Archive for the ‘Tools of the Trade’ Category:
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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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We’re always on the look-out for new products that can help our clients stay organized. Recently, we were asked to review three from Smead. We were sent samples of their Stadium File, SuperTab Folders, and Viewables Labels. We’ll be posting our review for all three products over the next few days. The first will be for the Stadium File.
The Stadium File is a desktop organizer. This organizing tool contains 12 tiered pockets that keep papers and files visible. A great tool for someone who has papers spread out on their desk and worries about “out of sight, out of mind”. This keeps active papers and files (letter size) in front of you, in an organized fashion. Retailing for around $20, the organizer comes with several options for labels – A-Z, Jan-Dec, 1-31 and household subjects.
Pros:
- Price Point – this is a low investment to make to get the piles of paper up off the surface of your desk.
- Compact – it only takes up a corner of the desk
- Good option for active papers to be set up in a tickler file based on when the action needs to happen or categorical file based on what needs to happen with the paper.
- Not limited to an office desk, this product could also be used on a kitchen counter to corral papers needed in a “Household Command Center” with rosters, schedules, frequently used forms, lists, etc.
- Can use pre-printed labels or blank labels that come with the product to customize the files for your needs.
- Can accomodate loose papers or file folders
- While some tiered file holders only support the bottom part of paper or files, this supports the entire width of the paper or file. In some tiered file holders I’ve used in the past, the folders eventually curve. That wouldn’t happen in this organizer.
Cons:
- Made of 10 % recycled and 10% post-consumer material, this is a paper based product and is not completely sturdy. The whole unit may be pretty easy to knock over if you weren’t careful. When the organizer is full, it makes it heavier, and would be less likely to tip over.
- The built in tabs bent pretty easily when I slipped in a manila file folder and then were covered by said folder.
Where to buy: This product can be found at Office Depot, Franklin Covey and on Amazon, among other places.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for an inexpensive solution to help you manage “active” papers and files on your desk top, this is good option. If you decide to give it a try, please let me know what you think.
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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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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Want to get your holiday cards (or “anytime” correspondence) sent out quickly and painlessly with the click of a button? Send Out Cards allows you to send a real card, with a real stamp, even in your handwriting if you choose, online and easily. You can send a card one at a time, or create a card and send it to a group of people in the same amount of time as it takes to send one card.
When first introduced to Send Out Cards, we thought it was pretty cool, but it wasn’t until we started using it more that we saw the possibilities. We were so excited about how this could help our clients organize their correspondence and make their “keep in touch” efforts easier, that we became a distributor for Send Out Cards so we could help spread the word.
Contact us for a trial account and send a card or two out on us. We’re convinced this is a great way to organize and create systems around your correspondence. Send Out Cards is a fantastic tool to help you get in touch, keep in touch and stay “top of mind.” Follow through on promptings; build your personal and professional relationships today. Your life will be richer for it in many ways. Your business can benefit by using Send Out Cards as a very personal, customizable marketing tool. Stand out from the masses. Who doesn’t like getting a hand written card in the mail amongst all the junk and impersonal mail we normally get. What type of mail do you get excited about and open first when you see it? Point made!
Send Out Cards is efficient, organized, productive and economical. We’d be happy to tell you more about it or answer your questions. Just ask.
Let us know what you think about this “out of the box” organization and productivity tool that we’ve found beneficial. We love to share great ideas when we come across them!
That was easy.
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When we see a common problem when we’re working with clients, we search for a solution. We’d love to share with you a problem we saw that many of our clients faced and the solution we found to solve that problem.
Problem:
May of our clients had gift cards, significant coupons/offers or frequent buyer cards in various places in their homes or office. We would come across them in drawers, in inboxes, on counters, in envelopes, being used as bookmarks … you get the picture. Some of our clients attempted to carry them in their wallet or handbag, but either found that they got lost in the bottom of the bag or made their wallet too fat so they stopped bothering to keep them in their wallet or handbag.
The pain this problem caused is that when the gift card owner was out shopping they never had the right card with them and the money or offer was often wasted. The cards sitting in various places in the home or office were not being used.
Solution:
The Card Cubby! The Card Cubby® is a stylish, alphabetized mini-card file that fits right into a purse, briefcase, baby bag or car console!
Use the Cubby to Alphabetically File:
- Gift Cards
- Coupons (Fold and File)
- Frequent Buyer Cards
- Discount Cards
- Business Cards
- Player Cards
- Important Contact Info
- Insurance Cards
- And on and on…
The Card Cubby comes in a variety of colors and styles. It makes it fun and easy to have the cards you own with you when you shop or intend to redeem them. With the holiday’s right around the corner, it is the perfect time to get your Card Cubby so you have a “home” for all those gift cards you will receive this year. These also make great gifts. You can give your friend a gift card to her favorite coffee shop and give it to her in the Card Cubby.
If you’re interested, order yours here!
We hope you love this solution as much as we do. If you find a new use for the Card Cubby, please let us know. Who knows, it may solve another problem our clients face and we’ll have you to thank!
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I’ve been on Twitter for just over 7 months now (@simplyplaced).
I read a great post this morning by a colleague, Janine Adams, who owns Peace of Mind Organizing in St. Louis. She writes about a dozen reasons she loves Twitter. I encourage you to check out her post. I liked it so much I felt compelled to comment. Here were the thoughts I shared on her blog:
It was a friend of mine, “Shannon” (@swallner on Twitter) that talked me into trying Twitter out as well. Like you, it took a while for her to convince me of the benefits. When she first described it, I was confused as to why anyone would want to participate (and how I might grow personally and professionally as a result, as she insisted I would). Finally she wore me down and I signed up for an account.
I can’t imagine not participating now. Like you, I learn, I connect, I’m updated easily and I can share. Twitter, like life, is full of choices. You can choose who you follow, how you view posts (directly in Twitter or through any number of appications or tools, individually or grouped by location, industry, or how ever else I choose to group them), how often you view and post and what you choose to share. I love choices.
Thanks for the great blog post Janine!
Do you tweet? What do you get out of it? How much time do you spend on Twitter each day or week? What do you love (or hate) about Twitter? Do you use it to increase your business or productivity or do you feel like it detracts? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
If you’re not already, we’d love to have you follow us on Twitter. Our “handle” is @simplyplaced and you’ll find us here. Let us know who you are and we’ll look for you too!
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With the holidays fast approaching, now is the perfect time to clean out your pantry, refrigerator and freezer to make room for baking ingredients, make-ahead and freeze dishes, and holidays meals and treats! When was the last time you took time to purge your food products?
When working with our residential clients in kitchens and pantries we often get asked the following questions: “how long you think that is good for?” or ”is that still safe to eat?” We recently came across a website that helps us answer these very questions. www.stilltasty.com will help you determine how long to keep a product and the best way to store it. Be sure to take a peak!
McCormick also has a website that helps us know the shelf life of a spice. Check it out here!
Once you have taken the time to purge, it is important to implement a few new organizing habits. Here are a few quick ideas for you to do now:
1. Group like food items together (ie. baking ingredients, canned goods, cereals, pasta, rice, snack food, etc.)
2. Use shelf organizers to increase visibility. Ladder organizers work great for canned food and allow you to see what you have without having to spend a lot of time searching. See our post on some of our favorite organizing products for the kitchen and pantry for other great ideas that can help you contain your items and be able to see what you have.
3. Label shelves and/or containers so that all family members know where things go.
3. Always take an inventory of what you have before you make your grocery list. Take the time to look in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer so you know what you have before going to the store. This will save you money as you will no longer be buying duplicates of things you already have. Our Meal Planning Made Easy system helps you remember to do this each time and can save you time, money and stress with your meal planning week after week.
4. Before hosting a dinner party, take time to clean out your refrigerator to make room for prepared food and left- overs.
We hope this will help you as you start thinking about Holiday meal planning and preparation. Let us know if we can help you get your kitchen or pantry organized. Make sure to take advantage of one of our current special Pre-Holiday Organizing packages if you know you’d like some help. Alternately, you can get lots of other ideas on how to have an organized holiday season in our e-Book, Simply Organized Holidays, and/or our companion Organized Holiday workbook. Purchase them together for the best pricing.
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Simply Placed is proud to be a sponsor of an exciting project. Shirey Contracting has built a Zero Energy House. Occupants will be company owners Donna and Riley Shirey. Their goal is to live their life using as little energy as possible. They’ve constructed a home specifically to help them do just that. The features and details are impressive.
Simply Placed was lucky enough to help with space planning, measuring, research, shopping and product procurement for organizing the kitchen, pantryand work desk area. All products selected are environmentally friendly; most made of bamboo. The products used in these spaces were largely donated by Storables (Thank you Storables!).
A Ribbon Cutting ceremony and tours will take place next week on Thursday, beginning at 11:00 am and continuing throughout the day. The address is 840 West Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE, Bellevue, WA 98008. If you’re in the area, come check it out. While you may not be ready to build a house like this from the ground up, you may get some great ideas of small changes you can make in your home or office that lesson your carbon footprint.
To learn more about this project, please visit www.zeroenergyideahouse.com.
Congratulations to the Shireys on their new home (today was move in day!) and for their efforts to live a sustainable life. Our future generations depend on all of us to do our part. The Shirey’s are doing their’s.
What’s your favorite way to be kind to the environment and to protect our natural resources? We’d love to hear from you.
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By now, if you have kids, they are undoubtedly back to school for the year. Even if they have been in for a week or two, many are still excited and feeling positive about the year ahead.
Remember how you felt the first day of school? Setting off to class with all your new school supplies, you felt confident you had all you needed to start the school year off right. Maybe it was your new Trapper Keeper with a velcro closure so all your papers would stay nice and neat even if you dropped it. Maybe it was knowing you had a dozen sharpened pencils and the erasers hadn’t been bitten off yet. Maybe it was knowing your assignments for classes were written down so you wouldn’t forget a due date. Maybe it was knowing you had a clean, organized book bag to hold all your supplies and the pens were in the special slots designed to hold pens. Maybe you recognized these things made you feel organized so you could start learning.
It is important to have the right tools to help keep your kids organized & productive. Here are a few of the basics we recommend:
A Planner
As soon as the student hears of an assignment, a deadline, a project, an appointment or an upcoming event, they should write it down. This frees the mind.
Time should be allocated each day for homework, studying, activities and for social engagements. Teach your child to review the planner each night before giong to bed. Preparing for the day ahead and packing up necessary homework, activity equipment, etc. can make mornings run much smoother.
Longer-term projects should be broken down into manageble pieces and plotted in the planner (working backwards from the due date of the report or project).
A Zippered 3-Ring Binder
If it’s dropped, things don’t spill out all over the place. There should be subject dividers with a section for each class, a section for completed homework to turn in, and a section for blank notebook paper.
Take time each day to make sure paper gets put in the right place in the binder. Keep a three ring hole punch handy. Avoid just “shoving” paper anywhere in the binder.
Clean out this binder regularly, especially at the end of a unit in a particular class, to make space for new materials that will come in with the new unit.
A Filing Box or Drawer
File papers here that you need to be kept as a reference at home (no longer in the binder). Once papers have been turned in, recorded by the teacher and returned, remove the papers from the binder and backpack and file them for reference, end-of-unit or end-of-term test study, and for safe keeping (just in case a teacher makes an error in their grade book – you have proof of the completed assignment and grade).
As a general rule, after end-of-year grades have been received, it is safe to toss most of the papers in these files and empty them for the new school year to come. Keep selected paper or school work for sentimental reasons (tucked away in a memory box), or to review key concepts before the following school year (ie: as a review before a continuation of the same subject; Spanish, Math, etc.).
If you know someone who wants to feel like every day is the first day of school, have them contact Simply Placed. Busy professionals can consider taking our upcoming GO System Seminar to increase focus, organization and productivity at work, and parents (and students grade middle school and above) can take our Organize for School Success class to learn more tips and tricks to putting their best foot forward all school year long.
Either way, we’ll help turn the chaos and clutter of summer vacation into action, productivity and possibility for the coming year.
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After you’ve cleared clutter in your kitchen and pantry and have assigned homes to the items you’ll keep in these areas, you can consider whether or not you need products (to go along with some new habits) to help you stay organized. There are so many fabulous kitchen & pantry organizing products available today. The selection can be quite overwhelming. To make your shopping experience a little easier, we’d like to share some of our favorite organizing products with you. Many of these products are available at Storables or on our website:
Expandable 3-tier cabinet shelf - these are great for storing items like canned goods, spices and condiments. They allow you to easily see what you have.
Wire cabinet shelf - Do you need more space for storing mugs, plates or 
bowls? This wire shelf will maximize your storage space and minimize clutter. Store twice the mugs, plates or bowls in the same space you have now.
Divided pantry bin - This is perfect for storing small items like seasoning packets & tea bags.
Plastic Storage Baskets - Use small to medium sized 
baskets to store loose food items in your pantry. You can store items like pasta, rice and crackers in separate bins with individual labels.
Quilted dinnerware protectors - great for storing china or special occasion dishes. These quilted protectors come in an assortment of shapes and sizes to accomodate all of your dishes.
Foldable stepstool - this is a must-have for anyone who has a few kitchen cabinets or pantry shelves that are out of reach. This stepstool folds up nicely making it very portable and easy to store.
Turntables – these work great in corner cabinets or on pantry shelves to store items like seasonings & canned foods. 
Expandable utensil organizers – we strongly recommend using a utensil drawer organizer for silverware & other kitchen utensils. Don’t waste any more time searching for that long lost wooden spoon in your cluttered utensil drawer.
Recipe Nest - Stores full page recipes straight from your printer, 
magazines or your hand written notes. No more punching holes, cutting or copying recipe cards. This product combines the best features of a recipe binder and a recipe box and adds a clip on easel for greater functionality. For more information, check out our blog post on this product.
Meal Planning Made Easy System - this is an easy-to-use system for anyone who struggles with meal planning and prep. We’ve written more about this in a previous blog post. For less than the cost of a pizza, this will save you time, money and stress week after week.
These are just a few of our favorites. What product could you not live without in your kitchen or pantry?
Let us know if you have any questions about these products or if you would like additonal recommendations. We would love to be a resource for you!
