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Archive for the ‘Paper Pain’ Category:
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Would you like to meet some local companies (25+) that specialize in organizing products and services? Perhaps you have some burning clutter questions you’re dying to ask a local Professional Organizer?
You’re in luck! The Seattle NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) is hosting their second annual Spring Into Organization Fair and Ask the Organizer Panel this Saturday, March 19, 2011 at the Bellevue Sheraton Hotel (100 112th Ave NE) from 9:00AM-1:00PM. This is a great opportunity to learn to simplify your home, business and life from local vendors and Professional Organizers (like Simply Placed!) working in your community. 
Simply Placed will be there as a vendor and Debbie will even be one of the Professional Organizers on two of the three panels including “Paper Management” and “Ask the Organizer.” So if you would like tips/ideas on how to conquer your paper files or just find yourself saying, “If I could just get organized…” we’d love for you to attend! For a detailed descriptions of the panels click here.
Open to the public, event costs are $10 at the door or $8 if you prepay through www.seattlenapo.com. Did we mention a continental breakfast is included? Come hungry and full of questions! We hope to see you there. Make sure to find us and say “hello”.
Warm regards,
The Simply Placed Team
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 Yesterday we posted about our End the Paper Pain class which takes place in Sammamish, WA on Wednesday, March 23rd from 6:30 – 9:00 pm. Offered twice a year, its coming up soon! We’d love to have you join us for this workshop in which we’ll teach you about paper managment, the FreedomFiler, and help you set up your own very effective filing system right in class. There are still a few spots available, but don’t wait too long, class size is limited.
We realize you all have busy lives and busy schedules which might make it difficult for some of you to attend this class on the dates and times we have scheduled. Additionally, some of you want the convenience of doing this work right in your home, or prefer highly customized, individual attention. Take advantage of an alternate version of this class where we bring it straight to you! That means YOU can pick the date and time that works for YOUR schedule.
Individual Offerings:
The Skinny: A 2 hour consultation with a Simply Placed Professional Organizer that covers the Skinny on Paper Management (including suggested customizations for your own systems for mail, bill paying, action filing, reference filing), Document Retention, how the FreedomFiler works and how you can implement the system into your life. Please note this package does not include any hands-on help. Package Price*: $150.00
The Whole Enchilada: This package is the entire “End the Paper Pain” class brought to your doorstep. In 3 hours, you will receive the FreedomFiler kit, information about Paper Management and systems included in “The Skinny”, detailed instruction on the FreedomFiler and how it works, as well as hands on help from a Simply Placed Professional Organizer. We will physically help you set up this system and even start filing away some piles of paper. Package Price**: $268.79
Group offerings:
Have a family member of friend whom you think would also be interested in one of these packages? We’ve also decided to put together a few more deals for anyone who would like to host their very own “End the Paper Pain” class. Think of it like a Bunco Party but for “paper pain.” Whether during the day or in the evening, we’ll make sure this is both productive and fun!
As a “Thank You” for a being a host with 6 or more people in attendance, you won’t have to pay a penny! All you have to do is provide us with the number of people who will be at your home, which package option you would like, and a date and time for us to bring our services to you.
The Skinny for 2-5: Just divide the price of the $150 package – price will range from $30 – $75 per person* depending on the number attending.
The Skinny for 6-9: $30 per person* (host attends for free!)
The Skinny for 10 or more: $25 per person* (host attends and receives a FreedomFiler kit for free!)
The Whole Enchilada for 2-5: $125 per person (includes kit)**
The Whole Enchilada for 6-9: $99 per person (includes kit)** (host attends for free!)
The Whole Enchilada for 10 or more: $75 per person (includes kit)** (host attends for free!)
Take Note:
*For “The Skinny” packages – the FreedomFiler is an optional purchase and can be added on for $43.79 per person
**For “The Whole Enchilada” packages each attendee should bring the following:
- 100 Hanging file folders (legal or letter size depending on the size of your filing cabinet)
- Clear plastic 1/5 cut tabs (should come with the hanging file folders)
- Bankers box or plastic file container to carry your system home
- A pile of unfiled papers you currently have on your desk, kitchen counter or other “hot spot”
ADDED BONUS: The first person to book a group class of 3 or more in their home will also receive our Info Products Bundle which includes the book Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive, our Meal Planning Made Easy System, the Simply Placed Time Log, our Simply Organized Holidays eBook and the companion Workbook. (A $70 value). Gather some friends and call today!
We hope these convenient, flexible, valuable options will help to ease your “paper pain” and make your lives a little less stressful.
All the best,
The Simply Placed Team
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 Do you find yourself surrounded by piles and piles of paper? Are there stacks so high you cringe when you look at them, hoping that if you ignore them maybe they will just disappear? Maybe you have the best of intentions to file, but find your piles of paper get out of hand because you aren’t sure where you should file something, you don’t have a great filing system, or aren’t sure how long you should retain a particular document?
Don’t fret, you are aren’t alone, and best of all, there is a cure to end your paper pain! As some of you may be aware, we offer our “End the Paper Pain” class twice a year to help those such as yourself put an end to your paper suffering.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the class or the filing system, we highly recommend the FreedomFiler to many of our clients. The FreedomFiler provides state-of-the-art, maintenance-free paper organizing solution for the home and home office. Created by an award winning development team, this product is a self-purging home filing system that forever eliminates the need to clean out and reorganize files, while dramatically reducing the time and energy required to file and retrieve papers.
The “End the Paper Pain” class is structured as an interactive group workshop. Should you sign-up for this class, which is taking place on March 23rd, 2011 from 6:30PM-9:00PM at the Beaver Lake Lodge in Sammamish, you will receive the Freedom Filer kit, make great headway in setting up your filing system, and even start filing some of those pesky piles of paper! If the FreedomFiler system sounds like a solution you might be interested, you can sign-up here.
We’ll see you in class!
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 DYMO was kind enough to once again send Simply Placed one of their newest products to review, the DYMO LabelManager 360D. What organizer out there doesn’t love to review the latest and greatest when it comes to one of their primary (and oh so fun) organizing tools?
Many of you are aware that label makers are a great way to organize at home, however, I’m are going to focus on the potential uses the DYMO LabelManager 360D possesses in regard to the office setting.
Potential Uses:
Presentation is Everything. Have a bunch of folders you need to organize for your own retention? Perhaps you have all these manilas folders you need to get into the hands of a boss or co-worker? Rather than scrambling around your desk looking for a pen that will actually work, break out your labeler. If you want a result that is more presentable and also longer lasting, reach for a label maker.
What Does That Say? While we may have the best intention of writing legibly, we must face that sometimes, well; our handwriting just isn’t too pretty. That being said, if you want to ensure your document folders, handouts, or anything can easily be read by someone else (you don’t want them to feel like they are deciphering some kind of code), try using a label maker.
Brochures/Handouts: Listen up real estate and insurance agents; if you want to create a good impression to your client, make a handout or brochure with the help of a label maker. Add your name, address and any other important contact details on the brochure or handout you are distributing.
Personal Supplies: Label makers are wonderful when it comes to office supplies. Binders, staplers, rulers, you name it, you can label it. Want to ensure your borrowed calculator returns back to its proper home? Use your labeler to put your name on it. Just be careful not to get what we call “label happy;” it can be addictive!
Happy Shelves: Labeling shelves that house anything from office supplies to team handouts can help individuals easily find what they are looking for (thus saving time and frustration) in addition to making it easier for people to place items back in their proper homes. Think shelves in a break room or a supply room. No more excuses for putting the staples in with the sticky notes!
So now that I know WHAT I can use it for at the office, Why is it great for office use?
- To and From: The DYMO LabelManager 360D is a great product for an office setting as it is easily portable for those days you are running everywhere in the office, small enough to sit on our near your desk without taking up space, and not to mention it is surprisingly lightweight. Check, check, and check!
- I like Your Shape: I really enjoyed the more horizontal shape of this labeler as compared to the 260P model. It seemed easier (and more natural) to grip and I noticed my hands and wrists felt more at ease when typing.
- 1-2-3, A-B-C? I was extremely excited to find that DYMO implemented the familiar QWERTY keyboard in this particular model rather than the ABC keyboard. I found I was able to type my entries much faster. Bonus!
- Bigger is Better: While the DYMO LabelManager 360D, like the 260P, displays two lines of test, it actually has a larger screen, measuring 1.5” to 2.75”. Didn’t need my readers for this one! This labeler displays two lines of text, which can be printed horizontally or vertically on 3/8”, 1/2”, and 3/4” labels. Oh the options! It also has a graphical display that allows you to see text effects on the screen before you actually print anything so you don’t have to cross your fingers and hope it looks like it should. As they say, what you see is what you get.
- No More Waste: Similar to a lot of our mobile phones, the DYMO LabelManager 360D replaced traditional disposable AA batteries with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Talk about eliminating inconvenience, waste and disposal.
- Do you Want to Save? Why yes I do, thank you for asking. I love that the DYMO LabelManager 360D stores up to 9 labels and inserts saved text. It even asked me if I wanted to save my label before turning it off! Great feature. It even prints up to 10 copies of a label.
- Cost: The only “drawback” if you will is price. Although still affordable, it is about $30 more than the 260P model, coming in at close to $100. With that in mind, the benefits definitely outweigh this con, especially when you consider how much use you can get out of this product and that you don’t have to buy batteries for it, ever.
All in all, I would absolutely recommend this product. Here’s to labeling love! Click here to view DYMO’s product line and all they have to offer.
Disclosure: This is sponsored content as we have been given the label maker as a product sample to keep and review. That being said, we do not blog about anything we do not believe in and DYMO did not edit our post or direct our content in any way.
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We have so many clients who use the FreedomFiler, virtually maintainence-free filing system, we thought we’d pass on this reminder we received from the FreedomFiler company …
Its time to swap your EVEN & ODD year files… no annual purge! (This takes seconds – no need for a big “clean out the files, create new files, set aside the whole day” effort)
You may now swap the position of all your EVEN and ODD year files (simply grab the folders with black-top labels and switch places with the folders having white-top labels in your filing drawers—you can leave the papers inside the folders alone). If you use a binder clip to mark your current month file, move the clip to the “JANUARY ODD YEAR” file and discard automatically the documents left over from two years ago.* You may empty out just the January file and leave the rest of the month files with the papers inside. Then as you progress through the year, continue purging the rest of the month files one month at a time. That’s all you need to do with your FreedomFiler each year! No more file clean out day and no more setting up new folders each year. We want you to enjoy your life and spend less time fussing with papers!
Q: Is it safe to throw away old bills and account statements in Monthly folders after two years?*
A: Because these items were not needed for your taxes and since you will have already filed your tax return for that year, it is generally safe to discard these papers automatically.* Two years allows more than adequate time to resolve any vendor disputes; however, if you would like to keep items longer than two years, use additional labels to create a new set of folders for each added year. The actual legal time limit for lawsuits will vary somewhat from state to state but usually ranges between 2-3 years for nearly all types of claims. Keep in mind that most banks and service providers preserve your statements on file for seven years or more (also according to state laws). If you are concerned about keeping documentation beyond two years for the purpose of applying for future loans, you may use a Permanent folder titled Loan Payment History for keeping a record of regular payments to a creditor (see label sheet 4A in your Deluxe Kit). Refer to your Label Index for a full discussion of issues and available options.
Happy New Year from Simply Placed and the FreedomFiler!
P.S. If you’re having to do more than this to update your filing system for the New Year, and are interested in the ease and effectiveness of the FreedomFiler system, contact us and we’ll fill you in on how to get your own system, how we can help you set it up if you chose, or get you more information about our next End the Paper Pain class, where you set up the system in class and learn about paper management to set you free.
* While FreedomFiler® provides a method of automatic purging which eliminates the need to review files, you must ultimately decide which documents are kept two years, ten years, or indefinitely. FreedomFiler® is not liable under any circumstances for claims of loss or damage arising from suggested document retention guidelines. Consult a professional advisor to determine your specific document retention needs and adapt your system accordingly.
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Does this picture look familiar? Ok, maybe your situation isn’t this dramatic, but we know a lot of people who suffer regularly from paper pain. This pain is often accompanied by feelings of overwhelm, anxiety, frustration, sometimes even depression. Negative affects of this problem include time wasted looking for things you know you have but can’t find, increased stress and could also include a financial impact if you are incurring late fees, losing business opportunities or having to pay to replace documents you can’t find.
The fact is, we constantly have paper entering our lives. The mail arrives every day, we print things off of the computer, our children bring things home from school, service providers give us copies of important document. Statements, policies, tax related documents, invitations, notices, notes, intineraries, etc.. The list goes on and on.
If we don’t have a good filing system in place, we can be burried in paper in no time at all. Enter Simply Placed and the FreedomFiler. We love to work with clients to set up paper management systems that make sense for them. Hundreds of our clients have found that the FreedomFiler is that system. Its a great solution for home filing needs or home-based business filing needs. When set up properly it is virtually maintenance free. It provides a place for all your important paper. Both paper that you need to act on (but not right now) and paper you want or need to keep for reference finds a home in the system. Document retention is made easy as the different sections of the system “remind” you how long to keep certain documents, and the simple habits we teach with the system prompt you to move paper out of your life at the appropriate time.
Intrigued? Want to hear more? Come learn paper management techniques and set up your very own FreedomFiler system in our upcoming “End the Paper Pain” class on Monday, November 8th in Sammamish, from 6:30 – 9:00. In this hands on workshop you’ll walk away being able to:
- Locate the papers you need by keeping out the ones you don’t
- Finish your routine filing in 5 seconds or less
- Reduce the time and energy required to file and retrieve papers
- Know when to toss paper (document retention)
Ideal for your home or home-based business filing needs, this two and a half hour class will have you approaching paper in a whole new light. Dare I say you might actually begin to enjoy the filing process? Guess you will have to come and find out.
OK, Tell Me When and Where:
Instructor: Debbie Rosemont, Certified Professional Organizer of Simply Placed
Date: Monday, November 8th, 2010
Time: 6:30pm to 9:00pm
Location: Beaver Lake Lodge – 25101 SE 24th Street, Sammamish, WA
Class Limit: 12 participants (to ensure individual attention)
What’s it Gonna Cost Me?
- Individual price: $149 (includes 1 FreedomFiler kit)
- Want to bring your significant other? $198 (includes 1 FreedomFiler kit)
What Do I Need to Bring?
- 100 Hanging file folders (legal or letter size depending on the size of your filing cabinet)
- Clear plastic 1/5 cut tabs (should come with the hanging file folders)
- Bankers box or plastic file container to carry your system home
- A pile of unfiled papers you currently have on your desk, kitchen counter or other “hot spot”
Sound like the solution you’ve been waiting for? Pre-register here. If you plan to bring a significant other to the class, please call to enroll that person separately.
Need more information? Call or email us with questions at 206.579.5743 or info@itssimplyplaced.com.
You have more important things to focus your time and effort on; don’t let paper pain be one of those. End your paper pain on November 8th!
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I’ve been known to urge, “File, Don’t Pile!” I think a well designed, thoughtfully organized filing system is an excellent choice for those who want to put papers away, eliminate the distraction of papers on their desk that they don’t need right now, and who want to be able to find what they need, when they need it.
With that said, I have come across a few clients or seminar participants who really like their piles, they just want them tidier and more organized. They worry about “out of sight, out of mind” and insist on keeping particular paper out right in front of them; especially papers they need to act on.
My husband is one such “client”. As long as I’ve known him (22 years), he’s been a paper piler. While not my personal preference, I can respect that, for the most part, piling works out o.k. for him. The drawbacks are that the piles become unruly, and that things would get “lost”; important papers buried below unimportant.
When I was sent Pendaflex’s PileSmart products and asked to review them, I knew I had a perfect test case. My “client” and I set aside an afternoon and began with one of his piles. 
We went through the process of sorting what was there, tossing the clutter, separating out papers that required action, and filing away a few things that were for reference and that Rob didn’t want to have out. This process alone brought the pile down to a much more manageable size.
From there, we determined the “next step” Rob needed to take on each piece of paper, and sorted them according to categories that made sense to him and corresponded with a particular action. We used the PileSmart Organizer Tray and Dividers to keep things tidy and categorized. The dividers come with labels on both the sides and ends for easy viewing from either angle. They also come with tabs that you can write on and erase, so you’re able to change your mind about the category or easily fix mistakes.
The other product we used was the PileSmart View Folders. These project folders are enclosed on three sides to hold loose papers that are related to each other together. They also have a Write-On Tab for easy labeling. We used these folders to hold together multiple papers related to one project that Rob was going to refer to when he took action on some research he needed to conduct. The only criticism I have of these folders is that when used in conjunction with the PileSmart Dividers, the View Folders are larger and therefore cover up the Divider tabs, making them harder to see/read.
 Here’s Rob’s pile “after”. Much, much better. We included a “to do” list on top, capturing reminders of action steps he needed to take that corresponded to papers in the pile. With the papers now categorized based on what Rob needs to do with them, he’s able to find them easily, and can save time by chunking activities, should he choose. For example, all paper that requires a phone call is now together, so that he can make those calls all at once and knock that category out efficiently.
Stay tuned tomorrow for a more formal review of the PileSmart Products, including details about features, cost, pros and cons, and where to find them, should you like to give them a spin.
I know I’ll be keeping an eye on the Piler in my life, to see how these products (and some of the “keep it organized” tips I taught him) work out.
Are you a loyal piler? Is it working out for you? What are products or techniques you’ve employed so that you can find what you need when you need it and that things don’t fall through the cracks? We’d love to hear from you. Comment away!
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We recently posted a product review of Smead’s Stadium File. Today we’ll review their SuperTab Folders.
 An alternate to a traditional file folder, the SuperTab Folders’ primary differentiating factor is the size of the tab found at the top of the folder. Providing 90 % more space in which to label, these folders allow the user to write larger for increased visibility, and/or include more text on the tab/label than they would otherwise be able.
These folders are available in Letter Size or Legal Size, recycled manila or a variety of primary and pastel colors, and in boxes of 24, 50 or 100. Oversized labels, made specifically to fit to oversized tabs, are also available. A free Microsoft Word label template for use with these labels and on the oversized tabs is also available for download at www.smead.com/SuperTab.
Pros: Larger labeling space allows the user to write larger on the tab/label for greater visibilility. This could lead to the user being able to find the file faster when looking in their drawer or in a tiered file holder. The user can also include several lines of text on a label, where they may otherwise be limited with standard folders/tabs.
Cons: If you intend to mix these in with your traditional 1/3 cut file folders, some will look different (though not much … overall height of the folder in general is about the same as standard folders, just the tab is bigger). Because of the bigger cut away right below the tab, you can see more of the document you store in the folder itself. For some, this may be a negative. For others, it won’t matter.
Where to Buy/Pricing: You’ll find these folders at a variety of office supply stores, including Office Depot or Staples. Price ranges from about $11.99 for a box of 100 manila up to $20.99 for a box of 100 colored folders.
If you try these, let us know what you think. If you know of other new products we should check out or consider reviewing, we’d love to hear from you.
Disclosure: This is sponsored content and we have been given product samples and a nominal gift card to do this post. That being said, we do not blog about anything we do not believe in and Smead did not edit our post or direct our content in any way.
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 How many of you have a reference filing system in place at home and/or in your office that’s working well for you? A reference filing system creates a home for those papers you already took action, or don’t need to act on, but need to keep for your records. Are you able to find the papers you need quickly and when you need them? Is your system user-friendly? Does your system encourage you to purge your files on a regular basis?
There are several elements of a filing system that can make it effective. We have come to love and highly recommend the FreedomFiler, a great filing system for your home or home-based business filing needs. The FreedomFiler has many of the elements we consider key to filing system success. Consider these when setting up your system:
- Have color-coded files for different categories such as (red for permant files, orange for administrative files, blue for tax files and so forth).
- Make sure your file cabinet or drawer has enough space in it. An over-crowded drawer will rarely get used.
- Use clear plastic tabs and try to organize your files alphabetically.
- Create interior or sub folders when appropriate (ie. under the main folder “Auto Records” you may have sub folders for each car you own).
- Try filing your non-tax related statements, invoices, receipts, etc. by month instead of by vendor. This makes filing very quick and easy and it also allows you to purge your files every few years.
- Get into the habit of filing right then and there. The longer you wait…the larger the pile of paper gets which often leads to feeling overwhelmed and then the filing never gets done.
- Try to have your filing drawer close to where you open the mail or pay the bills. You are more likely to file if you don’t have to go all the way to the basement storage room to do so.
If this sounds like the perfect filing system for you, we would love for you to attend our “End the Paper Pain: File, Don’t Pile” workshop coming up this Wednesday, March 17th from 6:30pm to 9:00pm in Sammamish. During this fun hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to create a new, virtually maintenance-free filing system for your home or home-based business. You will walk away with the system in-tact ready to use.
Can’t make this workshop fit into your schedule this week? We also offer one-on-one FreedomFiler Consultations where we can come into your home and set-up the system with you and begin to transfer your piles into files. Contact us if you are interested in learning more.
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Want to make it easy to file instead of pile? Learn the stragegies and the system on Wednesday, March 17th.
Come join us for this fun, hands-on workshop where you will learn how to create a new, virtually maintenance-free filing system for your home or home-based business. You’ll walk away with the system largely in-tact, ready to use for your home or home-based business filing needs. When you leave class, you’ll be able to:
- Easily locate the papers you need by keeping out the ones you don’t need
- Finish routine filing in 5 seconds or less
- Reduce the time and energy required to file and retrieve papers
- Know when to toss paper – document retention made easy!
Presented by Certified Professional Organizer, Debbie Rosemont.
Time: 6:30pm to 9:00pm
Location: Beaver Lake Lodge 25101 SE 24th Street, Sammamish, WA 98075
Investment: $149 (includes FreedomFiler kit and light refreshments)
For more information or to register click here!
Class Limit: 12 participants (to ensure individual attention)
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