About a month and a half ago, we started a weekly post on the Simply Placed Facebook page titled the Tuesday Ten Minute Toss Challenge. Its been receiving a great response and lots of participation. We decided to move it to the blog so we’d have a little more space to elaborate on the post if we chose. We’ll still post the challenge on the Facebook page, but wanted to have the details here as an enhancement.

The feedback we’ve received so far is that you like the bite size nature of the tasks, that they are motivating you into action, and that the specific suggestions on “toss” projects are timely and do-able. Great! We’ll keep ‘em coming. If you have ideas for a Tuesday Ten Minute Toss Challenge, please let us know! In the meantime, check back weekly for a new challenge and make sure to join in the fun. We look forward to hearing about how you do with the challenges. Chime in anytime!  Now on to this week’s challenge:

Time for the Tuesday Ten Minute Toss Challenge!  RIGHT NOW spend 10 minutes on that huge list of contacts on your phone, Outlook, or other contacts database you use. Quickly select people that you don’t keep in touch with, don’t recognize or have never contacted before and remove them from your contacts.  Ten minutes is a long enough time to sort, reorganize or delete people from your list, making it easier to use and simpler to find the people you do contact often.  Take our challenge and get control of  one of those contact lists!

What’s that? 10 mintues is not long enough to accomplish this task? You’re welcome to take longer if you’d like, or if you have the time. Alternately, schedule another bursts of time in your calendar to complete the task. Either way, 10 minutes spent and progress made, is better than doing nothing at all.

Did you have long lists of contacts that needed ten minutes of maintenance?  Tell us how you did with today’s challenge!

TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a set of global conferences dedicated to “ideas worth spreading.”  This talk, given by Graham Hill, discusses how we can edit our lives. Its less than 6 minutes and well worth the time to view. It will get you thinking about your “stuff”.

Have you edited your life?  How would you like to edit your life in the future?  Simply Placed can help you achieve whatever edit you want  today.  Contact us  to make an appointment!

An organized child's room saves parents time, money and stress!

Some of you may have heard that my husband and I welcomed a beautiful baby girl into our family back in April.  We love every minute of this new thing called “parenthood,” but are also learning many new things about life.  One of these things is how much more work it takes to stay organized with a baby in the family.  I would say that I am a naturally organized person and have been for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until we brought our baby girl home that I realized just how important being oganized is.

There is just so much more stuff…toys, clothes, blankets, bibs, diapers,wipes and the endless gifts & hand-me-downs from family and friends.  Don’t get me wrong, we are super thankful for everything that we have been given, but with new things constantly coming into our home, it is so crucial that I take the time to purge & organize on a regular basis.  For all of you new moms out there – here are a few simple ideas on how I have learned to be organized these past 7 months:

 1. Create a home for everything – In my daughter’s bedroom, I have designated each dresser drawer for different items (i.e. socks in the top drawer, pants in another drawer, burp clothes in another, etc.  I also have cute baskets under my changing table that hold items like diapers, wipes, changing pad covers and the like. (See photo above) Additionally, in her closet I have these really cute organizers that I use to arrange her clothes by size (0-3 months, 3-6 months…).  I also have specific bins/baskets for her toys, blankets and books. 

 2. Establish a regular  ”tidy time” -  I have learned that if I don’t take 5-10 minutes each evening to tidy things up, my house would be a disaster.  I love taking a few minutes every night after dinner to put everything back into its “home.”   It is so nice to go to bed with a clean house, but it is also wonderful to wake up and start each day in a neat and tidy space.

3. Schedule in time to get your “to-do” list done - Having a baby makes your days much more unpredictable than they once were.  It is really important for me to mark off time in my calendar to get certain things done.  If I don’t schedule in time to do the laundry, grocery shop, and other errands, I would probably never get these things done.  Remember, it is okay and necessary to ask for help when you need it!

4. Take time to purge regularly – Babies outgrow clothes and toys all the time.  If you are planning to have more kids, then I would recommend containing and labeling those outgrown items and storing them.  If you are not planning to have more kids, take time to purge and then donate or consign those items you no longer use.  With each holiday and birthday, I recommend taking time to encourage your child to let go of a few toys before bringing his or her new toys into their room.  This way you are never accumulating too much stuff and you are teaching your kids how wonderful it is to give.

I would love to hear your ideas & tips on how to be an organized mom, so please feel free to share your ideas with us in the comments section on this blog post, on our Facebook page or send us an email through our website. We’ll compile some of your best tips and post them either in the blog or on the Facebook page. Here’s to New Moms, Vetran Moms and those who support Moms in various ways – to your organized life!

Recently we posted product reviews on a few Smead organizing products (the Stadium File and the SuperTab Folders) that were fairly new on the market. Now we want to let you know of a give-away Smead is doing of some of those very same products.

 It is really very simple:

• You want to get organized
• Smead wants to help you succeed
• All you need to do is “like” them on Facebook and simple, bite sized tips and tricks will be coming your way. (Everyone’s a winner of this “prize”.)

So here are 3 reasons to like Smead Organomics on facebook

1. It’s a Zen Thing: Getting organized helps you lower stress and often saves time and money. Who doesn’t want that?

2. Take the !*#? Out of Organizing: It’s easy to do and won’t take a lot of time. Why not try it?

3. Win Some Stuff: “Like” Smead Organomics NOW and you could win an amazing basket of organizing products!

While you’re at it (and on Facebook), don’t forget to stop by the Simply Placed Facebook page and if you haven’t already, “Like” us too for additional great tips and conversation on Organizing and Productivity.

Good luck with the give-away. Here’s to your organized and productive life!

Debbie was invited to be a guest on Sue Lundquist’s I’m Thankful Network radio show.  Sue’s show airs every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 9am PST.

 According to Sue, the mission for the I’m Thankful Network is to facilitate and create a safe environment for folks to come and get their tools to create a positive difference in their lives.  She says the Network is about Inspiration, Education and Collaboration. We’re excited to be a part!

 Please tune in next Tuesday, December 1st when Debbie will appear as guest on the I’m Thankful™ Network Radio Program.  Simply go to www.ImThankful.com and click the VIEW LIVE or LISTEN LIVE buttons.  Locally in Seattle, tune into 1150am ~ KKNW Alternative Talk Radio.  

Show host, Sue Lundquist, has asked Debbie to cover two topics for listeners:  Taming Family Chaos and A Simply Organized Holiday Season. I know Sue will have some great questions to ask, and Debbie has lots of easy strategies to share that really can Tame Family Chaos (through organization of time, space and stuff) and to Maximize Joy and Minimize Stress this holiday season.

We hope you are able to join us and listen in!

 We were interviewed for an article on Holiday Organizing for Rachael Ray’s website recently and the article is now up!

You can read Katia Hetter’s article “Simplify the Season with some Organizing Tips” here. Let us know what you think.

If you’d like more organizing tips to help you maximize the joy and minimize the stress this holiday season, check out or Simply Organized Holidays products. The e-book, workbook, or money saving bundle can help you keep things simple and have the holidays you want.

Looking for some personal help? Take a look at our current organizing specials and let us know if one of them is just right for you.

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!

It seems like there is some sort of new social networking tool coming out every day. In our day to day activities we often hear people talk about blogging, tweeting and digging (and not in your garden!). If these terms are familiar to you, but make your head spin when you think about the amount of time it may take to maximize and manage them, read on. If these terms are unfamiliar to you, read on anyway, as social networking is the wave of the future and a powerful way to connect, market and communicate, when used properly.

LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo, Biznik, and more. All of these can be great tools for reconnecting with people and for networking in the business world. They can also be a big time suck as it is way too easy to get lost in cyber-space. Plus, who can keep up with all of the networks that interest you and that you’re invited to join?

If you decide to test the waters and use some of the social networking tools available it is very important to know why you are using it (to keep in touch, business marketing, sharing information, establishing expertise, for fun, etc.) and how you’ll get the results you’re after.

Here are a few ways to stay organized & productive with Social Networking:

• Know your purpose or intentions each time you log on. What are you hoping to accomplish? Make a connection? Promote your business? Share information? Take a break from work and browse “for fun”?
• Engage consistently with a limited number of networks. Don’t spread yourself too thin.
• Participate. These networking tools will not do you any good, if you don’t use them. Keep your profiles up to date, respond to others in a timely manner, offer value to your network, etc.
• Review satisfaction level and measure results. Keep track of who you are connecting with and what has come of your social networking efforts.
• Create systems and boundaries. What sites will you visit daily or weekly? How much time will you allot to browse the site for new posts, new connections, events, articles, and information? How much time will you dedicate to posting, updating your status or profile, sharing information or adding value to your network? Block time on your calendar for engaging in social networking activity and use a timer to remind you when “time’s up”. Don’t get lost in cyberspace or link chasing.
• Use appropriate applications or tools to help manage & maximize your time spent with social networks. Three that we love are ping.fm  (to update status in several networks at one time), Tweetdeck (to help organize our Twitter contacts and their posts) and Bloglines (a blog reader where we can have our favorite blog RSS feeds come into for simple browsing and time efficient reading on our terms)

Still feel overwhelmed by social media and time management? We’d love to share an additional resource with you from the “experts”:

Embrace Social Media – a Telesummit – our friends at A Red Bench are bringing the experts to you on June 10th and 11th (or via recordings). You’ll learn best practices for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogging, and much, much, more.

What are your favorite strategies to maximizing social media tools while managing your time when using them? We’d love to hear from you.

Welcome to the Simply Placed Blog. We’re so glad you’re here. We’ve used several methods to get information out to our clients and other interested readers in the past. We publish, and will continue to publish a monthly newsletter. Recently we’ve begun to Tweet on Twitter. We wanted to have an avenue that was in between the two – more than a 140 word micro-blog entry, but not a full length article published infrequently. Blogging is the answer.

Our intention with Blogging is to share bite size pieces of information, organizing and productivity tips, relevant or current news related to our industry and its trends, as well as a view into the activities and ideas of the Simply Placed team. We also want the blog to be interactive. We invite discussion. Please read often and comment when you’re inspired, have a question, or thought you’d like to share.

We’ve jumped into the Blogging Pool. Come and join us … the water’s fine.