a shelf, has a place for wrapping your hose around it, and is made of heavy-duty plastic.
What do you think? Is this sink really delightful? Tell me below in the comments section!
I advocate that organization should be comfortable. It shouldn't be a layer of stress and habits that just feel inauthentic. Creatives normally like to see things out. Organized means that you can find what you need when you need it and you attempt to create balance in your time and space. I don't think the two things are mutually exclusive. Tidy and put away aren't always appealing to a creative mind so the obvious answer to someone suggesting them to be "more organized" can lead to rebellion. But if we change the idea of what organized really means, we can break down a barrier of creating organization. Organization that is creative, beautiful, and authentically you.
Just about every week I meet some awesome folks! Because I provide a lifestyle service, I try to have as many outstanding professionals in my back pocket that can assist my clients to have a fabulous life personally and professionally.
These interviews are also meant to show that we all have our own style of keeping it together, organized, and productive. I'm the Organizer but certainly not a know-it-all (if my mom or husband is reading I advise them to stop laughing now).
Tell us a little about your company: A Little Bash is an event and wedding planning company that specializes in intimate gatherings.
Name one thing you're really good at keeping organized in your business? I'm really good at organizing electronic and hard copies of documents.
Any specific organizing tool?I love to use labels! The more creative and color coordinated the labels are the better.
How do you stay motivated to keep organized? (book, advice, routine, person)
I must keep organized to find things and keep my sanity. I don't have a choice.
What is your biggest organizing conundrum? All the different shapes, colors and varying material types that I use to create events, weddings and parties that serve multi-purposes have to be organized so that I can find what I need. This isn't always an easy task.
If you would like to learn more about Lisa and how she can help you plan an event in 2014 (or beyond), connect with her on her website (A Little Bash).
Like what you read? I'd love to hear your feedback so please comment below. Know someone who could benefit from the information? Feel free to share via social media by pressing any of the social media buttons below!
Would you like to have a 1:1 meeting with me so I can possibly have you in my back pocket as an outstanding service or product for my clients? Then email me at andrea_hancock@bdexterous.com.
So there's no way around it, we have more and more technology and appliances than ever before that need electricity. Which also means that ever before we need to learn and adapt to helping to conserve energy. One method people use is by turning their surge protectors to the off position when they aren't home. Many claim this saves tons of money. The problem I have with this, and perhaps you do as well, is that some things you don't mind turning off when you aren't using them. I don't mind having my scanners off when I'm not using them, but I'd always want my cord-less phone or DVR on for obvious reasons and because I'm using my desktop on and off throughout the day it would be a pain to have this reboot every.time.I.needed.it. ugh!
$30 - Belkin Conserve Smart AV ™
Well Belkin decided to help solve that problem. It helps you to conserve electricity by the majority of the outlets turning off then you're not using them (it's smart enough to sense this and turn off) but two plugs of the outlets are for things you want to stay on all the time. They call is smart, I call it genius!
What do you think? For $30 would you invest in this smart plug? Tell me below in the comments.
Sometimes we look at a challenge that lies ahead and we are stumbled by the past attempts that didn't lead to the ending we wanted to see. In our organizational challenges the best way to accomplish our end goals is to try.
I challenge you to take a small, seemingly insignificant step toward an accomplishment. It could be:
throwing away 3 pieces of junk mail from off your desk
folding and putting away clothes that have accumulated on a chair or treadmill
sorting trash out of your car
taking 3 items that belong in another room to their correct place.
All is takes is a measure of try, consistent effort and soon you have a layer of accomplishment to be proud of. Go you!
I think the busy professional falls into three categories when it comes to vacation:
The person who fully enjoys their vacation, doesn't check emails or voice mails (at least not often) but comes back to a barrage of messages and to-dos waiting to be done on top of the current flow of work in progress.
The person who takes work with them on vacation and it stresses themselves out and they don't fully relax.
The person scared to go on vacation because they feel like their job or their business is going to crumble in the wake of their absence.
Here are some suggestions from SMEAD® Organomic series that helps you balance life and work and enjoy your vacation:
What category do you fall in? What tip from Smead will you use to create a better plan for your vacation time this year? Don't keep this to yourself, feel free to leave a comment in the section below.
They say out of site out of mind, which usually is a bad thing for things you want to find but is actually a good rule of thumb when you are attempting to avoid theft.
During this season most of us use this time to relax, but some in jerks of society use this time to scope out ways to steal from careless tourist and vacationers.
One way to help avoid opportunists is to keep them from seeing the opportunity. Keeping your valuables safe and hidden is one way.
Keep cell device, money, and keys kept hidden in a faux sunscreen bottle.
Roll up a few bills in an old lip balm dispenser.
What tips do you use to avoid thief on vacation? Tell us about them in the comments below.
