Quickie Tip!

Sometimes you have a gap between the end of a drawer organizer (like the type shown in the photos) and the end of your drawer -- usually in a kitchen drawer. Each time you pull out the drawer, the organizer slides back or shifts. Here's an easy way to avoid that. If there is allowable space, place an empty cardboard paper towel roll tube behind the organizer. If necessary, put 2. The tube(s) won't be seen anyway, but will do the job of filler!

Have you considered home grocery delivery?

I know the title of this post sounds like something you'd get in your spam folder, but from time to time I like to ask this of clients and friends. Around my area, we use Peapod -- "one of America's leading Internet grocers" -- to order online and schedule delivery to your house. Using Peapod relates to organization because I plan my dinners on a monthly basis, then sit in front of the computer to order all the ingredients needed for those dinners.




Consider the benefits:

• "Customers can redeem valid manufacturer's coupons with Peapod drivers; the coupon is credited to a customer's account." Instead of the mad search within the grocery store to match up a coupon with an item while your kids are distracting you, you can calmly take all the time you need to search for an item.
• "Peapod also features hundreds of weekly specials online." At a glance, you can choose the item on special vs. all the other brands of that same item, or if you are at a loss for what to serve one night, you can review specials and choose that food to serve. I like to click the Specials tab first upon entering the site.
• Groceries are brought to your house, into your kitchen, on a day and time frame you determine. What more can I say about that??
• In re: to the delivery fee, because I order once a month, the order is always above $100 so I pay the lowest fee. When you use direct banking acct withdrawal, Peapod deducts $1, too, so the fee becomes nominal.
• If you do their Refer-A-Friend offer, you get $10 off: click here
  

Peapod features over 8,000 products in a range of categories: produce; meat and seafood; deli items; prepared foods; natural and organic foods; Kosher foods; office and school supplies; seasonal items; and video products; pet items; health and beauty aids; wine, beer and spirits (in specific markets) and private labels from Peapod by Stop & Shop and Peapod by Giant.

Month of October

The October CALENDAR is filled with national and local organizing holidays and workshops -- including "Home-Based Business Week", "Kitchen And Bath Month", "American Magazine Month", and "Computer Learning Month" -- plus free tips and related website links for each event at OnlineOrganizing.com

$avings Online

Organize-It has an offer I wanted to share: SAVE 15% on any order. USE CODE: EM48P Offer valid through 10-15-08

I've ordered from them before and you can check out all their organizing products at Organize-It.

Quickie Tip!

In the October issue of Real Simple, there was a collection of tips in an article titled "What is your best easy organizing tip?". Right up my alley, of course. Included here are what I thought were the best tips:

• wrapping holiday gifts in groups by paper -- "silver for my sister, gold for my brother, and red for my in-laws" was the example by the reader; this is also helpful for stocking stuffers if you wrap some of them like I do


• "I bought a shoe holder to store charging cables and the small accessories for my cell phone, MP3 player, digital camera, etc". I hang it over a closet door and simply label each pocket". I LOVE this idea and use shoe holders a lot, making use of underutilized space in an orderly way.


• Here's a dose of common sense: "Don't move stuff around. Put it away, take it out, file it, whatever. It takes the same amount of time to put it in the right place as it does to put it in the wrong place."


• Another tip that I try to suggest to clients: "My advice for the easiest way to stay organized is to communication your organization method to those who share your living space. What's the use of having separate laundry baskets for whites, darks, lights, and delicates if your husband throws his hiking socks in with the delicates?" Same goes for kids. Let them know the routine to avoid frustration!