I know I have posted a fair bit about Jewellery storage products and ides, but it’s one of the Mother’s Day items in this week’s Target catalogue. So it might not be around in the shop for too long.
If you have too  much jewellery declutter; decide on what you still wear and let go of everything else.
For the rest; this item might be the right storage solution for you.
got to page 22

That’s how they are called in our household – and with the soccer season starting last weekend, I have been in and out of this one quite a bit.
They are 50cm x 35cm x 27cm see through plastic with a lid that closes by folding over the handles. They are big enough for most items and small enough to not be overloaded. Because of their size, they are a bit sturdier then the bigger ones you get from hardware houses and container stores.
See through is good for labeling. I just slide some scrap paper with the content clearly written in big letters on it on the inside. Easy to change and no endless rubbing to get rid of last year’s labels.
It’s a excellent idea to decide on one main storage container for the whole household or office. (Which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a couple of other fitting sizes, but the general purpose ones). It makes it easier to replace broken tubs or lids, the spacing between shelves can be adjusted with a minimum of wasted space – and I think it looks good if everything is uniform, even if it’s just in a garage.
In addition, these have been around at Woolies, Big W and SuperBarn for the last 15 years, and you can always buy more or replace bits and pieces.

up side down, of course. Never just fling them into a broom cupboard, it will break all the bristles and next time you use them, you have broom hair all over your floor. This is easily made in 1/2 an hour. Just take any board, melamine, MDF, particle board… and hammer some long nails in the right position. Hang it in the broom cupboard or, as this one from our laundry on a free wall in the laundry.

If you are not into the DIY why not buy one from Howard’s storage?
5 Broom Magic Holder

$25.95

It’s easier and faster when you can find all your tools in one place.
The magic holder fits most size brooms.
shop online here

With the first couple of school weeks under our belt – we start to see the weak points in our and our kid’s time management. I am a believer of nipping it in the butt early, so my kids start using a diary of sorts from year 3 onwards. I have drawn up our own A3 sized term planner: undated so I can photocopy the same template for every term for every child. They fill in the dates and colour in the weekends themselves. We then sit down and write in fixtures: like German lessons on Monday afternoons, or rowing on Sunday morning. As soon as homework starts we allocate days for the reappearing, every week tasks they have to do. For the older kids, we start back-calculating from assignment hand in day; to find a good way of project managing that task – which doesn’t mean me rushing to Officeworks on the morning it has to be in to have something spiral bound or laminated.
Again, different days of the week lend itself to different activities. If you know you don’t have internet access, what about creating a reading folder and take a highlighter to actually read through all the websites you found in your research. Try to do the physical acitve homework parts on the days they have extra curricular academic lessons like musik or language.
It works pretty well – although Mr. (almost) 9 prefers a little booklet he can carry with him and ignores the Term Planner – but that’s fine. Even kids have their own organising style and as adults, we just have to find a way of helping them find and use that style. It seems to work for him. He told me very proud in the car this morning, that, thanks to his diary, he didn’t forget his library bag!

P.S. If you want something to start with for your own term planner. I have a pdf version of ours I am happy to share. Just pop into the comments box and I’ll send it to you

I found this one in the weekend magazine of the SMH beginning of last month

Art Hook

Functional object d’art.
At first it looks like a painting but with just a few simple moves, it turns into a wall clothes hanger.
Printed with an image from Australian artist Mary Shackman, the connection between art and functionality is executed
in Australian black wood and an intricate printing technique. 343 W x 240 H

Colour palettes can be selected. Lead time 4-6weeks
http://www.workshopped.com.au
Orders taken only. enquiries to shop 02 9146 4353

As promised, a couple of weeks ago, I am going to go a bit more into detail about the different types of office infrastructure = stationery.
Let’s start with Suspension Filing, Manila Folders and Clear Tabs.
One doesn’t go without the other, meaning, the Hanging File does stay in the drawer and is labelled with Clear Tabs. Manila Folders act as sub dividers and are the part you take out.
Suspension Filing is perfect for people, a colleague of mine calls ‘chucker ‘. Chuckers like the quickness of flinging something into a drawer. Did you know it takes 7 separate steps to file something into a Leaver Arch Binder compared to 3 for Suspension Filing? That’s a huge amount of time, so ask yourself: “Am I a chucker or a tucker?”
And there is paperwork that sits better in Suspension Filing.  It’s such a quick way to file everything you are still working on. Things you might have, in the past, before you started reading this newsletter, just left on your desk!
Files shouldn’t be too big, once they get to more than 2.5 cm, divide them or file them differently. By that stage, they might not be so current any more. This idea, of filing in different stationery for different stages of a file is called Paper Flow.
When you have a look at a Manila Folder, you will see that one side is overlapping the other. That’s where you label them. I would strongly suggest using pencil, so you can re use them when the paper moves on.
The possibilities of categorising are varied. Put like things together in a Manila folder – you can colour code if you want, so everything private is green, everything business is blue, everything urgent is red!
Then put similar Manila folders under one mother category in a hanging file – mind the size, don’t go more than 2.5 cm.
The hanging file then gets a label in the plastic thing you can slide or stick on top of the hanging file. (Clear Tab). Again, you can colour code, but you can group things by where you place the Clear Tab on the file: financial info has its tab on the very left, staff info in the middle, correspondence on the right. So if you are looking for a private letter you would look for a green manila folder with the clear tab on the right. You can use more than one clear tab on a suspension file. You can have them all on the left and flip the whole hanging file over so the tab is on the right once you are done with a file. Very nice for those who like ticking things off their to do list.
Give it a go, it sounds more complicated than it is. And if it is all too hard – why not hire a Professional Organiser to talk it through with you in your office?
However, please always remember: don’t over file, keep categories as broad as possible, and when you know you are not going to use that file very often, don’t put too much work into being detailed about filing it. The fewer categories you crate the easier it is to file and find things! And finding things is what we aim for.

a colleague of mine in Christchurch/NZ is re focusing her business after the earthquake(s) and is holding a closing down sale of her organising products.
Here is my favourite one, but there is plenty more  through her website: http://www.totallyorganised.co.nz/home

• Do you or someone you know often lose their keys, phone etc?? Here is a fun solution. Never forget anything again as you leave the house with this cool Dooroganiser

Reg. Price:           $24.99
Sale Price:          $12.50
Save:     $12.49
Colour: camel

Filing infrastructure are the containers and gadgets that contain files and things. See below for a couple of ideas (and I am sure you’ll find more at Officeworks)
Most of my customers inherit a filing cabinet from somewhere and start using it, never asking themselves whether it’s the right system for their personality and their type of files.
Ask yourself whether you are a “chucker” or a “tucker”. Chuckers love suspension filing, just open a drawer and fling it in. Tuckers love lever arch files, punching holes and tucking everything nicely away.
Some files are better contained in binders; some are easier accessible in Manila folders. Ask yourself and make a conscious decision. And don’t put the benchmark too high. Just because you like the look of lever arch folders on a shelf, all nicely labeled and colour coded doesn’t mean you can maintain them. Did you know it’s 7 separate steps to file something in a lever arch folder compared to 3 for suspension filing? Choose a system that you can maintain. There is no point in rows of beautiful folders from kikki-K that are empty on a shelf with piles of paper the size of my oldest son (1.79) on your desk.

You know, when I started this blog a year ago, I did some soul searching, got some advice and did some planning. And I would have never anticipated, that the “product tip” part of the blog would be the hardest one to get together.
There are heaps of creations out there, I thought. People like to read about products, because most people like shopping, right? But then, when you look a bit deeper into most gadgets, they might be nifty, but are they really necessary. I don’t wan to burden anybody with more stuff than they already have. I see too many clients that have half a Howard’s Storage shop at home and still no space (I had a client some years ago, that had a whole room of empty and half filled containers). Happens too often.
And it’s about sustainability, too. From an organising point of view, there is no difference between an old shoe box and a pricey stainless steel container from Philippe Stark. As long as it fits into the space and holds what it should hold.
Have that in mind when purchasing any organising products – even the ones suggested here!
So for this post, no product tip and in case you are wondering: I do cherish good design and love Philippe Stark’s lemon press. But the lemon juice with the plastic one from Target tastes just the same

Once you have made your decision what to keep. Here is an idea how:
They are small business card boxes made out of plastic from Officeworks. Have one for your tax deductible business receipts, one for the stuff you spent with your volunteer jobs or your household. You can even create small dividers out of palm cards to have more than one category in a sachet. Always carry them in your handbag, so you can file as soon as you get handed the docket.