An Organized Car

The local television station reported that fifty-eight million Americans will drive greater than fifty miles this Memorial Day week-end. That did not impress me much since, for many years, my round trip commute to work was greater than fifty miles. But no matter when we travel or where we go in our cars and trucks, SUVs and campers, we have ample opportunity to collect and clutter. When I was commuting seventy miles to work, one of my favorite colleagues loved candy bars and chips. I knew that whenever he picked me up, I would hear crackling sounds when I took the passenger seat. That was because his idea of cleaning the car for our road trip was to stuff all of the discarded wrappers under the seat. I gave him a car litter basket for Christmas one year and he surprised me by actually using it. He said he did not know that such a thing existed and hated trying to tack down a bag to dispose of his trash. He did not become a neat-freak but he no longer littered his front seat with wrappers.

Many of us spend a good part of our life driving to work, running errands, chauffeuring family. According to Kelly Quigley, author of Time Well Spent, The average car owner spends five hundred to one thousand hours per year behind the wheel of his car. That is a lot of time! During that time we access stuff to support our activities, we accumulate stuff as we run our errands and we discard stuff as we open and unwrap. The problem is that, in a car, we have limited space to stuff our stuff. Front seats, back seats, trunks and cargo holds can become cluttered, unsightly areas where it is hard to find what we need

This can become particularly troublesome when you embark on a road trip with a car full of family or friends. So, with summer travel just around the corner, we thought this would be a good time to share some of our favorite products for organizing your auto. There are some nifty products on the market that sell for less than twenty five dollars

To stash your trash try the Trash Stand by Case Logic. It is weighted so it won’t slide or slip, is leak proof and has a cover so you can hide the mess. With dimensions of 8"x5"x8" it fits nicely on the floor or between the seats. It even has a hidden compartment for storing valuables. The same company also makes a litter chute that hooks onto the headrest and is convenient for the back seat. It has a self-closing lid and empties from the bottom for easy trash removal. Another product is the Kids Trash Bag that hangs on the head rest, is leak proof and has an outside mesh pocket that can hold wipes and tissues.

There are also several items that will help you tame front seat clutter.

The Seat Caddy by Lewis N. Clark has an insulated cup holder, CD sleeves a zipper pocket and adjustable compartments. It closes to conceal contents and fits under the passenger seat when you want to tuck it away.

The Mobile Office sits on the seat beside you and has compartments for your cell phone, ipod, laptop, books and other paraphernalia and a hard top tray that prevents objects from rolling off and gives a surface for writing.

The Over the Seat Organizer by Creekside has compartments that hold various objects and can easily be turned to the back of the seat when you pick up a passenger.

If you fumble for your cell phone or glasses the Case Logic Catch All is a perfect size for cell phone, gas receipts and sun glasses. It has an adjustable arm that hooks into the air vent.

There are also several good back seat organizers for kids who are old enough to face forward in their car seats. These organizers also work well for older folks who want to keep things neat back there and do not need to access the items while driving.

The High Road Kid Organizer fits on the back seat and can be zipped up and carried with the attached shoulder strap. It is tall enough for kids in booster seats and has identical pockets on each side so two children can share. It buckles to the seat belt to keep it secure. The Backseat car organizer has a dozen pockets to hold small toys and games and fits over the back of the front seat to be within the child’s reach. The Car Organizer for Kids has a top sturdy enough to draw on, adjustable dividers and outside pockets.

Highroad and Case Logic both make child seat organizers for the littlest passengers. They fit securely underneath the car seat to protect from spills and mishaps and have side pockets to hold comfort items.

For the adult traveler, Lewis N. Clark Insulated Seat Back Organizer features a large insulated compartment to store hot or cold items and adjustable fasteners that double as a shoulder strap if you need to remove it from the car.

Keeping miscellaneous items stable in the trunk or cargo space is easy with a collapsible crate or tote. The Trunk/ Cargo Storage Bag measures 17"L x 10"W x 11"H and has a zip close top. This can be used for road hazard items or other necessities. The Creekside Organizer Tote opens to organize groceries or other items and folds flat when not it use and the Solutions Cargo Cooler has the additional feature of a built in water resistant cooler.

These and similar products can be found at the following web sites:
www.Solutions.com
www.ebags.com
www.DrivingComfort.com

Treat yourself to an organized automobile and enjoy the ride.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Bedrooms

Bedrooms are for sleeping, right? You would think a room with such a specific purpose would be easy to keep organized and uncluttered. That is not the story for most of our clients. The truth is that a bedroom is a multipurpose room and sleeping is just one of the functions it supports. The functions of a bedroom depend on the frequency of use and the age(s) of the occupant(s). So-called spare bedrooms often become the repository for homeless objects and unfinished projects so we are not talking about them today. They are a whole different challenge. We are focusing on regular occupied bedrooms where folks sleep, share intimacies with spouses, partners and friends, get dressed, store clothes and jewelry, read, study, exercise, sometimes have home offices and hobby stations. It is a truly multi-functional space. Often it is the only private space for individuals sharing a home.

Because a bedroom is used for more than one thing, the first step in removing clutter and organizing the space is to list the things you do in the bedroom. Then determine the best place to accomplish that task, given the space available. We find it helpful to think of the bedroom in zones. The most often used categories include:

- Sleeping Zone
- Dressing Zone
- Play Zone
- Study Zone
- Relaxing/Socializing Zone

Once we have established the zones, we group the items that are needed for that activity together in that space as much as possible. While we are completing that activity we assist the client in arranging, storing and purging items that go in the space.

Some hints our clients have found helpful include:

- Create a reading station near the bed that includes adequate lighting, book mark, and a place for book and glasses
- Store children’s must have bed items in a bedside table or an underbed rolling storage box that is easy for them to access
- Use pegboard or cork board to hang jewelry near the dressing area

An organized uncluttered bedroom is a worthwhile investment. Getting dressed in the morning is less stressful and going to sleep at night is more peaceful.

Beverly and Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Junk Drawers

Do you have a junk drawer lurking in some corner of your house? If you do, you are like one hundred percent of the clients with whom we consult. I tackled my own junk drawer this week.

Yes, professional organizers have their personal pitfalls and have to work to keep themselves organized. My nemesis is a tiny drawer with a deceptive capacity to hold a lot of stuff. I have to check it out periodically to see what wayward possessions have landed in that drawer instead of where they belong. This time I found a flashlight, my eyeglass repair kit, some rubber bands and paper clips, a lottery ticket, a broken chain, two business cards and a takeout menu. I actually have a designated place for all of these items, so it was only a matter of relocating the objects to their proper home. It would have saved time in the long run if I had just put them in their designated spaces to begin with. So, why didn’t I? It was just easier to stuff them in the drawer because:

- I wanted it out of my purse and I was on my way out
- The lights went out and I wanted a flashlight accessible in that area
- I wanted to keep the menu and did not want it littering the dining room
- The chain broke on my way out of the house and I just wanted to stick it someplace until I got home.
- I used the eyeglass kit for a delicate repair and never got it back upstairs
- I have no recollection of putting the other stuff in the drawer; it must have been the junk fairies.

Suffice it to say, I had reasons-not always good reasons, but reasons nonetheless. So I have come to the conclusion that junk drawers should not be called junk drawers. Their contents are not junk but useful items that are homeless or misplaced. They are merely temporary shelter or a warehouse for limited quantities.

If they are the only home for a variety of useful items they should be called useful miscellany drawers. If, like mine, they are used to house things until the owner sorts and relocates them to their designated space, they should be called temporary repositories. The key to staying organized with a temporary repository is periodic review and relocation of contents.

Here are a few hints for bringing order to useful miscellany drawers:

- Group the items into categories such as office supplies, nuts and bolts, tools, sewing.
- Find appropriately sized receptacles for each group and label them in a visible spot.
- Alternatively, use drawer dividers to separate items and make them easier to find.
- Sort through the drawer periodically to discard and reorganize the contents.
- Do not mix solids, liquids and paper items in the same drawer unless they are in leak-proof containers.

Organization is a tool to give us more time and a better life. If your junk drawer helps you stay on top of things, it is an organizational device. If most of your drawers are junk drawers then they are sapping your time and impairing your efficiency. Consider setting goals to organize one drawer at a time, identifying designated space for your possessions. If the task is overwhelming consider getting help from a professional organizer.

Beverly and Kristen
http://www.keytransitions.net/

Organizing Events

This is the season for events. Invitations to golf tournaments, charity fundraisers, weddings and (especially in our families) birthdays arrive in the mail. The planning and execution of events takes a lot of organization. Even when all plans have been carefully made and the execution is skillfully done, there is a lot of room for things to go differently than planned. Notice I did not say they could go wrong-just differently than you planned. The difference is the line between organized and delusional.

There are just some things that are out of the organizers personal control. The most obvious is the weather. A few week ago a friend's daughter got married at a lovely ceremony that was planned beside the river. Unfortunately, that was the weekend in April that we experienced gale force winds and unseasonable snow flurries. Even though the planner had arranged for tents and heaters, the wedding had to be held indoors. A change in plans had to be improvised just hours before the wedding. It was still a lovely wedding and pictures of the couple surrounded by falling snow will be the catalyst for the sharing of warm memories.

That led us to reminisce about Kristen's wedding seven years ago. We had planned events together in the past, but this was the most elaborate. It was planned oceanside in sunny September until Hurricane Dennis did an about face and slammed up the coast at ceremony time. We had meticulously planned the seating of family and friends on the expansive deck and the reception tents for the 500 expected guests were up and waiting for the caterers to fill them with the food and beverage stations. An auspicious spot had been selected for the sandcastle wedding cake and mounds of seashell ornaments and mesh wrapped treasure chests were ready as favors for the crowd. A special kite with names of deceased family members was set to fly above the site and beautiful flowered topiaries were waiting to be placed on the table rounds. It was shaping up perfectly, until high winds foiled the kite flying efforts of the staff and all the strong men in the wedding party. Then the wind driven rain pummeled and flooded the tents. The steel drum band that was to provide the wedding music did not show up. (Hours later I got a call from them saying that flooding and car trouble prevented them getting to the resort and "What can we do? God is God!") Then the electric power went off and by some miracle our site was the only spot for miles that gained power before the ceremony.

We had a plan B for inclement weather but this went beyond the expected. If we recounted everything that we modified to enable the event to happen on schedule it would take much too long to write and for others to read. Suffice it to say, the wedding still took place and the guests were unaware of the many adjustments that had to be made in the hours and minutes before the bride walked down the aisle. Everyone had a great time and the bride and groom survived to look back on the adventure with amusement.

Here are a few principles that we use for event planning that help us get through the things beyond our control:

List everything that needs to occur to make the event happen. Include everything you can think of no matter how mundane or trivial. We often use brainstorming to come up with lists for unique events.

Develop a time line for the tasks. For instance selecting and reserving the site and scheduling the officiator for the ceremony needs to occur before you order invitations. If there is a particular entertainer, caterer or florist you want to use, you should also reserve their services before printing invitations.

Develop a contact list for all the services you schedule and contract. Include names, addresses, telephone numbers and services you expect to receive.

Develop a checklist for completion of tasks leading up to the event.

Develop a check list and time line for completion for the day of the event

Review the plans and determine what may happen to change your plans. What if the clown is late? What if the band does not show? What if the deejay's equipment is incompatible with the electrical set up? (We know that this should not happen because it is checked out before the event day, but personal experience tells us that the deejay can bring one set-up for the check and arrive with another at the event.)

Develop contingencies for those possibilities. Even if something happens that you did not expect, you have had an exercise in possibility thinking that enables you to tackle the new problem with alacrity.

Finally, remember the event is planned for folks to enjoy themselves. As long as that happens, the event is a success. Have fun!

Beverly and Kristen
www.keytransitions.net