Organize for International Travel

The cruise ships are getting ready to depart from the Norfolk harbor and there are some good deals on air travel to foreign destinations. So, if you plan to vacation outside the United States, add these things to your checklist:

Passport and other identification documents

Travel schedule and monetary equivalent table

Entry documentation for your destination

Medication needed for your trip, in the original container

A list of contact numbers for medical and personal emergencies

Receipts or registration paperwork for new electronics (computers, cameras)

Valid drivers license

If you purchase art or jewelry on your trip, keep receipts handy.


Add clothes for the climate, personal necessities, and your favorite credit card and you are ready to take off.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize Medications

There they stand like little soldiers---bottles of pills to take care of aches and pains and chronic conditions. Or maybe they are strewn around the house, some in the kitchen, some in the bathroom, and some on the bedside table, placed there to remind us to take them when we eat a meal, or get ready for bed. The important things to remember about medications are to keep them in a cool, dark, dry place so they do not lose their potency or degrade, and to take them as instructed.

Once you have selected a spot to store medicines, separate the prescription drugs from the -counter (OTC) medicines. Store the OTC medicines by category: all the pain relievers together, all the cold medicine together, all the anti-acids together. Think of how they are arranged on your pharmacy shelf so you can find them.

Group the prescription drugs according to whom they are prescribed for. Then decide if you need some help remembering when to take prescribed pills. If you do, there are a number of different medication organizers that allow pills to be placed in compartments. Some hold pills for one day, others for one week or one month. One of our clients especially likes a little round Medication Minder available at Wal-Mart because the compartments are large enough to hold several pills and it fits in her purse when she travels.

One of the ways to make sure you take prescribed medication as directed is to set up visual or auditory clues. Visual clues can be as simple as keeping a medication that needs to be taken with meals on the kitchen table. A couple I know have to take pills with every meal for chronic conditions. Their solution is to have a small three-compartment basket in the middle of their table that has the medications labeled for each of them. The compartments are labeled breakfast, lunch and dinner. This has worked for them for many years and they credit it with helping them maintain their medication regimen. Other folks use a schedule posted on the refrigerator or medicine cabinet as a reminder. People who live busy lives or tend to forget can look into an auditory alarm. Some medication organizers have built-in alarms and alarms that look like watches or beepers are available.

Medication organizers and alarm reminders are available in most pharmacies and department stores. Check out the following web sites to get an idea of the variety available:
www.TechforTLC.com
www.epill.com

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

You Can’t Organize Mud

The homeowner showed the professional organizer around the house, pointing out the spots of clutter that she wanted to organize. She wasn’t exactly sure why these things bothered her and she wasn’t sure what she needed to do to make her space comfortable for her and her family. She was just overwhelmed with disorder and wanted it fixed. She was ready to get going---NOW.

So let’s get going, right? I don’t think so. I think it is time to take a minute and get a little clarity. I say, “You can’t organize mud.” And that is what we have here-a clouded, amorphous, muddy notion that things could be better if we just DO SOMETHING.

It is possible to get things picked up and put away and have a clear space for a little while. That is called cleaning. But if the goal is to organize space so it makes a real impact on keeping clutter down, then it takes some thought and planning.

The first step is clarity. Clarity about how you want to use the space and clarity about your own habits and lifestyle that impact your long-term success in using a system of organization. It is done by asking your self a few questions and answering them honestly. It doesn’t take a long time, but it makes a big difference in a successful outcome.

How do I want to use this space? Is it just for me or are others going to use it? What activities are going to happen here? How often will the space be used and which activities are repetitive and which are occasional?

How do I want this space to look? Do I want it to be beautiful or just functional?

How much money do I have to spend on achieving this goal?

How much time do I have to devote to getting the space organized and then keeping it that way?

After you have thoughtful, honest answers to these questions, you can get focused on executing a plan to meet your goal. You can better use what you have on hand and buy only what you need. You can devise a system that gets you organized and keeps you organized for the long term.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize Your Car Interior

According to the Associated Press, 700,000 of us have new cars thanks to the “Cash for Clunkers” stimulus program. That’s really a small percentage of the sixty-two million registered cars in the United States. I wonder how neat the old cars are and how long the new models will remain in their pristine, uncluttered condition. It only takes a few hours of driving to trash the interior of a car, especially with a little help from family and friends.

If you have a new or uncluttered car, keep it that way by having a place for the things you use most frequently and a convenient place to dispose of trash.

If you have a car that could use a little cleaning up, here are some hints for organizing the interior.

Sort: Remove all the clutter from the car. Throw away the trash and then separate the contents into four piles: things I use all the time, things I use occasionally, things I use in an emergency, and things that do not belong in my car.

Identify a home for each category: Things you use all the time should be where you can easily reach them. If they are items that are frequently used by passengers, (like older children in the backseat) they should be where the passenger can access them easily without you being distracted from driving. Things that are used occasionally can be stored in the trunk or under the seat. Emergency gear requires some thought for placement. A multi-tool for slashing seatbelts and breaking glass needs to be readily accessible. Road flares and tire changing tools can reside in the trunk

Contain the items: Everything cannot fit in the glove compartment and the door pockets. Save those spaces for your maps, car information, registration and insurance documents. If you need some solutions for storing sun classes, work essentials and other items, look for containment aids at sites like www.solutions.com, www.ebags.com and www.drivingcomfort.com.

Keep non-essentials out of the car: That includes trash, so keep a receptacle for trash disposal in the front and back seat. Also keep a collapsible container or trash bag to routinely haul out those items that do not belong in the car. Once a week tidy up, empty the trash, and make sure you items are where you want them to be.

Follow these steps and your new car will stay uncluttered and your old car will look more like new.

Beverly & Kristen
www.keytransitions.net

Organize a Picnic

I love picnics—not the kind that you plan for weeks for a hundred people, but the intimate impromptu kind. When my children were small, I kept an insulated bag with plates, napkins, utensils and wet wipes on a shelf. When the weather was good and the kids were antsy, I just had to whip up some food and find some drinks. A ride to a nearby park gave us all a break from the routine. If the weather turned suddenly bad, we would spread a blanket on the floor and picnic in the house.

My favorite adult picnic is crusty bread, cheese, wine and fruit, an easy combo to pull together. I sometimes do this one by myself sitting in a scenic spot and enjoying the fresh air. My grandmother’s picnic lunch was a different story. There was always fried chicken and sometimes ham biscuits, accompanied by potato salad, a green salad and homemade chocolate cake. I think my husband’s early interest in me was sustained by Grandma’s picnic baskets that accompanied us on excursions to the beach.

Whatever you choose for culinary fare, here are some hints for quickly organizing a picnic.

Have a picnic spot in mind before you pack the food and supplies. Determine if you will have to bring along something to sit on or if picnic benches are provided.

A picnic is not a barbecue. Choose finger foods that do not have to be cooked. According to WikiPedia the favorite picnic foods are peanut butter and jelly and ham and cheese sandwiches, chocolate chip cookies, chips and soda. Healthy alternatives include vegetable sticks, string cheese and juice. Include plenty of water to stay hydrated.

Remember non-food supplies. You can count on needing napkins and/or wipes to clean up. Plates and utensils are nice and plastic bags are good for storing items to bring home. You may also need a bottle opener and knife to slice fruit or bread. A trash bag is convenient for quick clean up and disposal.

Protect yourself from nature. Include bug repellant, sunscreen and a lined cloth if you are eating on the ground. Make sure foods stay fresh and do not form bacteria by keeping them cold. Purchase a small cooler on wheels to make the hike to your favorite spot easier.

Treat yourself and those you love to a picnic before the summer ends. A picnic doesn’t have to be fancy to be fun.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Manage Your E-Mail

After a couple of days away from the computer, I return and find I have four hundred e-mails waiting for response. Fortunately, this is an infrequent occurrence and I have a system for managing my e-mail that will allow me to deal with this backlog in about an hour, two at the most. This was not always the case. When I was first introduced to e-mail in the work environment, I would often get several hundred e-mails a day. About half of them would go unread until I missed an important event or blundered into a meeting unaware of a breaking development. I had to find a way to cut through the pile of messages while I was still employed.

Folks still struggle with managing e-mail. Seventy per-cent of employees in Fortune Five Hundred Companies admit to having more e-mail than they can effectively handle. Another study states that the average computer user spends about an hour a day searching for stored documents and e-mail messages.

Here are a few tips that work for me:
Check e-mail once or twice a day. Setting up an alert and answering it every time a message pops up is inefficient use of time. Waiting more than twenty-four hours to review your inbox may result in a backlog and in your missing time-sensitive information.

When reviewing e-mail, start with the most recent messages first. This will eliminate answering serial e-mails about the same subject.

Spend no more than two minutes with each message. Make a decision about response to the message at the time you read it. Productivity expert Sally MaGhee suggests the Four D Method. When you read the e-mail make a decision to delete it, do it, delegate it or defer it. When delegating something, turn it into an action item for follow up. When deferring something, turn it into an action item or an appointment so you won’t forget about it. Microsoft Outlook provides tools for doing this quickly and provides good instructions at www.microsoft.com.

Create an effective reference system for items you need to save. (of course you save only the information that is relevant is not stored anywhere else and will be used in the next six months). Create files and search rules that are meaningful for you and the way you work. Purge the file when you no longer need the information.

These simple steps made a big difference for me and now I can afford to spend a day away from the computer when necessary.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Innovative Products for Organizing the Dorm Room

Starting College is an exciting time filled with first-time experiences and challenges. One of the first challenges freshmen face is how to turn a tiny dorm room into a comfortable haven for recreating, studying, sleeping and general living purposes.

Many colleges make creative use of space even more challenging by prohibiting fastening anything to the walls, doors, or furniture with hardware. Fortunately there are products out there that fasten in ways that provide additional organizing capability and do not break the campus rules.

Add some storage space around the sleeping area with the Sidekick SaddleBag Organizer or the Bedside Storage Caddy. Both of these products fit under the mattress and provide storage compartments for music player, remote, keys, glasses and more. They work well on loft beds and bunk beds. The Mini-mantle mounts on the bedpost and provides another solution for suspending a flat surface to hold small objects.

If there is a corner of the room that could hold shelving, try the Corner Smart Shelving that stays up with friction, no adhesive or hardware required. Perfect for an alarm clock or reading light for a top bunk. These items can be found at www.dormbuys.com.

Create additional space on the desk with the Furio Home Mission hutch from Target. It has adjustable shelving and enough middle space to accommodate a computer and other items. Another alternative is Clear Stacking Bins from The Container Store. They come in various sizes and provide visibility of what is stored inside. Even the desk chair can provide additional storage space with the use of the Dorm Chair Organizer available at www.dormbuys.com.

Use doors to create additional storage space. There are over-the-door full length mirrors and organizers for shoes, DVDs, and purses as well as hooks and hangers. The Hinge It Hanger, available at www.solutions.com, slips over the door hinges to create hanging space for towels or drying clothes. Four arms swivel independently for flexible use.

Bed risers are a good idea to provide additional underbed storage. The Rack Raiser at www.dormbuys.com raises the bed 20 or 25 inches providing more height than most of these products. A good vertical storage solution is the Mainstays Utility Stand that is 66 inches high and only 17 inches deep. It has room for a dorm fridge underneath three versatile shelve and can be found at Wal-Mart.

Two other products are worth consideration. Dry Erase Removable Wallpaper provides a disposable dry erase board that can be peeled off after use. It comes in two sizes: 24”x 36” and 36” x 48 inches. The other product is a set of Powerstrip Liberators. These handy extenders free up outlets normally blocked by bulky AC adapters, allowing better organization of technology.

Using these innovative products leaves a little more space to stretch out and enjoy the academic adventure.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

ORGANIZE YOUR COSMETICS

Cosmetics have a way of accumulating. You buy a waterproof lipstick to match your new swimsuit and discover that there is no room to squeeze it in the cosmetic drawer. Worse, you reach for your special mocha lipliner and it is no where to be found. You know you will look good but you won’t look your best.

These aggravations are only the top of the iceberg for those of us who rely on a little cosmetic enhancement to make us feel pretty. We know that we will be less harried and have the look we want if we keep cosmetic products neat. But when we’re racing to get to work, to a date, to the gym, to a class, we do not do such a good job of putting things back where they belong.

The keys to keeping cosmetics organized are:

Keep it simple. You really do not need forty shades of eye shadow and twenty-five lipsticks. Choose the three or four that you use routinely and keep them close at hand.

Group items by application zones. Create a skin kit with moisturizer, concealer, foundation and powder, an eye kit with mascara, eyeliner and eyeshadow, a finisher kit with lipstick, lipliner and blush.

Choose cosmetic containers that work for you. Clear plastic drawer dividers, acrylic shoe boxes and tackle boxes work as well as designated cosmetic organizers. Magna Pods have magnetized backing that allows them to adhere to metal cabinets and vintage train cases work well for gals on the go.

Keep it fresh. Cosmetics expire just like milk does and can cause skin reactions and infections if used after the expiration date. Make a date to review cosmetics and discard expired items.

It takes a little effort to keep cosmetics in order but the gains are worth it. Just think of saving time and money and looking beautiful. What more could a girl want?

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize Your Underwear

I recently had a conversation with a group of professional organizers about organizing underwear. We all agreed that it was a common problem for most of the folks we work with but we could not agree on the best way to get the disorganized underwear drawer under control. Personal items require personalized solutions. Here is one solution that works for many people.

Start by separating the bras from the panties and then sort each category into types. Most women have everyday bras, sports bras and specialty bras like strapless, push up and super-sexy. Panties most often are everyday, control and sexy. They may also be divided into high-rise, bikinis, and thongs. Once the underwear is sorted by type sort it by color.

Use separate shallow drawers if you have a lingerie chest or dresser that is outfitted with underwear drawers. If you are trying to fit your underwear into a standard drawer, use drawer dividers or boxes to separate the various types of underwear. Organize.com offers a flexible diamond drawer separator that allows for one piece of underwear to be stored in each cubicle. They also offer spring loaded drawer dividers that work well to create various sized spaces for underwear. If you want something specifically designed for your undies they also carry drawer dividers labeled “bra box”, “panty box” and “boxer box”.

When placing items in the dividers, put bras on their sides with cups fitting into each other; roll panties and store them one layer deep. This method allows you to identify the item you are looking for without rifling through a pile of stuff. It also allows the insertion of items in the space you want them without having to rearrange anything.

If you are having trouble finding the underwear you need when you need it, give this system a try.


Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Lapses in Organizing

Lessons in organizing come from lots of different places in the real world. The lesson I need to focus on this week is what to do when organizing habits are abandoned and the clutter begins to pile up. (Yes, even professional organizers sometimes struggle to keep it straight.)

The example that comes to mind is a religious one. I have an ecumenical family and group of friends. In my experience, the preachers call it backsliding; the priests call it lapsing and the rabbis call it leaving the righteous path. Whatever you call it, it means you were doing what you should be doing and now you’re not.

The formula for improvement is pretty simple. Stop doing the bad stuff, get help if you need it and get back into your good habits. That is sometimes easier said than done.

For me, the hard part is getting started, so I know that I have to commit to an initial effort and hold myself accountable for it. If I think I will hedge about starting, I announce my intention to anyone who will listen. That way, I will be embarrassed if they ask how it’s going and I haven’t even started yet.

So this week I am telling you that I will finish unpacking my suitcase, putting away the clean clothes and tidying up my desk. A few days away at a conference is not going to get me to abandon my organizing goals.

If you find that the projects you were initially so proud of are beginning to look less organized than you like, make a commitment to get them back in shape. If you doubt your ability to do it alone, get help. Set up incentives to get it done. That might be a treat for yourself or avoiding an opportunity for your frenemies to gloat about your failure-whatever works to get you going and sticking to the goal of an organized household.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransition.net

ORGANIZING FUN WITH PHOTOGRAPHS

Do you have a bunch of old photographs stored in shoe boxes, stuffed in drawers or aging in the pages of albums you never quite got around to completing? Maybe you have the sad task of rifling through photographs of a deceased relative and cannot decide who would like the picture of Great Aunt Maude with her prize-winning hog. This might be a good time to have a picture party.

If you have time, begin by sorting your photographs by decades. In a recent project we have boxes labeled by decade going back to 1920 and a box for all photographs prior to that year. It is difficult to do, but don’t take time to reminisce over the photos as you separate them. If you are stumped by the year, make the best guess you can. If you have duplicate photos or photos that can be identified as a particular event, put them together in an envelop.

Then comes the fun part. Set a time for the family to get together and look at the pictures. You may want to have more than one gathering if you have a lot of pictures and go through a few decades each time. Identify the folks in the picture and take time to share stories about the vacation, celebration or event. This is also a good time to catalogue the photographs in acid free containers, share duplicates, and identify ones that need to be scanned or copied for sharing.

Take a snapshot of your gathering and send one to all the participants to remind them of the fun you had together.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize Your Recipes

I love to share a good recipe. For me that is one with a limited number of ingredients, quick to fix and good to taste. If it is low calorie, that is a bonus. One of my good friends doesn’t care how long it takes to cook a recipe. She enjoys the process of combining the ingredients and putting the meal together. Another friend says, if you can't grill it, then isn’t interested. We are also different in the ways we chose to organize our recipes and cookbooks,

There are several methods that work, so pick the one that best suits your style:

Digital Program
There are several programs for organizing recipes on your computer. They offer a selection of categories and search functions for easy access. Some programs allow you to publish your own cookbook. Check out www.cookbookpeople.com and www.cookbooksoftware.com. Some online websites, such as www.recipezaar.com, allow you to enter your own recipes, access other recipes and keep them all together in your account.

Three-Ring Binder
Use magnetic photo sheets or plastic sleeves to protect and store recipes. This works for clipped recipes of various sizes and protects the recipes while being used in the kitchen. Use page dividers with labels to separate the recipes into categories. Some suggestions are appetizers (further divide into meat, fish, vegetable, cheese, other), main dish (further divide into beef, pork, poultry, vegetarian), desserts (further divide into pies, cakes, candy, cookies and bars, miscellaneous). The binder(s) can also be stored on a shelf with your cookbooks.

Recipe Box
Recipe boxes are never big enough for me, but if you have less than thirty recipes that you use routinely, this is a good solution. For more recipes, use a long index cord file box from the hardware or stationery store. Consider laminating the recipe cards to protect them form food stains and moisture. Use index file dividers to separate them into the categories suggested above.

Accordion Folders
Use an accordion pocket folder for each major category of recipe (appetizer, main dish, desert, beverages, etc) and separate into categories within the folder. Label each folder and store them in a convenient spot.

Whatever method you use to store recipes, keep a file folder handy to tuck away new recipes you want to try. After you have tried the recipe, you can decide if it is worth keeping in your recipe filing system.


Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

A Technique for Organizing Thoughts

Do you ever have trouble pulling your thoughts together? It happens to me every now and then when I am stressed, in a chaotic environment or under a tight deadline. Sometimes all three of those things happen at once and I am really in trouble. Either I cannot recall the information I need or I have a lot of other unrelated information intruding into my thoughts making it impossible for me to put together anything coherent.

When that happens I have a tried and true method that helps me organize my thoughts so I can complete an article, formulate an argument or make a major decision. Maybe it will work for you too.

I get a large pack of 3”x5” index cards and a pen. I sit quietly for a few minutes and think bout the subject that I want to organize. I don’t try to do that in any logical way, but just think of the subject in general. If I were deciding on buying a computer, I would just think about computers for a minute. Then I would begin writing on the index cards, one idea or feature on each card. They might read “laptop”, “memory”, “cost”, “software”, “Vista”, “Apple”, “networking”, and anything else that came to mind. If, in the middle of this exercise, I think, “I forgot to pick up the dry cleaning.” or “I can’t be late for my six-thirty meeting tomorrow.” I write “dry cleaning” on one card and “six-thirty meeting” on another. I keep writing the cards until I am out of ideas and thoughts about computers.

I separate the cards that deal with computers from the cards that have other thoughts. Then I put the computer cards into categories that make sense to me. Some examples of categories might be auxiliary equipment, software, operating systems, and features. Using the categories, I decide what is the most important thing about computers and prioritize the categories. Now I am ready to look at the order I have created from my random thoughts. When I do this I always see a pattern that allows me to determine if I have enough information to continue with the project or if I need to do further research. When I obtain further information, I jot it on a category card and add it to the pile. The finished cards give me an outline to organize my thoughts and make my decision.

The remaining cards with extraneous thoughts can be used to make a to-do list, give yourself a good laugh, or they can simply be recycled.

The next time you need a little extra help organizing your thoughts give this technique a try.


Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize Emergency Pet Supplies

June first marks the beginning of hurricane season. Virginia granted a tax-free holiday for selected supplies and many of us stocked up on the things we need in case of a weather emergency. It is time to look around at the furry, feathered and scaly creatures we call our pets and make sure we have an emergency plan for their care as well. We need to be ready to take care of their needs if we have to shelter in place without water and electricity or if we have to evacuate in the path or aftermath of bad weather.

Many shelters do not allow pets so it becomes even more important to make sure the plan includes adequate food and water and a safe shelter. Put together a kit that includes:
Ÿ Food and water for five days
Ÿ Manual can opener if needed and a containers for food and water
Ÿ Bedding and favorite toys
Ÿ Kitty litter, scoop, paper, deodorizer bags and other materials for elimination disposal
Ÿ Medications and medical records, shots and vaccinations in waterproof container
Ÿ Pet carrier, heavy duty leash and harness for each pet

Place the materials in a container that is easily portable and keep it with other emergency supplies. When weather emergencies occur you will be prepared to take care of your pets as well as yourself and your family.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organize Essential Documents

The National Association of Professional Organizers reports that most people identify paper as their biggest organizing problem. The most daunting task is knowing where to start.

Consider dividing your paper problem into categories. Some suggested topics are current mail, bills, correspondence, essential documents. Then decide how you will separate each major category into smaller segments that will allow you to file the documents as they come in, act on them in a timely manner, then archive them for an appropriate amount of time.

Give special consideration to essential documents-those records that you might need for emergency, legal or financial consideration. These documents need to be safeguarded in a waterproof, fireproof safe that can be removed from the home if there is some type of emergency that requires evacuation. Some folks keep these documents in safety deposit boxes in banks. If that is your choice, you should consider keeping copies safeguarded at home so you can easily access them if, for some reason, the bank is not open to you. That scenario happened recently in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. With copies you can at least transact business and obtain substitute originals from the source if necessary.

Here are a few essential documents to include in your emergency file:

Documents that deal with identification like birth certificates, Social Security cards, adoption orders, citizenship papers, marriage certificates and divorce/separation papers.

Documents that deal with insurance like life and health insurance policies including dental and disability, home owners or renters insurance policies, automobile and boat insurance policies and umbrella insurance policies.

Documents that deal with personal and business finance including checking and savings account information, investment accounts, titles and deeds to real estate and other personal property such as cars and boats, stock and bond certificates, and loan agreements.

Estate planning documents including will and trust documents and durable power of attorney for health and finance.

Pulling these important documents together and filing them in a safe place is a good start to organizing paper.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Funeral Organization

I attended too many funerals last week. Come to think of it, I have attended too many funerals –period. It is always sad when someone passes and leaves those who love her or him to move on through this world without the comfort of their loved one. But funerals are inevitable and can be a true celebration of the life of the deceased.

A lot depends on how the funeral ceremony is organized. Some people receive a true gift from the deceased when they are left with clear instructions about what their loved one wished to have happen. In that circumstance, it is much easier to communicate those wishes to the funeral director and make necessary arrangements. Too often, however, no communication has taken place and the surviving family is left with the task of making decisions at a time when grief makes it more difficult.

Good funeral directors do a tremendous job in handling the details of the funeral, but there are still a lot of decisions that have to be made by the family. Here is a short list to think about. It is by no means inclusive of all the tasks that must be done:

Will there be a burial or cremation?
If burial, the coffin must be selected, the clothes for the deceased selected, the place of burial selected and arrangements made with management at the location.
If cremation, a repository for the ashes must be selected and a decision made about whether ashes will be scattered, interred or kept with the family.

Will there be a memorial service?
Will it be located at a church, a funeral home chapel, or at the graveside?
If at the church or funeral home, will you use pallbearers and who will they be?
What kind of flowers, if any, do you want for the coffin or receptacle?
Would you prefer for friends to send flowers or donate to a favorite charity?
Will there be music? What selections and how will they be performed?
How will family members be transported to the service and returned home?
Will the family receive visitors before or after the service and where is the reception?

How will you announce the death?
Newspaper obituary column is the traditional means of making the announcement. There may be select people that require a personal call. In these technological times, some people are selecting mass e-mail as a way to make friends and colleagues aware of funeral arrangements, sometimes providing a link to the newspaper obituary or funeral home web site.

Who will participate in delivering a message and or a eulogy?
These individuals need to be notified in time to schedule time to be there and to prepare their messages. They also need to know any favorite scriptures, verses or songs of the deceased or the family.


This is just the beginning of the many little decisions that have to be made at the time a funeral is being planned. Consider discussing your preferences with those you love and asking about theirs? It really is an act of love.


Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Time Organization for the Busy Family

Here are a few hints for managing time with a busy family:

• Post a family schedule where everyone can access it.

• Plan meals weekly and shop once. Consider doing some of your grocery shopping on line. Amazon.com is a good way to shop for staples and have them delivered to your door. Locally, you can order your groceries from Farm Fresh Internet Express (www.Farmfreshsupermarkets.com) and for a small processing fee; they will do your shopping and have it ready for you to pick up. You can even use their Internet Express feature to create your shopping list. It will print up with the items listed by aisle.

• Use a calendar with pockets for birthday cards, appointment reminder cards, etc. Avalanche Publishing (www.Avalanchepub.com) makes many versions that are available direct from the publisher or at Barnes & Noble, Kohl’s and Sam’s Club.
  
  
  Just a few simple timesavers can give you the time you need to get things done.
  
  Beverly & Kristen
  www.KeyTransitions.net

PREPARE FOR ROAD TRIP WITH A TODDLER

We are getting ready to take a thirteen-hour trip-with a three-year-old. So my thoughts have turned to preparation for traveling with a toddler. This actually takes more preparation and organization than traveling with a baby or older child.

First there is the comfort factor. Is the car seat a good fit and is the cover pliable enough to not chafe or rub? Is the stroller portable enough to take up minimum space and will it allow the child to sit comfortably. Our little linebacker’s wide shoulders made this a challenge. Part of comfort is keeping the little darling well hydrated and supplied with healthy snacks. So pack water, juice and snack favorites in an accessible container. After eating and drinking thoughts turn to keeping him clean and dry, so a supply of diapers, pull-ups or underpants also need to be nearby. A changing pad, portable potty or child’s folding commode seat make comfort stops easier for everybody in the traveling party. It is a good idea to stop every hour or two to stretch legs and check on bathroom needs.
A supply of tissues, wipes and paper towels to mop up any messes round out the comfort items.

Next comes the safety factor. Car seats should be safely installed and fastened according to directions. The child should remain safely buckled in the car seat while the vehicle is moving. When it is time to get out of the car, a tether that fits loosely around the child’s arm and a caregiver’s arm provides freedom and puts limits on how far a child can roam. Nothing substitutes for carefully watching the little one at all times. Even with vigilance, it is hard to keep up with the energy level of a toddler, so bring a few childproofing items for your room. A child safety doorknob cover and a latch lock a couple of items that will come in handy. A night-light may give the child a level of comfort in a strange place and allow him to sleep more comfortably. If the place you are staying does not have a suitable bed, you may want to take an air mattress or sleeping bag. Some manufacturers make toddler size air mattresses with inflatable rails for restless sleepers. A first aid kit should be in the car to handle any minor mishaps.

Do not underestimate the need for entertainment. With short attention spans, toddlers need a variety of toys and games to keep them occupied during a trip. Some good travel toys are Colorform sets, water coloring pens and paper, and talking books. A DVD player can entertain with favorite videos and a supply of sing-along favorite songs will provide some interactive time with the traveling party. Interactive games like Seek and Find (find a cow, find a school bus, find a flag) keep a child entertained during long driving periods. Consider wrapping a few “surprises” to pull out when the going gets rough or to reward for good behavior. A ball for tossing during rest stops can help burn off some energy before returning to the car.

Then there is the usual. Enough clothes appropriate to the climate, medicines, and a favorite comfort toy or item. While you are at it, pack a good sense of humor and the knowledge that if you forgot it, you can probably find it to purchase.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Organizing Alone

What if you want to get organized but other people who live in your home do not? Many folks who long for a little order in these circumstances just give up and live with the mess. It is not an easy task to be neat when all around you is chaos. Clutter begets clutter.

If you are one of those people who want to be neater but cannot gain cooperation from housemates, there are a few steps you can take to bring a little order to your life

Talk to others in your home to see if there can be agreement on keeping certain spaces clutter free. Perhaps the living room and entryway are a good start. You may even find you have an ally or two who also want a neater space. You may want to agree on a pick-up day when everyone picks up items that are where they don’t belong.

See if introducing some new tools into the environment will help decrease the clutter. Some ideas are a big brass tub or basket for books and magazines, a trunk or wagon bench for toys, a trash can in the family room where people eat snacks or near the microwave where containers are discarded, clothes hampers in the bedrooms to keep dirty clothes off the floor.

Organize what you can control. Straighten your side of the closet, organize your study or work area, and purge your old books and papers. Your example of being able to find your stuff when you need it may prompt others to stop wasting their time digging through clutter to find what they are looking for.

The most important thing is that you will have taken control of what you can directly affect and will have made your desires known to those with whom you share space.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net

Make Room for Love

“I moved out of my parent’s house so I could meet people and find a guy, but I am ashamed to bring anybody into this mess,” the young professional woman lamented as her eyes swept around her cluttered living room. After six months in her condominium, it was littered with a load of work papers, magazines and an assortment of shoes. Mail was stacked up on the table in the entryway and the view of the kitchen revealed dishes stacked in the sink and cartons on the counter. A tour of the bathroom and bedroom revealed they were in similar disarray. The spare bedroom had turned into storage space for everything that had not yet been put away. There were still unpacked boxes from her move-in.

“ I work hard and when I get home, I just crash,” she told me.

The first step for this client was finding a balance between work and personal life-a hard thing to do when she is trying to impress her boss and hang on to her job. She was able to identify four hours a week she could devote to gaining control of her environment without affecting work performance. She also identified four hours a week to devote to herself and fun things. Now she was ready to tackle the task of getting her home in shape.


The first step was to determine what was really important to her. She decided that she wanted to be able to invite some friends over for an informal gathering. She set a goal for two months to have her space in shape in order to send the invitations. That meant she had to organize the entryway, the living room and the bathroom. She also had to clean up the kitchen which could be viewed from the living area.

For the entryway we set up a mail station using attractive baskets with lids that allowed for the sorting of mail on the spot. One basket was for bills and other mail that needed immediate attention. The other was for mail that could be handled at her leisure. If that basket got full, it needed to be dealt with immediately to make room for the next bunch of mail. This system allowed bills to get paid on time and put a physical limit on how much mail could pile up.

The clutter culprits in the living room were paper, magazines and shoes. She confessed to taking off her shoes at the door and neglecting to tote them upstairs to the bedroom for several days, or weeks. To deal with the shoe problem she bought a hall bench that contained a hidden shoe rack in the base. She put her favorite shoes here so she could pick them up and put them away on her way in and out of the house. She also purchased a step basket that fit on the stairs and allowed her to drop off things that she wanted to carry upstairs on her next trip.

She already had a magazine rack that she didn’t use. It was too small and was not near the sofa where she usually did her reading. A large flat basket on the bottom shelf of the coffee table helped corral the periodicals and gave the appearance of order.

She did her paperwork all over the house, an apt metaphor for work taking over her life. We identified a corner of the room for work purposes and organized all work materials in an attractive trunk that had been in the storage room since her move. She could still review projects sitting on her couch or at the dining table, but they went in her briefcase or in the trunk after review.

The kitchen was a matter of cleanup and adopting new habits of washing dishes at least once a day, since she had no dishwasher. Moving utensil and dish storage nearer to the sink made the job a little easier. A larger trash can with a lid helped minimize used containers on the counter and kept garbage out of sight.

The bathroom suffered from a lack of storage space for toiletries and makeup so these items ended up on the limited counter space. Under sink storage shelves and shower shelves helped provide additional space for toiletries. Makeup was sorted and outdated and unused items were discarded. What was left was stored in the medicine cabinet using plastic and magnetic containers.

She had a successful gathering for her friends and has now started working on upstairs space. Her goal is to have that done in two more months. It seems there is a special guy in the picture and she needs to make room for love.

Beverly & Kristen
www.KeyTransitions.net