When You Just HAVE to Write in the Margins

How many times did you fear writing in the margins when you were in school? You take out a book from the library and as you are studying you make a quick note, underline a few words, and then before you turn it back in you erase like a maniac! You just know the library police are going to come after you and rip your fingernails out one by one because you wrote in the margins.

Then as you graduate into the lovely world of having to buy your own college text books, you rejoice in the freedom of writing in YOUR book as much as you want! Even when you don't necessarily HAVE to it's just a glorious feeling of self gratification that you CAN.

Now as professionals, we have elevated ourselves up to this plateau of regal margin writings, but sometimes it looks just a bit tacky scribbling in pencil on our beautiful books. Not to mention, when we share our books with friends and colleagues, do you really want to lend out your own personal musings?

Well! My dear friends at Levenger have come up with the perfect solution for all of our maniac margin musings by creating the Margin Maker!

Can you just say "Ingenious"!?

You simply pull off of the roll as much as you need, place it into your book, write away all of your wonderful thoughts and ideas and it looks absolutely stunning! Plus, you can even find all of the places you actually left a note quite easily. If it's time to lend out your book, you can simply peel away the marker and lend it out. Life is Good!

Happy Writings!

Custom Planning for Your Day

Several months ago I went back to work full time, although it broke my heart to put "Organizing" on the back burner sometimes we have to do things for the greater good. Of course, it doesn't mean I have to give it up completely. If anything it has been a great experience at finding new and fun organizing solutions for my current role of Account Manager.

Feeling the pain of not having an office and living out of the car has given me tremendous insight and some fabulous ideas for those of you who are in similar situations. Finding my "groove" has been a painstaking effort, but I finally have it all down pat! THANK HEAVENS!

Over the next few weeks, I am going to sharing some of the organizing solutions I have come up with and the tools that have helped me along the way.

The first one is my customized system for planning my little day.

I thought I would enjoy going back to the days of Day Planners, but I was sadly disappointed when I realized that my current job didn't really fit into the parameters of a Day Planner system. I was even more devastated to learn that I did not have a laptop, computer or Outlook to help me in my position. (Ya, can you believe THAT CRAP?)

Instead, I was given a Blackberry Pearl and sent along my merry little way. For the first couple of weeks, I was pissy, peevish, and down right indignant over the lack of tools to do my job. Ok, maybe a little bit more than pissy and peevish, I was beyond annoyed. I felt like I was being set up to fail and that there was no possible way to succeed in the position if I didn't even have what I needed to do the actual tasks assigned. I was not a happy camper.

Now I had the Blackberry and it has a little calendar in it and a task list, but for the love of Pete, typing with my thumbs all of the things I needed to accomplish in a day was out of the question. The bulk of a big planner was just ridiculous to even contemplate and since I spent 95% of my time in a car I needed to be able to write down notes while driving 70mph on the freeway. (Scary, I know!)

My organizing epiphany arrived the day I received my box of goodies from uCreate. Abundant in color and my extreme desire to use all of it to brighten my day, brought me back to the basics.

1 - uCreate Simply Silhouette Notebook
1 - Matching uCreate pen
1 - uCreate Post It Notes
1 - uCreate Post It Flag
1 - Pink Highlighter


I took the pink notebook that had the elastic band and I started labeling each page with the Day of the Week, the actual Date, made a section for To Do's, and a little section for Appointments. Toward the end of the notebook I sectioned off two chunks of the notebook for Notes and for Voicemails and labeled them with my Post It flags.

Then I got busy with writing down everything that I needed to do. The main reason for the bigger section for my To Do List versus appointments is because I have more action items than I have appointments. I don't necessarily HAVE to be anywhere at a specific time. It's mostly "popping in", which is why a Day Planner system didn't make sense. I do, however, have to put together marketing materials, pick up supplies, check in with graphics, create pricing, update promotions, etc.



Here is what my typical Day Page looks like. I have all of my To Do's listed and as I finish them I strike them through with a highlighter. Same goes with the little appointments at the bottom. As soon as I am done, I mark it through. You will also notice that I have a note on a Post It off to the side. This is because I was driving down the freeway at 75mph and I had to make a quick note to follow up on a client. I quickly wrote it down and when I stopped I just slapped it on the page. Why duplicate my efforts?

You will also notice a nifty little flag at the top of the page. This is a visual reminder that I have things that I did not accomplish from the day before. This way I don't have to rewrite my To Do's on the next day and I can just flip through and see what I didn't get a chance to finish. As soon as I have finished with everything on that page, I will remove the flag.

The Notes section in my notebook is for meetings I have with clients or my boss. I like having everything in one notebook because I just don't want to carry a ton of crap with me and if we are reviewing a meeting I had with a client I can just flip to it without having to worry about it. It's all contained in one book.

Of course, I can't do anything without having my Voicemail Log. I originally started out with just using a separate Composition Book, but this is working out quite nicely. Although I do prefer the separation, this just makes a ton of sense at the moment.

I have only been using it for two weeks and I am sure that I will run into some snags when the notebook gets full and I have to switch to another, but I can always label the notebook by the dates in the planner section and tuck it away at my home office. But for right now, this little system is saving my life and I am loving it! Blackberry be damned!

If you have created a customized system for yourself, please share!!! I would love to hear about some other ideas and what you use!

Happy Organizing!
Suzanne Babb

Organizing Goodness

Look at some of the beautiful goodies I got in the mail today from uCreate! You can see what else I am doing with all of this fun stuff over at my other blog! Marcia, the little books on the right with the purple and blue spines are COMPOSITION BOOKS!!! Yippee!

More Than Just a Bookmark

Back in September, Marcia started designing and creating her very own bookmarks. Seeing that she has a major book fetish, it definitely seems appropriate! Being that I am a horrendous offender at dog earing my books, it tickled me no end to find one of Marcia's famous bookmarks in my mail box right before Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas, it seems that my whining about NOT having a digital camera finally paid off as I received one from my darling mother! I am now the proud owner of the Kodak Easy Share 12 megapixel Z1275 and I am LOVING IT! It now allows me to take a picture of the beautiful beaded bookmark by Marcia along with some other ideas!

Aside from using it as a traditional bookmark (can I also add that it is the perfect size for the hard back books?!), I can also use them to help me find my place in my trusty composition books. I use the composition books for EVERYTHING and normally I use a Post It Flag to mark my page so I know where to open the page up to, but the beaded bookmark just looks gorgeous with the U:Create Composition Book.

The most important piece to remember about any supply, tool, or favorite doo-dad; is nine out of ten it has a dual purpose and can multi-task with the best of them!

Not only can I use the bookmark for my books, my kids came up with the idea of having two different colors; one for each kid, and then using a magnet to hang them from the dishwasher to let them know whose turn it was to empty it. If Jordyn's beaded marker was hanging on the dishwasher it was her turn and the same would go with Garrett. Ingenius and beautiful!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Marcia!

I LOVE the sparkling beauty!

Zip Notes

Can anyone guess what this is? Other than cheating by looking up at the title. It's called a Zip Note and it lets you customize the size of your Post It!!!! The sticky strip is down the middle and you cut the Post It to any size you want.

How flippin' cool is that? I think I'm going to get one for me and one for my son's teacher for Christmas!

This lovely little novelty can be found at DayTimer and if you end up getting one or have one, be sure and let me know what you think of it! I would love to see if it's as sticky as a traditional Post It note. Of course, I can't take credit for finding it, this little treasure was stumbled upon by my mother. (I feel bad about not looking at it for so long, mom! Ooops!)

A soon as I get mine ordered and use and abuse it for a bit, I'll be sure and post a review.

Happy Organizing!

Jot-It - Product Review

Well, a couple of weeks ago I got my first product in the mail to review at my new office. I LOVE to review new office supplies and organizational products. It is definitely one of the biggest perks I have.

A couple of weeks ago, I was approached by the folks at Cocoa Living to review their new Jot-It that will be coming out in the Target stores in the very near future. There are a couple of things I wish they would have done differently, but the entire whiteboard-dry erase-template concept is great, but with a couple of tweaks it could be GREAT.

I left the entire review on my Suzanne's Favorite Office Supplies Blog. So if you are interested in hearing about my likes and dislikes of the Jot-It, by all means check it out. I have also left my two cents on some of the other products I do and don't like. Did I mention I'm opinionated? ;o)

Happy Organizing!

My Own Personal Office Supply Outlet

I was complaining whole heartedly yesterday as I was walking up and down the aisles, visiting 4 different stores and not finding a damn thing that I needed. I tried to convince my mother to start up an office supply store, carry all of the items that I need, and I'll be sure and keep her in business. Can you believe she turned me down? Not even with an "I don't think so" it was more of the not-in-a-million-years look.

Over the course of the day, I came up with a brilliant idea of going one step further from my normal "favorite products" section on my blog. Not only am I going to have my favorite products I'm going to have links of where to actually purchase them. I can now refer my clients and my self to Suzanne's Favs blogspot and order right online! No running around to 4 different stores (on a good day) no racking my brain trying to remember where I got it at last time and no more picking up the wrong item.

You have no idea how much better I feel knowing that I can have my favorite pens at a drop of the hat.

If you have a favorite, but obscure office supply that you have a hard time finding, be sure and let me know and I'll most definitely put it on the blog!

While I'm at it, I think I'll throw on the blog MY favorite chocolate! Galaxy Ripple! Yummmm!

The Lusty Month of May

If there is one thing I could go back in time for it would be to see Julie Andrews, Richard Burton and Robert Goulet in the play Camelot. My mom would listen to the soundtrack for hours on end and I would lay in the middle of the hall and pretend that I, too, was a lady of Camelot. It is no big surprise that every year during the month of May I suddenly start humming, The Lusty Month of May. Especially since the weather in Arizona is gorgeous! High 80's with a bit of breeze, sunny skies, and baby birds are flying everywhere. Which reminds me, I need to water my flowers!

Along with great weather, the end of school, and reminders of my childhood May has been absolutely busy and it's only the 6th! My new website should be ready to launch on Tuesday of this week, which is exciting, I have brought on 2 new people to help with the My Girl Friday personal assistant portion of my company and I have an IT computer guy added to my list. Woo hoo!

I also came across a great new use for the self adhesive business card holders from Staples. (They were the cheapest I found 10 for $3.99) Some of the areas we used these little goodies are:

1. Filing Cabinet - We flipped over a business card and labeled each drawer of the filing cabinet so we knew what the drawer contained (I'll get pictures on Wednesday)
2. Poly Project Folders - My client puts together elaborate Events for her clients so each client has their own Poly Projet folder and once the event is over she files the papers a way. In the meantime, we placed a business card holder on the Project folder and either put the business card of the client or flipped over another business card and wrote on the back the name of the event.
3. Magazine Holders - You can either label your magazine holder with the type of magazines you have in them or you can use the magazine holder for projects and place the business card holder on the back end so you can see which of your clients it is for.
4. File Folders - If you have a file folder for a client, place the self adhesive business card holder to the inside and slide their business card into it.

I'll be sure and post more pictures later this week :)

Happy Organizing!

For the Love of Poly!

It's tougher than the man of steel, able to defeat mountains of paper in a single swipe, it's a file folder, it's an envelope, no! It's POLY!

I LOVE products designed with Poly, if only my classification folders were in Poly, I would be a happy lady! So what options do we have with Poly Products and what can we use them for?

This little guy is an Index Card Holder, which you can find at Staples or Target for anywhere from $.99 to $1.49. I, however, use them to organize business cards. They are great for taking with you to trade shows or networking events as they have little section tabs which you can label. I have mine labeled:

People who are interested

People I'm interested in

Random People

Avoid at all costs

It sounds harsh, but we have all met "those" people at events who you would rather run and hide under a burning building then ever face again so why inadvertantly contact them only to subject yourself to more torture? You can even take it one step further and label the "Business Card Organizer" by Event and store it away in your closet or desk drawer. This helps reduce the clutter of business cards on your desk and it allows you to find the business card for "that one gal with the nifty business card".

The next of my favorite Poly tools is the Poly File Jacket aka Project Folder. These babies are WONDERFUL! Very similar to the Pile Files only they are sealed on 3 sides with a nice little flap to hold in your papers. I actually these for most of my "My Girl Friday" clients. Anything I am working on for them goes into one of these little Project Folders and I can easily see what is in it and not worry the pages or random receipts are going to fall out. They also work out great for holding the receipts for expense reports. You can typically find them at the office supply store in packs of 5 for $4.00.

Do you have a favorite Poly product and what do you use it for?

Levenger Story Board Note Pad

One of my all time favorite organizational product catalogs, is Levenger. They are renowned for their Circa system, which is fantastic. Their fountain pens are gorgeous. But the latest organizational tool that I recently played with is their Story Board Note Pads.

Not that I can draw a stick figure to save my life, but I can use it to organize notes when I'm talking with clients. For example: I'm on the phone with a potential client and we're discussing their frustrations and areas of nightmarish disorganization. In the box to the left I write their areas of concerns, what they don't like about it, what isn't working, etc. On the lines to the right, I write some suggestions and/or thoughts I have for fixing the issue.

Not only does it help me organize my thoughts when I'm talking with them, it also allows me to quickly type up their assessment. So even though it was designed for the "artistic", the Story Board layout is perfect for taking notes or planning projects!

5 Reasons Why Papermate Profile Pen is Lovely

I was at my mom's this morning having a lovely little breakfast and enjoying the gorgeous weather here in sunny Arizona, before the 110 degree heat kills off any welcoming thoughts of going outside, when I realized I needed to make a list before I went to the store.

Being the pen thief that I am, I quickly scoped out a new pen that was lying on the counter in the kitchen and decided to see if it was any good. Keep in mind that my mother and I's taste in pens vary quite a bit. We're both pen connoisseurs, but she favors a bold, fatter, gel-type pen where I much prefer a fine, fountain-pen style pen. So the chances of me actually liking the pen was slim to none.

Imagine my surprise when I went to write down "Coke and Ice" on my shopping list and the pen literally seemed to glide over the paper. I could hardly believe that I actually wrote anything at all. So I had to try it again. Sure enough, it was just as smooth as the first time.

The pen in question? Papermate's Profile Retractable Pen.

1. Writes smooth as the milk chocolate in a Galaxy Ripple
2. The pen stroke is bold yet elegant
3. Your finger embraces the pen versus gripping
4. The color selection is cheery yet sophisticated
5. Another fine product from my favorite pen maker Papermate

The only bad part about the pen is my mother loves them so much she wouldn't even part with ONE of her new pens. I did get to try them out and the burgandy pen is STUNNING! Typically I won't even pick up a black ink pen, because I will swear that it makes my handwriting less than pleasing, but with the Papermate Profile it looked wonderful.

All in all, it was a fine write and I will definitely be picking me up a pack, since I can't seem to snag one from my eagle eye mother.

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne

When you just HAVE to pile - Pile File

I have fondly dubbed these little file jackets the Pile File, but their real name is the Pendaflex PileSmart QuickView Jacket aka the Pile File. Sometimes no matter how hard to try to organize all of the things on your desk, find homes for every piece of paper, and implement fantastic systems you just HAVE to pile.

And of course, there are those of you who function just fine with all of the piles and these beautiful little Poly File Jackets are PERFECT! They are actually an oversized poly file jacket that has a label you can actually write on to categorize your piles. This works out great for receipts, papers from a trip, receipts you found on line, To Do's, or even as a delegation pile. I am trying this new system on one of my clients for items he needs me to follow up on. Instead of putting a "pile" on the edge of his desk he slides all of the tasks he has in store for me into the Pile File labeled "Suzanne To Do". The same goes for me. Anything I have questions on, I put it into the "Doug Review" Pile File.

This system is especially wonderful for those of you who are Visual. Not only can you see through the top jacket, you will be able to see what is in it!

The other snappy feature of the Pile File is that it is sealed on the left side, bottom and partially on the right side. This helps contain any little pieces of paper and ensures that your papers aren't going to fall out when you go to pick up your Pile File.

Plus, they aren't that expensive. I picked my pack of 6 up at Staples and it was $3.96. I did check online and they are a bit more online at Staples around the $4.96 price range and Pendaflex sells them for $6.49, but they also have them in Fashion Colors, which are nice.

All in all, I'm very happy with my new organizing toy and if you get a chance to pick them up, I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!!!

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne McLoone
Organizational Empowerment

Less Than Acceptable Pen

Well, I have found a pen I do not like. I was really hoping I would like the pen, because they do come in some nifty colors but, alas, it falls a few feet short of the apple tree. As a matter of fact, I think it missed the whole orchard. These pens will definitely be going to my kids, because I can't even right a legible simple list with these nasty-wanna-be's.

The pen in question is the Pilot Precise V5 Extra Fine Rolling Ball pen. I was hoping that they would be something similar to my Papermate Liquid Expresso Xtra Fine, but although it looks similar it is no where near the same.

While the Liquid Expresso allows me to determine how fine or broad my stroke is, the Pilot Precise is nothing but a wimpy rendition of a needle dipped in watered down ink. The colors are not bold, the barrel is too thin, and even though I realize it is an Extra Fine tip, the flow of the ink is way too thin. And I LOVE extra fine.

The choices in color are nice, the price is decent, but the overall writing quality just isn't there.

Sorry, Pilot, the Precise V5 Extra Fine just doesn't cut it.

Lovely Office Supplies

Last week I had a pretty crazy and very crabby week. My poor family was beside themselves and needless to say no one really wanted to talk to me too much. Shoot, I didn't even want to talk to me, it was THAT bad.

Then several things happened.

1) I walked into the new Staples just a mile from my house and my favorite Staples Store Manager was transferred to MY store! Ok, it may sound silly, but Mike, who is the store manager, is absolutely wonderful! He always remembers me when I come in (sure, I spend enough money in there to support then damn place), his employees are always happy and helpful, and he does whatever he can to help promote my business. Not too shabby! So that made me happy.

2) Next, I walked through the local Wal-Mart and do you know what I found? The prettiest file folders for under $3. The best part, there are 12 of these pretty little file folders! Plus, they aren't your normal paper file folders, they are actually made out of a heavy duty glossy card stock AND they have polka dots!

Sad as it may be, between Mike being at my neighborhood Staples and finding pretty file folders at Wal-Mart, my week has been made and my family is now talking to me again!

Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer

Another one of the tools we used to help organize the endless overstock of office supplies is a $5 shoe organizer I picked up at Target. Talk about WONDERFUL! I freed up so much space in our office supply closet and I have a visual view of just how many ink cartridges I have left. (I need to get another black ink cartridge!)

We also had a tendency of leaving the house with a fresh stock of business cards, now we have them hanging in the shoe rack and we always see them before we leave. It's a great visual reminder that we need to make sure we have our cards with us.

The kids have also been remembered in our new office organizer. I can't tell you how many times they would come in and ask for a new pencil or more index cards. Now I don't have to stop what I'm doing and find one for them. They know where they are and they can get it themselves. It's wondeful!

Did I mention it was only $5 at Target? They had some prettier ones that were anywhere from $12 to $20, but I didn't really need one in a floral pattern. (Didn't think Frank would appreciate that.) The clear one works out just fine for us.

If you would like more ideas on how you can use an Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer, check us out at: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Suzanne_Babb

Look under: $5 Shoe Rack = Priceless Organization

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne McLoone

A Few of My Favorite Things

I still sing "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things" to my son before he goes to bed and I think it is just as calming to me as it is for him. For whatever reason the vision of a big poofy bed and Julie Andrews singing to kids as it storms outside is a comforting thought. Just as comforting as "raindrops on roses" are a "few of my favorite things".

Liquid Expresso Pens from Papermate in Xtra Fine, of course. Now this is a GREAT pen! They write like a fine nib fountain pen and they just glide across the paper. I have two clients that consistenly take my pens from me every time I go over and they absolutely swear that it makes it easier to work, their spelling improves, and it does the dishes. Ok, maybe not the dishes, but it is a great pen. Way to go Papermate!

Just a bit of background on my pen fetish, I love them! I have a fountain pen collection, I bought a Mont Blanc that cost me more than my car payment, and I absolutely loathe gel pens. The purple is stunning, the red is a true deep red, the blue sings across the paper and I even like writing with the black pen. The pink and green are a bit too light for my taste, but the rest are truly wonderful!


To accompany my favorite pen is Staples Composition book. It's not an ugly black and white composition book like you had to use in Chemistry class, it is a gorgeous jewel tone book with really snappy paper. The paper is a very bright white and it is a bit heavier than traditional composition books, plus when you bend the cover over it doesn't tear. It nicely folds back and is a very smooth write. I use them for so many things it isn't even funny. I have one for my Voicemails, one for my Ultimate To Do List, another for each My Girl Friday client, and one that I use strictly for meetings with my corporate clients. I used to have the Levenger Circa journals and don't get me wrong they are a great notebook as well. Especially with being able to remove pages and put them somewhere else. The paper is heavy, I love the title row at the top and the note section on the side is wonderful. I just didn't like the size of the notebook. I need something a bit more substantial and the Staples Composition book has it, but Levenger is definitely second best.

The next goodie is the classification folder! Oh my dear God, this is truly WONDERFUL! I know I talked about how I use them for my wedding planning, but it's not used for just wedding planning. I use them for EVERYTHING! Plus, I typically get my clients addicted to them along with my pens. Wow, I'm like an office supply pusher. Maybe I should start delivering them in paper bags on a dark alley!


In my next post, I'll do another way to use the classification folder in the office. Right now, it's time for my son to go to bed and for me to pretend I'm Maria!

So long, farewell!

Organizing Your Projects

I have the pleasure of working with an incredibly talented and organized woman who never fails to inspire me and show me a couple of great organizational systems that work out fantastic for her needs.

This puppy is one of them! Pam keeps one of these project cases for each "project" she is working on. Including my very own case of things I need to help her out with.

It's sturdy, has a great handle and she includes a piece of paper in the front with the title of her project. The best part about it is she can slide it into her desk drawer! She currently has 5 of them in her drawer and they not only help to reduce her clutter, but she can quickly grab out one of the cases and take into another area of her office or with her in the car.

You can pick up the Iris Project Case at www.staples.com and I believe they were less than $7 a piece.

Happy Organizing!

Suzanne