Secrets of Organized People

Here’s a great little application to make your life much easier. 

Grocery List – Free Printable Grocery Lists.

Here’s what they have to say about themselves:

 NEW! Interactive Grocery List   

Simply use your mouse to check off the items that you need, add any notes for yourself at the bottom and then print and shop!

Sometimes home organizing doo-dads end up being too complicated to bother with.  This one is simple, it does one thing and does it well.  Enjoy!

There are many occasions where it’s helpful to make organized lists.  Often these are things were do regularly, but not frequently.  Annual events like Christmas or vacations fall into this category, as do special events like throwing a wedding or shower, or even a large dinner party. 

Make sure that once you’ve gone through all the hard work of figuring and planning that you don’t have to do it all over again the next time.  Make a master list of everything, including all the details and information you’ve come across in your research.  Keep this in a safe place, filed and labeled clearly. 

Some examples of master lists would be:  people to give Christmas gifts, a packing list for vacation, things to do before taking a trip, packing for a move, yearly household organizing or vehicle maintenance.

One of the most useful master lists I’ve ever made I call “Settings on My Computer.” 

Sadly, there have been a few times when the best option for solving my computer problems was to reinstall the operating system.  Sounds daunting, I know, but it’s much less so with this list. 

It contains:

• Every program that is installed, listed in the order that I’ve found they need to be installed
• Notes next to each program for how to solve problems or deal with quirks.  For example, the first thing I need to install on my computer is the drivers and I have this note: 

Drivers (from Dell Resource CD – make sure to get Sigmatel for the audio even though it’s not checked)         

• What programs need drivers and where to find them
• Usernames and passwords for online access to my web server
• Serial numbers and passkeys for several programs
• The icons & folders that I like to keep on my desktop 

As you can imagine, this makes the process a million times easier than if I had to dig up all this info all over again. 

So the next time you find yourself working on a project and realize, “I know I’ve done this work before,” do yourself a favor, get organized and start making a list for next time.  You’ll be glad you did!

Wishing you the best,

Sandy

Last month I mentioned using master lists.  It was on my mind because I’d just reworked my packing list from last year’s vacation. 

Last year, however, I was flying Southwest.  In case you’ve missed all the amusing commercials, they don’t charge for checked bags.  Sadly, where we’re going this year, Southwest doesn’t.  So I decided we’re all going to manage with just carry-ons.  (I’m not interested in paying $23 – each way - for each of our pieces of checked baggage.  Nuh-uh.  I can think of so many better things to do with that money, like going out to eat.)

Now, my husband and son will probably have plenty of room, but for my bag it’s going to require some serious organization. 

First of all, I plan on making liberal use of their “one allowed personal item such as a purse or briefcase.”  I’ll bet they didn’t know tote bags came in such a size, haha.

Then I went through the list from last year and sorted it into these categories:

• Clothing
• Toiletries
• Electronics (the TSA prefers these to not be all jumbled about)
• In purse or at easy access (read:  in my huge tote bag)
• Ziploc bag of liquids & gels

Having this list broken down this way makes it easier to organize everything as you’re packing and to make sure nothing is missed.

By the way, did you know that you can stuff into one pair of sneakers: 

• one pair of thick socks,
• a bathing suit,
• a bathing suit cover-up
• and a pair of pajamas? 

Oh yeah, I’m good.

Happy Travels,

Sandy

I don’t often recommend offical goverment websites, as they are often long on the official and short on the helpful.

However, in planning our first ever family vacation where we’ll be flying, I’ve found the Transportation Security Administration’s site to be quite useful.  You’ll find the section for travelers here:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/index.shtm

Here you’ll find:

• New Security Measures for Passengers Traveling to the U.S.
• Traveling with Food or Gifts?
• How to Get Through the Line Faster
• Liquid Rules: 3-1-1 for Carry-Ons
• Acceptable Identification at the Checkpoint
• Prohibited Items
• Travelers with Disabilities & Medical Conditions
• Traveling with Children
• Traveling with Special Items

No, you cannot bring your machete on board the plane, but neither can you bring cranberry sauce or maple syrup.  Go figure.