2009 January | Unclutterer

Archives for January 2009

Soundbar includes Blu-ray, Netflix and Pandora

samsung-htbd8200 I’ve written a couple of posts about soundbars in the past, but they just keep improving by leaps and bounds. (Not unlike everything else in the consumer electronics industry.) The Samsung HT-BD8200 features a Blu-ray player and the ability to stream from Netflix and Pandora. Other features include an iPod dock, the ability to stream audio from A2DP-compatible Bluetooth audio devices, and a wireless subwoofer.

With all of the features that are included in this speaker it is a decent option for those of us who want to keep our cable clutter under control without sacrificing our sound or entertainment options. The speaker was shown at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show and is probably going to be released in the first half of 2009.

(via CNET)

Posted by Matt on Jan 19, 2009 | 3 Comments | Tweet This

Storing board games and puzzles

Storing board games and puzzles can be an unnecessarily cumbersome task. The cardboard boxes are easily damaged and there isn’t a standard size to make stacking simple.

If board game and puzzle organization has you stumped, here are some suggestions for getting your games in order:

When acquiring new board games, consider purchasing games in “library” or “book” style boxes. They easily fit on a bookshelf and their standardized sizes make cupboard storage convenient, too. Hasbro has numerous classic games in its library series (Risk, Monopoly, Scrabble, Sorry, Yahtzee, Clue, Stratego, Life, Jenga, Memory, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, and Hi, Ho! Cherry-O). And, many of the Rio Grande games also come in bookshelf-friendly boxes, like Carcassonne and Puerto Rico.
To avoid losing pieces, bundle everything but the game board and box into zip-top bags when the game is not in use. It’s a lot easier to find a bag of men, dice, and cards than it is to find a single piece.
Use gallon size zip-top bags for puzzle pieces if the puzzle box is damaged. Take a picture of the puzzle box top and put it in with the pieces in the bag. Or, if you’re up for a challenge, just write the name of the puzzle on the bag with a permanent marker and don’t have a picture to follow.
If your child is a fan of wood puzzles, the Wire Puzzle Rack can hold more than 10 wooden puzzles of varying sizes.
A puzzle mat is good for storing puzzles when you need to put it away but aren’t yet finished working on it.
If the box for a game becomes so damaged that it is no longer containing a game, there are plastic board game boxes to hold the pieces and most boards.

How do you store board games and puzzles in your home? Let us know your suggestions in the comments!

Posted by Erin on Jan 19, 2009 | 43 Comments | Tweet This

Power strips that work well with wall warts

Recently, I’ve stumbled upon a few alternatives to traditional power strips that alleviate or reduce the space-hogging wall wart problem:

First up is a surge protector that swivels. This one is good for extra wide wall warts:

Next is the UFO power adaptor. You don’t gain a lot of outlets from this one, but you can outfit it with many wall warts:

Finally is the power strip liberator. I have a few of these under my desk currently. They’re simply five inch electrical cords that allow you to use a regular plug in your power strip:

Let us know of additional wall wart space hogging solutions in the comments!

Posted by Erin on Jan 17, 2009 | 19 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Exhausted after work

Reader Juliana submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

How do you stay on top of your chores if both members of the household work demanding jobs all day? There’s no way we can afford a housekeeper and we are both exhausted at the end of the day. By the weekend, things have piled up to an overwhelming level and I feel like it’s too much to handle. Help!

Oh, Juliana, I know exactly how you’re feeling, and I’m sure a number of our readers do, too. After a long day of work the last thing you want to do are chores, and when the weekend arrives you want to do something more remarkable than clean. There have been many times when I have wished for a maid/house manager/fairy godmother.

My first piece of advice is to set aside a weekend to simply catch up with all of the stuff around your house. In the days leading up to this weekend, tell everyone that you’re going out of town, stock up on groceries, and clear your entire schedule. Then, wake up early on Saturday morning and get down to business. Clean your place from top-to-bottom, inside-and-out, and do all of the big stuff that just has to get done. On Sunday evening, celebrate your efforts by going out to a dinner where someone else is responsible for doing the dishes.
Once you have this clean slate, then you can get started on a daily maintenance routine that takes little effort and leaves your weekends free for your remarkable life.
Your routine first needs to include a landing strip. You need an area where you can come in after a long day at work and immediately process items. Put a trash can and paper shredder in this space so that mail and paperwork are immediately handled (especially since you don’t want to sacrifice weekend time doing this). Have hooks for coats and hats, and designated spaces for your keys, bags, etc. Put all of your charging equipment for your cell phone in this space, and plug in your phone the minute you walk in the door. The landing strip provides a space for your things, and also makes it a breeze to leave your house in the morning for work.
Next up, commit to doing exactly 30 minutes of cleanup a night. You may do best if you do this 30 minutes right when you get home, or it may work for you right after dinner. Yes, you’re exhausted, but if you remind yourself that 30 minutes now will save you two whole weekend days, it’s pretty easy to keep moving. I have a “cleaning” mix on my iPod that is 30 minutes of fast tempo songs. I play it while I clean to motivate me.
Designate specific rooms for specific days, such as Mondays = Kitchen, Tuesdays = Bathrooms, Wednesdays = Bedroom, Thursdays = Living Room, and Fridays = Living/Family Room. Do a general 10 minute pick up around the house, but then spend 20 minutes really focusing on just one room. With both of you working together, you’ll be surprised by how much you accomplish. You’ll also reap the benefit of having your weekends free of chores.
If you watch television as a way to relax, invest in a DVR. You can do the cleaning while a favorite show is recording, and then start it half-way into the program and watch the show without commercials.
Finally, here are more time-saving tips and suggestions for establishing routines from our archives. And, remember to get ready for bed half-an-hour or an hour before you plan to go to sleep. Your clothes are more likely to hit the hamper, and shoes/belts/jackets are more likely to get put away properly.

Thank you, Juliana, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. I hope we helped a little to solve your problem.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Jan 16, 2009 | 52 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: Simple split desk

This week’s Workspace of the Week is Nicole’s small office:

I picked this week’s office simply because I like the way it looks. It’s clutter free and would be easy to reproduce. I’ll let the desk owner supply the details from the photographs’ descriptions:

The bottom level [of the desk] slides out so I can keep my books on it for studying and note taking. I also keep my sodas and stuff there so I don’t spill them on my computer. The deskpad keeps ink, coffee, etc. off my desk. The top level holds my computer, my lamp, my picture frame, and my special Hello Kitty Pez.

When I’m done studying or just want to goof off online, I can slide my books out of the way.

The desk has a power strip mounted in the top back of the desk top. It also has a usb, phone, and ethernet jack (although I use wifi).

Thank you, Nicole, for such a terrific submission to our flickr pool.

Want to have your own workspace featured in Workspace of the Week? Submit a picture to the Unclutterer flickr pool. Check it out because we have a nice little community brewing there. Also, don’t forget that workspaces aren’t just desks. If you’re a cook, it’s a kitchen; if you’re a carpenter, it’s your workbench.

Posted by Erin on Jan 16, 2009 | 11 Comments | Tweet This

Study: Disorder begets disorder

I want to call your attention to a recent article in Science magazine that discusses a study conducted in the Netherlands that found “when people observe that others violated a certain social norm or legitimate rule, they are more likely to violate other norms or rules, which causes disorder to spread.”

In one of their experiments, the team of researchers attached paper fliers to bicycles that were parked in an alley with a sign that prohibited graffiti. The researchers covertly observed people as they retrieved their bicycles from the alley, and noted what they did with the paper fliers. Their results are striking.

One day, when the walls of the alley were free of graffiti, about a third of the cyclists littered their flier on the ground. But, on another day, when the walls of the alley were covered in graffiti, more than two-thirds of the cyclists littered their flier.

Another experiment tested whether or not people would steal money that was protruding from a mailbox when they passed by it. [Researcher Kees] Keizer and his colleagues [at the University of Groningen] observed that, when the area around the mailbox was tidy, only 13% of people passing by stole the money. However, when the area around the mailbox was littered with trash, 25% of the people passing by were willing to steal the money.

Over the course of their experiments, the researchers observed that people were much more inclined to disobey posted signs when it seemed like other people were doing so, litter when there was graffiti or the sound of fireworks present, and even steal when there was graffiti present. Given these observations, Keizer and colleagues suggest that as a certain norm-violating behavior becomes more common, it will also negatively influence conformity to other social norms and rules.

The study reinforce the findings of the Broken Window Theory, but also has very interesting implications for an unclutterer’s home.

The research suggests that if your home is in order, you and others in your home are more likely to keep the orderly state. Conversely, if something is disorderly, it is likely that more mess will develop.

I see this happen all the time in my home. Either my husband or I will feel unmotivated to open up the dishwasher to put a dirty cup or glass inside of it. The next person comes along, sees the dirty cup on the counter, and assumes the dishwasher must be filled with clean dishes. So, the second dirty cup is set on the counter. By dinner time, there will be a collection of dirty dishes on the kitchen counter when the dishwasher has been completely empty all day. Mess begets mess.

What do you think of the findings of this study? Do you find that disorder leads to more disorder? Does order motivate you to continue the orderly cycle? Let us know what you think in the comments.

initial link via Guy Kawasaki, picture by Matt

Posted by Erin on Jan 15, 2009 | 33 Comments | Tweet This

Choose from the heart: Clutter free and feeling fine

Today we welcome Danielle LaPorte, author of the blog White Hot Truth, as a guest on Unclutterer. She is a consultant who helps entrepreneurs rock their careers, is a former think tank exec, and author of the bestselling book, Style Statement: Live By Your Own Design.

Clutter is the result of choices. That may sound obvious, but until you start to actually examine your choices, a clutter-free life will elude you. Peace of mind is often buried in the choices you didn’t make. The “default” choices to let stuff into your life that doesn’t really match your true self.

Your bookshelf, your dinner plates, your nicky nacs. Shoes! (Shoes are a whole psychology unto themselves. I’m sure if Freud lived longer he would have studied the mental underpinnings of footwear choices.) Your sofa. Your in-box. Your pantry contents – all are the result of your choices. You’re the gatekeeper to your home. And nothing gets past you without your conscious or unconscious approval. So what makes it in…and why?

Do a quick visual scan in your head right now – room by room. How did what’s in there get there? Because it was on sale? Because it came with your ex-boyfriend but didn’t leave when he did? Because you positively love the design. Because it makes your heart sing?

I used to keep a ton of books in my living room because I thought it made me look smarter. Big ego choice. Now, I let books pass through my mind and my hands. And the books that I do keep, are well, the keepers – absolutely precious texts that I refer to for regular facts or inspiration.

Ego choices can be deadly. I know someone who chose a Mercedes she couldn’t afford because she wanted to drive up to her high school reunion in it. I had another client with a closet full of vampy, slutty clothes – when what she felt best in was a crisp white shirt and straight jeans. She kept choosing trashy clothes in rebellion against her mother, who for years, told her what was proper to wear.

TOP 4 BY-DEFAULT CLUTTER CHOICES

My [insert name of well-meaning relative] gave it to me and I just can’t throw it out.
This is tricky. But it gets down to this: life’s short and it’s your place. Objects carry memories and attitudes with them. If you want your home to be your temple or your chill-zone, then making choices based on obligation are only going to weigh you down.
I really hate this [insert home item or piece of clothing] but I’m waiting to have the money to buy a new one.
Something amazing happens when you get the stuff you don’t like out of your life – stuff that you do like has the room to show up. So chuck the old futon chair from university days, even if it means you sit on the floor for a while. You’ll be raising the vibe, shedding unwanted pounds and sending the universe a clear signal that you’re ready for quality…right now, not later.
I got it for free, so I may as well keep it.
Gasp. This is the ultimate gotchya-sucker default choice. ‘Cause ain’t nothing for free, baby! (Well, true love is free, but that’s about it.) If it’s taking up physical or mental space – it’s costing you. Everything has an environmental cost to manufacture, ship and dispose of. And when I think of all the “free” crap that I lugged around from apartment to apartment in moving vans – I could have saved enough to buy stuff I really loved.
But what if I need it someday?
Trust that if you ever need it, you’ll have what you need to get it. If you haven’t worn it for a year and half – give it away. If you’re waiting to lose the ten pounds, forget it. Just love yourself now. A happy life is an as-is life. And junk drawers are called junk drawers for a reason.

Simplicity demands ruthlessness. Consistent, conscious choices create momentum in your life, vitality, sweet satisfaction. You are what you eat. You are the friends you keep. And you are the stuff you choose. So choose from the heart every time – it always knows what’s best for you – and your living room.

Posted by Danielle on Jan 15, 2009 | 30 Comments | Tweet This

TripIt organizes your travel itinerary

TripIt promises to organize your travel. Simply e-mail your flight itinerary, car rental info, and hotel reservations to TripIt and the service prepares all your information into one master itinerary.

How it works:

You email all of your travel informations to Tripit.
TripIt builds you a master itinerary with all your plans, weather, maps, restaurants and more.
You can then print, access, or share your itinerary via paper, email, personal calendar or mobile device.

For those of you who travel quite a bit this looks like a helpful tool to keep your travel information in one place. The mobile feature can also keep all of this information in the palm of your hand without having to carry around the hard copies.

TripIt is compatible with over 250 websites, including airlines, hotels, rental car agencies, cruise lines, and travel agencies. And best of all the service is free so why not give it a try the next time you head out on the road.

Posted by Matt on Jan 15, 2009 | 9 Comments | Tweet This

Unitasker Wednesday: The book brush

book-brush

All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy!

I don’t know about you, but I have a serious problem with dust covered books in my home. I’m always trying to dust off my books, but there isn’t an easy way to do it. I usually resort to pounding the books together in the back yard and I end up with a mouthful of dust. There has to be a better way!

Oh, but there is a better way thanks to Book Brush. For just $80 you too can have the ingenious tool that looks like a book, but is really a brush. No really, it’s a brush! The brush is designed to be used to dust off the top of your books. It is so useful you may find yourself buying a couple more just to hand out as gifts.

Note: I have never dusted off the top of my books let alone pounded them together in the back yard. I would think, however, that a clean, dry paint brush would be a MUCH cheaper alternative if you wanted to dust your books.

Thanks to reader Andrew for bringing this unitasker to our attention.

Posted by Matt on Jan 14, 2009 | 42 Comments | Tweet This

Productivity and organizing insights found in Lean systems

In late October, The Wall Street Journal ran the article “Neatness Counts at Kyocera and at Others in the 5S Club.” The article explores a typical day for Kyocera employee Jay Scovie, whose job it is to patrol offices to make sure they are sorted, straightened, shined, standardized and sustained masterpieces of uncluttered glory:

Kyocera’s version of 5S, which it calls “Perfect 5S,” not only calls for organization in the workplace, but aesthetic uniformity. Sweaters can’t hang on the backs of chairs, personal items can’t be stowed beneath desks and the only decorations allowed on cabinets are official company plaques or certificates.

One thing that bugs me about the article is that it doesn’t explain that the rigid aesthetic standards Kyocera implements are not part of the 5S system. Rules prohibiting a sweater on the back of a chair are unique to Kyocera’s “Perfect” 5S processes and not the standard 5S efficiency program.

As an unclutterer and a fan of productivity improving methods, I’m always disheartened when I see extreme examples of efficiency improvement systems discussed as if they are the norm instead of the exception. Programs that strive to increase productivity in the workplace are usually worthwhile systems that increase morale and creative thinking, instead of stifle it. Additionally, most have proven records of increasing quality and efficiency.

If you work for a company with more than 150 employees, you probably are already familiar with at least one Lean system (“Lean” is the buzzword in the business world to mean a program that trims the fat — unnecessary and wasteful processes, methods, systems, etc.). If you’re unfamiliar with Lean systems on the whole, or are only familiar with one specific program, you might be interested in learning more about them. Even if you don’t implement the full systems, simply knowing about their methods can help to improve the way you do your work. I have definitely gained many helpful tips and tricks studying their processes.

There are numerous Lean systems, and each has a different area of expertise. Some can be used together, some are branches of pre-existing systems, while others are stand-alone programs. Different programs fall in and out of fashion, and these are a number of the current heavy hitters and resources that decently explain them:

Six Sigma — The Six Sigma Handbook, General Electric defines six sigma, Wikipedia
Toyota Production System/Just in Time Production System — The Toyota Way, TheToyotaWay.org, Wikipedia
Theory of Constraints — The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, Podcast interview with Eliyahu Goldratt, Wikipedia
Kaizen — One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way, “Practice your personal Kaizen” on Lifehacker, Wikipedia
5S — 5S for the Office: Organizing the Workplace to Eliminate Waste, The EPA has a phenomenal description of 5S, Wikipedia

What are your thoughts on Lean systems? Do you find that they contain useful productivity and organizing insights?

Posted by Erin on Jan 14, 2009 | 25 Comments | Tweet This

Design Public’s Organization Blog Fest

The website Design Public is hosting an Organization Blog Fest for a week and a little more this January. Each day is a new post with tips, tricks, and advice on how to help you organize your life. So far, the series has been well written, and I recommend you check it out.

Unclutterer was asked to contribute to the advice-wielding group, and my post “Outfitting a Minimalist Kitchen” ran last Thursday. I’m interested in hearing from you what you think about the list of minimalist food preparation utensils. Leave a comment expressing your ideas either here or on Design Public — I’ll be checking both places to see what you think.

Posted by Erin on Jan 13, 2009 | 17 Comments | Tweet This

Winter storage event at Home Depot

Home Depot is currently holding a sale on all storage products until January 31. The Winter Storage Event prices are available online and in-store. (Some products are in-store only.)

When most of us are watching our wallets, this is a good opportunity to take advantage of sale prices while organizing a specific problem area of our homes. Categories of storage include: closet storage (wood and wire), garage storage, living room storage, pantry storage, and multi-purpose storage.

Before you head out to your local Home Depot, be sure to figure out what you need for your specific organization project. Make sure you take measurements and try to envision what you need before you make your purchase.

Posted by Matt on Jan 13, 2009 | 4 Comments | Tweet This

Fix My HTML

Having trouble trimming down your HTML code? Would you like to clear the clutter and make it easier to read and edit? Well, you can clean it up at Fix My HTML. This single-service site is a project of Dancing Mammoth, Unclutterer’s parent company.

HTML code can quickly become a depository for useless tags and slower load times. For an easy way to figure out how to clean up that chunk of HTML code that has been giving you a headache, give Fix My HTML a try.

Posted by Matt on Jan 12, 2009 | 6 Comments | Tweet This

Classic and timeless toys are the way to go

I’ve written about keeping children’s toy clutter under control in the past and I also recommended some toy alternatives here and there. Simple Mom has a great post on a similar theme, but specifically classic toys. It’s an article that should be read by anyone planning to give a gift to a child.

My daughter has received some rather gimmicky toys over her first couple years and we have been pretty good at predicting which toys will be the duds. The classics are always reliable and have proven their entertainment value by their staying power. That’s why we purchased our daughter some basic wooden blocks this past Christmas. They are simple, versatile, and provide imaginative play for our daughter. Blocks are among the classic toys mentioned by Simple Mom along with art supplies, dress-up clothes, books, and dolls (among others):

Our general guidelines for toys are that they’re made of quality materials, they appeal to a whole range of kids, and they’re open-ended to make room for all sorts of creative play.

I also encourage you to browse around Simple Mom’s site. It is a great read for those of us who are dealing with being a uncluttered parent.

Posted by Matt on Jan 12, 2009 | 15 Comments | Tweet This

Book review: Career Renegade

In my opinion, there are only two kinds of jobs that are not clutter:

A career that you love with a deep passion, surrounded by great colleagues who support and believe in a similar vision, and that is an integral part and reflection of who you are
A job that has regular hours, no demands on your time beyond your scheduled work day, generates enough income for a comfortable lifestyle, great colleagues, and a positive corporate culture

The first type of career completely gels with who you are and provides you with significant happiness. Even though you may not like every aspect of your work, you find the reasons behind it invigorating and worth the effort. You have your dream job and reap the benefits of this match. In many ways, the line between work life and personal life are blurred with this type of career.

The second type of job is one that you can turn off when you leave the office. It allows you to take advantage of all of your free time and deeply explore happiness in the world beyond your job. Being surrounded by people you like is a key to this type of job because if you don’t like the people you work with, then a job like this will be loathsome.

If you’re in a job that doesn’t make you happy and is cluttering up your life, or have recently been downsized because of the rough economy, then I want to recommend you read Jonathan Fields’ new book Career Renegade. His book is filled with actual advice that gives you instructions for “how to make a great living doing what you love.”

Career Renegade is not a touchy-feely, discover-what-you-want-to-do type of book. The premise behind the text is that you are eager to have a career you love and want to know exactly how to make it a reality.

The majority of his advice is targeted toward carving out niche careers in markets that are already established. However, I really enjoyed his insight relating to careers in markets that don’t yet exist:

Real innovators usually have:

A deep passion for the content, beyond the desire to make money.

A clear picture of the gap in the market of the problem in need of a solution.

A nearly unshakable commitment to solving a problem or doing something better than it’s been done before.

A willingness to take risks and make decisions based on the best information available relatively quickly, even if it’s not all of the information that might be accessible over a longer period of time. Entrepreneurs refer to this as the ready-fire-aim mind-set.

An ability to visualize a solution that does not exist or at least to see the possibility of the solution.

The people who have manifested these qualities and succeeded in creating solutions, businesses, products, or services that simply did not exist before are the ones you need to seek out.

If you’re ready to have a career you love, then Career Renegade is the book for you.

Posted by Erin on Jan 12, 2009 | 18 Comments | Tweet This

January is Get Organized Month

The National Association of Professional Organizers has once again declared January Get Organized Month!

We love the idea of starting off the year on the right foot, and we hope that you get in on the organizing spirit. NAPO has many events scheduled across the country as part of their Get Organized Month. Be sure to check out the calendar to see if there is an event near you.

Also, Amazon.com is interested in helping you get organized in January. They have created a Top 10 New Year’s Resolution page that includes “#9: Organize and Optimize” with a number of good deals on storage solutions and organizing books.

Do you have plans to get organized in January? Let us know about your plans in the comments. You can help inspire all of us.

Posted by Erin on Jan 10, 2009 | 21 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Sell or donate?

Reader Amy submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

I’d love to see some advice on what to donate vs. what to sell when clearing out the clutter!

Amy, this is a great request. Here is the following method I suggest for deciding what to do with home and office items once you determine they no longer belong in your possession:

Step 1: Log onto eBay and find out how much money a similar item recently sold for on the site.

Step 2: If the item sold for an amount that you believe is worth your time and effort to sell (for me, this number is $50+), then sell the item. Websites such as eBay and Craigslist are perfect for online sales, and local consignment or pawn shops are wonderful brick and mortar alternatives. Garage sales are also good options.

Step 3: If the item sold for an amount less than your time and effort to sell number (for me this is less than $50), but is greater than zero, consider donating the object to charity or posting it on Freecycle.

Step 4: If you cannot find a similar item for sale on eBay and you think the item is junk, recycle or trash the item. A good rule of thumb is that you should not give to charity any item that no one is willing to pay money to buy. Charities are not depositories for junk.

Thank you, Amy, for submitting the first question for our Ask Unclutterer column!

Posted by Erin on Jan 9, 2009 | 51 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: Wall writing

This week’s Workspace of the Week is Hillary’s home office:

I chose this office because it does such a terrific job at putting the wall space behind the desk to functional use. The multi-month calendars, the magnetic chalk board, and the bulletin boards act as an information center for their user. The tickler file at the left of the desk is a great idea for organizing outgoing paperwork with time-sensitive information. The lack of a power cord for the laptop confuses me (where is the power source?), but overall it looks like a highly functional and organized space. Thank you, Hillary, for your submission to our flickr pool.

Posted by Erin on Jan 9, 2009 | 8 Comments | Tweet This

Keeping new year’s resolutions from NPR’s Science Friday

One of my favorite shows on NPR is Science Friday. On December 26, the host of Science Friday Ira Flatow interviewed clinical psychologist John Norcross about how to increase the odds of keeping new year’s resolutions. Norcross has researched and published two studies on resolutions and how people succeed at keeping them.

A few fascinating points from the interview:

40-46% of people who set resolutions are successful at the six month point
Having a resolution buddy and checking in with that person just three times will significantly increase the likelihood of success
71% of the people who achieved their resolution in six months, slipped in January and said this slip strengthened their resolve
Setting a resolution instead of a goal increases the chance that you’ll achieve progress by 10 times

Norcross also said that believing that you can achieve the resolution — even if you falter along the way — is one of the keys to success.

To listen to “Making New Year’s Resolutions Stick,” click on the link and then hit the Play Arrow under the word “Listen” on the left side of the webpage.

The two studies on which the interview are based appear to be the following:

Norcross, J. C., Ratzin, A. C., & P ayne, D. (1989). Ringing in the New Year: The change processes and reported outcomes of resolutions. Addictive Behaviors, 14, 205-212.
Norcross, J. C., & Vangarelli, D. J. (1989). The resolution solution: Longitudinal examination of New Year’s change attempts. Journal of Substance Abuse, 1, 127-134.

Pictured: Norcross

Posted by Erin on Jan 8, 2009 | 5 Comments | Tweet This

The multi-tasking unitasker: Bag TV

bagtv If you are a bit sad because you didn’t get your most sought after holiday gift, then you’re probably not alone. There is some hope for those of you who didn’t receive that new designer bag and that new LCD television. BagTV could fill two voids with one incredibly ridiculous product.

Yes, two products in one amazing combination. It isn’t really a unitasker so I couldn’t include it in that category. BagTV will have to stand alone in all its glory. It is a multi-tasking product of excess.

From the product description:

Bagtv is a totally new concept in bag design, combining bespoke luxury bags with high tech electronic equipment.

The first in a range of new products, is a beautifully crafted ladies hand-bag, which comes in a range of cool colours, leathers, and fabrics, integrated with a high quality 7in TVscreen combining, DVD, and Mpeg player.

The screen sits behind a protective transparent shield and enables the owner to literally watch Films/Videos either on DVD or downloaded to the bag.

The system comes with full connectivity for use with computers or digital cameras through USB port and SD card slot, allowing the playing of scrolling photos on the bag.

Use on the move, on the way to and from work, for holidays, on trains or in the car.

Use at night in bars, and clubs to show off your latest photos, or favourite videos.

The smart light weight battery system, allows the player to play up to 2.5 hours, movies, video, photos before re-charging.

It comes equipped with its own re-charger unit for use with the mains or in car, together audio/video cables for connectivity with TV .

All in all, bagtv is the latest fashion statement, and doubles as a really useful bit of kit for the ladies to rival their boys toys!

Sorry, gentlemen, this item appears to be just for the ladies — you’ll have to use your small, longer battery life iPhone as an alternative.

(via Red Ferret)

Photo courtesy BagTV.

Posted by Matt on Jan 8, 2009 | 16 Comments | Tweet This

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