Your Life. Organized.

Organizing Your Money

What's in YOUR wallet?  Mine is an ALL-ETT, and it holds the following things:

• Credit cards - all in the same compartment
• Hotel and airline membership cards - all in the same compartment
• Vital documents (driver's license, car insurance card, health insurance card, car registration card, Red Cross card, etc) - all in the same compartment
  
• Receipts from my current business trip - all in the same compartment
• Cash - all stored in the same compartment, neatly arranged from largest denominations to smallest, all facing the same direction.
• A few gift cards - all grouped together

 I'm asking you this because I believe (just like Suze Orman does) that if you have a messy wallet, it's likely your financial life is pretty messy as well. So right now, take out your wallet (or your ALL-ETT) and look inside. Are there random...

Quote of the Week: Enlarge Your Thoughts

Each Wednesday, I share with you a quote that inspires me, in the hope that it will also inspire you. This week's quote is from author Orison Marden. He said,

"We lift ourselves by our thought. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always everywhere."

Orison Swett Marden
1850-1924, Author and Founder of Success Magazine

On The Road Again. I Just Can't Wait To Get...

It's Tuesday and I got up at 6:00 this morning (Hey stop laughing, that's EARLY for me!) to get on a plane to the west coast. As you may know, I've been working with Beazer Homes and this week, they are holding three events for Realtors at three communities in California, starting tomorrow in Fresno. We'll be at Cypress Grove at Sunnyside Point from noon to 3pm. We'll have food and drinks and I'll be talking about how to get organized at home and showing off all the super coolio SmartDesign organizational features we're building into our new homes. If you're in the area, be sure to stop by and say hi!

From Fresno, we'll head to two more Beazer communities in Sacramento, then to Los Angeles, where not only will we be doing these fun Realtor events, but on February 1st, I will be attending the 3rd Annual Los Angeles Organizing Awards! My good friend Ariane Benefit also wrote about this terrific event. I'm so looking forward to seeing all my organizing peeps and finally meeting Peter Walsh face to face!

This Old Organized Life

Remember the old school episodes of This Old House with Bob Vila? Bob doesn't know this, but I quote him all the time when I do speaking engagements and workshops. "Having the right tool is half the job".

In truth, I don't actually know if it was Bob who said that first, but in my world, he gets the attribution. So Bob if you're out there reading this and you actually didn't say it, you'll have to email me personally and set the record straight. Anyway, as Bob said, it's tough to build or fix a house without the right tools. You can't just chisel away at...

Quote of the Week: Perceiving Happiness

Each Wednesday, I share with you a quote that inspires me, in the hope that it will also inspire you. This week's quote is from  Leo Tolstoy. He said,

"Happiness does not depend depend on outward things, but on the way we see them."

Leo Tolstoy
1828-1910, Novelist and Philosopher

Are You Curious? Seth Is. And So Am I.

Seth Godin has a killer video on his blog this week about curiosity. Finally, after all these years knowing there was something odd about me, it  appears my freakish curiosity puts me in good company. I nearly wept. This explains a lot. Like why I drove across the country and back when I was nineteen. Or why I picked up and moved to Atlanta with no job twelve years ago, just because I was sick and tired of being cold half the year, and other things that most people thought were scary or nutty. And it's true what Seth said... staying put scared me way more than taking risks.

In fact, what's really funny is if you look at this baby picture of me, and you notice the look on my face... it's as if I'm saying, "Did you say cheese? What kind of cheese?"  I guess I was curious, even then.

Travel Sizes Galore!

If you're traveling as much as I am, you might want to know about Minimus. It's a web site where you can order all manner of travel size supplies from food to toiletries to a whole lot more. It's also a good resource if you're a camper, or for keeping your car or cube stocked with all the comforts of home.

And remember when traveling, ditch the bottled water before you get to the security line, and corral your travel liquids and gels in a one-quart plastic bag. I use the one that came with my Zuca Bag (this little zip pouch is almost as handy as the suitcase itself) and even though it really is only one quart capacity, it holds a lot more bottles than an actual Ziploc brand bag because it doesn't taper at the top like a zip-top baggie does. If you're not in the market for a new Zuca Bag, you can find TSA-compliant clear zipper one-quart pouches at Packing Light, Fly Girl and Tamper Seal.

How Do You Find an Office Depot in Charlotte?

I'm on a media tour for the next ten days and today I learned something I just had to share with you that will no doubt be a great resource for you both at home and on the road. I can't believe I didn't know about this until now. Thanks to Jody, my traveling partner, now I know!

So let's say you're on a road trip with a friend and you're driving through Charlotte, North Carolina. You've been driving all day and you're starving but you don't know the area and you have a bad hankerin' for some pizza.  Or you really need to find a Post Office. Or the local Office Depot. What do you do?  If you have a GPS unit, you could use it to locate any of these places. But what if you don't? You just whip out your trusty mobile phone and...

FOX & FRIENDS Got Organized Today!

Well, this morning's appearance on Fox & Friends went well. Greg and I chatted for a few minutes and if you missed it live, you can catch the video here on the Fox & Friends web site. If that doesn't work, it's also on YouTube.
 

On the Fox website, just look at the right side of the screen, in the box where it says FOX NEWS VIDEO and below the featured video click on "Crush Clutter!" and it will load today's segment. I suspect it won't stay up there for long, though so be quick about it!

FOX & FRIENDS Gets Organized Tomorrow!

I'm heading to the Big Apple today and tomorrow morning, (Saturday 1/19) you can tune in to catch my appearance on FOX & FRIENDS. I'll be talking about the four different work styles and how knowing your own style can help you tackle your organizing challenges at work, whether you work from home or in a corporate office! Maybe THIS time I'll get a slice of Ray's Pizza while I'm there. (I've been to New York several times in the past year and I keep forgetting!)