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.

These fridge baskets from Howard’s Storage a fabulous because:

• they are plastic which is very hygienic,
• They a long an narrow. Perfect to use the whole depth of your fridge
• They have a handle so you can take two at a time in and out of the fridge

Fridge Basket Large
Ventilated with high sides and sturdy handle. Ideal for the fridge or cupboard.
Product cod Hll100
Dimensions (Width x Depth x Height): 15 x 31.5 x 13 cm
Howard’s storage $ 4.95

Fridge Basket small
Product cod Hll100
Dimensions (Width x Depth x Height): 16.5 x 27 x 11 cm
Howard’s storage $3.95

To stop small vegetables rolling all over the drawer and eventually turning into compost below everything else…  use a plastic cutlery holder from a  one dollar shop

this is more a hygienic than an organising one: Why does nobody in AUS have little guest hand towels? They are so uncommon, you can’t even buy them at the shops (Aldi has some this week. Still a bit too big for my liking – maybe I should import them and sell through my website??).
I go to a lot of customer’s houses – and after three hours of work and the lovely cups of tea I get offered, there comes the time for a bathroom stop. That done, there is very rarely a designated towel for visitors. So do you expect your friends to use your bath towel? Don’t they mind, don’t you mind?
If you have a simple hook, a 3M stick on one will do, next to the hand basin with a small towel or a face washer on it, that would be obvious to me to use – and I am not intruding on anybody’s private space.

Being from Europe, there are a couple of (organising) things that irk me here in Australia. One is the amount of cushions people seem to have on beds. I don’t really know what they are for. Yes, they do look pretty, but whom do you want to impress. Isn’t a bedroom very much a “no go zone” for visitors? So you want to impress yourself – or you just never second guessed it. You are just doing what everybody has always been doing. And that’s where things become a classic organising topic. Despite a lot of people believing that organising is just about chucking things out, it is not. It’s about asking questions and challenging behaviour. Why do you have these cushions? Do you like them? Do they serve a purpose?
If you have a bad back or like to read upright in bed, than, yes they are there for a good reason. If your immaculate, pretty bedroom is your sanctuary, well done. But if you throw the cushions on the floor every night, just to wake up to an irritatingly untidy room (lots of cushions on the floor!!!!), than maybe it’s time to let go. And in my experience, hubby will thank you for it, because most men, like Germans, can’t see the point of all these pretty cushions.