Thanks Cafe Fashionista!

We received a nice mention over at Cafe Fashionista on Saturday on our Apothecary Jars with Stainless Steel Lids! Cafe Fashionista is a fun blog on fashion, style and all things girley and fun.

Nice job, Erika - thanks!

Cleaning up those unfinished projects

If you are like me, we seem to think that the good weather is going to last forever. When the weather is nice and we have the time and climate to get those outside house projects finished; it is also the time of year, that we can go out and enjoy life.

Well, I do not know about you, but I would definitely opt for a picnic rather than cleaning out the garage. Therefore, what inevitably happens is that fall is here before we know it and the outside chores and maintenance, still is not finished.
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Quote for the Week: On Goals

The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what we want most for what we want at the moment.
~ Anonymous ~

A tough one for me - I love instant gratification - but SO important to remember! Keep a list of your long term goals handy to look at when you are tempted by the "now".

Have a great weekend!

Quote for the Week: On Worry

When I look back on all the worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened.
~Winston Churchill

I've got a lot on my plate today and I'm trying not to worry about it. This one's for me, and for all you other worriers out there. Take a break from your worries today and have a fantastic weekend!

Vote for Stacks and Stacks for Best retailer - Please!

I'm shouting from the rooftops, I’m so excited! Stacks and Stacks has been nominated for Best Organizing Product Retailer by NAPOLA (the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers)!

For those of you that don't know, this is like the Oscars of the organizing world! There are only four other nominees for this category out of the whole world wide web! WOW! You can vote for us here: http://www.napola.org/. You’ll need to register if you aren’t already, but it’s painless.

And please, spread the word!

Quote for the Week: On Opportunity

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
- Thomas A Edison

Rarely do things just fall into our laps. Expect to work to achieve your goals.

Have a great weekend!

Space Treat: The Power of the Purge!

This is one of the things I just love about organizing with my clients… so, last week a client and I are elbow deep in her papers, sifting through and making sense of them when she exclaims… "It feels so good to get rid of this stuff and make some new space! I haven't used this stuff in 10 years and I've been carting it around during 2 moves! It's just amazing how you hold onto stuff that you never end up using or even needing."
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6 Steps to an Organized Home Office

There are so many of us that have offices in our homes, whether that is for work or for home budgeting and files. It is hard to keep this area organized when there is so little room, especially if you are trying to set up an office, computer, tables etc, in a small space. However, there are some little tips that can help you make things compact, but, within reach and organized.

1. Purchase a computer desk that has cubbies for papers (printer, envelopes etc.) Make sure that your desk also has; drawer for pens, thumbtacks, paper clips, stapler and staples and misc. It is also handy to have a filing drawer for those receipt files, so they are easy to get to in a moments notice.
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Welcome A.J. Miller!

We have a new contributor - Please help me welcome A.J. Miller!

Please check out her bio on our "Writer's Bios" page.

Her first post is below! Thanks, A.J.!

The Truth About Multitasking

As a result of growing safety concerns about people texting on their cell phones while driving (there is mounting evidence that texting creates a greater risk of crashing than even drunken driving), the NY Times has recently published a flurry of articles and editorials on the subject. The conclusion reached by many automakers, cell phone manufacturers/service providers, Internet companies, computer science and communications professors, The National Safety Council, the Governors Highway Safety Association, lawmakers and President Obama is that texting while driving is dangerous and should be outlawed.
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Quote for the Week: On Courage

Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared.
~ Eddie Rickenbacker

So true!

1 Strategy to Manage Your ADD

The one ADD management strategy that is guaranteed to make your ADD more manageable is…[drum roll, please]…self-care! Yes, it works for everyone. And small steps lead to really big improvements in this arena.

When I say "self-care," I'm talking about the three basic things that every person (ADD or not) needs to focus on in order to stay healthy and feel good: nutrition, exercise, and sleep.

Let's take a look at why each of these are so important for adults with ADD…
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Slowing Down the Adult ADD Brain

Today I'd like to talk about one way to tackle overwhelm; slowing down.

If you have adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), then you know that slowing down is a hard thing to do. There are so many tasks to accomplish in a day, and so little time to get them done! So your mind goes into high speed, thinking about what you want to accomplish and how you'll manage to do it, and worrying about the fact that getting it all done on any given day seems impossible. As a result, you spend a lot of time stressing out, and very little time enjoying life.

While slowing down is a difficult skill to master, it's essential for good ADD management. Slowing down your speedy brain helps you get into a calm and centered place. Once there, you're in a much better position to manage your stress and get things done.
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Space Treat: Get ready, It's September!

When September arrives, do you start to feel like your plate is suddenly piled high? It's the unofficial beginning of Fall and while you may be excited by the thoughts of cooler mornings (hopefully soon), you may also start to feel a little overwhelmed with everything that's going to happen between now and December 31st.

Does it feel a bit like the New Year without the freezing temperatures?
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Charity Profile: Books for Soldiers

If you love to read, I bet you've got a pretty nice stockpile of books. I'll go even further and say that I bet you only read 2-5 of those books on a regular basis, and the rest are just "dust collectors."

Am I right or am I right?

I just came across a wonderful charity that can help you downsize your library, opening up a little more space for something else! It's called Books for Soldiers.
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Adults with ADD: Are You Overcomplicating Things?

Do you ever get the feeling that you're overcomplicating things?

There are certainly many important decisions in life that need careful consideration. But people with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) tend to get stuck "carefully considering" even the smallest decisions, like where to keep a new item that you bought, how to spend your day off, or what to order in a restaurant. We can easily over think the simplest of tasks, making them more complicated and stressful than they need to be.
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Quote for the Week: More on Goals…

A goal without a plan is just a wish.
~Larry Elder

Space Treat: Don't let the door hit you on your way out!

Is there a door in your home that has a mind of it's own? It makes unloading and loading a full car unnecessarily challenging. Have you ever been carrying an armful of stuff when the measly door wedge gives out? … and whack! Or worse, you're trying to open the door with one foot while balancing on the other and your arms are desperately trying to keep their grip on 5 bags of groceries.

These doors just don't stay where you put them and the biggest offenders are the spring-loaded doors forcing you to race your way through so it doesn't hit you on your backside.
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Quote for the Week: On Goals

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.

~Denis Watley

Define your goals. Make them achievable. Believe in yourself.

Have a great weekend!

10 Easy Steps to Good Note Taking

Taking good notes can mean the difference between a passing and a failing grade. If your notes are lacking and don't have confidence in what you wrote, chances are you will not read the notes or take them seriously and only skim over them. If you have good notes that you trust, you will concentrate on what you wrote and the information will become imbedded in your mind.

Here are 10 tips on 'note taking' that will help you to study harder and more efficiently. These techniques are not only valuable for school, but for the rest of your life!
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Space Treat: Magnetic Solutions

Right 12, Left 37, Right 16 - that was my high school locker combination.

Back to school season is here! We're surrounded by lots of new notebooks, pens, paper tablets and my favorite… magnetic gadgets for lockers!

Even if you're all grown up, you can still get a bang out of these fun and functional items. Magnetic gadgets are available all year round but right now there is an influx of bright, colorful ones marketed to students… but don't let that stop you from enjoying them yourself!
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Blog Giveaway! Get Cool for School

Karen at 3garnets and 2sapphires has started up a giveaway just in time for back to school with some really cute stuff! They are giving away an art bundle that consists of:

Our Two-Sided Art Easel, a Set of 12 Foam Rollers, a set of Plastic Chubby Paint Brushes, Simply Washable Tempera Paint in the Classic Colors, No Mess Paint Cups and a Junior Apron (new product) OR A Waterproof Bib OR An Art Smock!

These are the 8 blogs participating in this giveaway event. You can gain additional entries for this contest by entering on all 8 blogs.
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SPACE TREAT: Embrace your laziness?

All this hot and humid weather is making me feel lazy. How about you?

You may be relieved to hear that when it comes to getting organized, laziness can be your biggest ally. The trick is to design your system around your "laziest common denominator", meaning, doing things with the least number of steps.
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Quote for the Week: On Goals

It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise.

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

So true! When you make each step a goal in itself, you get small satisfacions along the entire journey that keep you motivated and going in the right direction.

Have a great weekend!

Quote for the Week: On Perseverance

Constant dripping hollows out a stone.
~Lucretius

No matter how small you start, no matter how small a bite you take out of any task - anything can be achieved if you don't give up.

Now go sort that pile of junk mail on the counter and have a great weekend.

The Big O: Be a Guest Host!

Are you the the local organizing guru in your circle of friends? Do you have a secret (or not so secret) dream of hosting a podcast? Or are you the exact opposite and just want to have a great time?

VickyandJen.com, together with Monica Ricci, are hosting a contest for a guest-host spot on the next "Big O" podcast series!

If you've never heard any of the podcasts from the "Big O" series (that's "O" for Organization), have a listen - they cover a multitude of organizing dilemmas, and the three of them have a blast doing it!

What a great opportunity for a budding organizing expert, or anyone who wants to learn a few tricks and have an awesome afternoon!

Good Luck!

Recycling Beauty Products

Are you really going to use that lotion that you got at the office gift-swap party 2 Christmases ago? Ummm…no.

Chances are, you've got some beauty products that are — but really shouldn't be — taking up some valuable real estate in your bathroom.

This week, I encourage you to go through your bathroom storage, tossing anything you no longer need, want, or use.
But don't just put the bottles and boxes into the trash! Opt to be environmentally responsible.
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Organizing Your Life on a Shoestring Budget

"I don't know about every one else in the world, but when it comes to all of those fancy storage containers and cutesy little baskets for organizing, I cringe at the thought of the extra expense and the dent it is going to put into my budget.

Who can afford all of that stuff at one time? Gosh, by the time I made my list, if I didn’t pay any bills and eat, I could only afford to buy two-thirds of what was on my list. Help me; give me a clue how to organize within my budget!"

This is what a reader wrote to me last week. I understand completely, it can get expensive if you are going to purchase all of the cute little organizers and storage containers. However, who said you had to?
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Quote for the Week: On Failure

One who fears failure limits his activities. Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again.

~Henry Ford

Have a great weekend!

Space Treat: The Difference Between Buried Treasures and Fool's Gold

Have you ever intended to sort through your stuff with the hopes of letting some of it go only to find that you've just discovered buried treasures? Suddenly everything seems useful, sentimental, valuable and practical.

You haven't worn this watch since 1997 but hey, it still works. You loved your white water rafting vacation last summer, why not hold onto the brochure to remember all the good times? You put so much energy into researching and purchasing your new digital camera, how could you possibly think about recycling the box?
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