Archives for May 2009

Leave a comment: Tips to clean your PC data

A surprising find on the HP website was “Is Your PC a Mess?” It is exactly what it sounds like: tips for keeping your data on your PC clean.

Windows Defender (which is already installed on Windows Vista®) is a very good start [when scanning for spyware]. Simply install and follow the prompts to check your system. There are other excellent tools available from reputable download sites too, many of the best ones completely free. Again, multiple layers of protection can save you from terrible heartache – it only takes one bad infection to ruin your whole week.

I’m a Mac, so I had no idea that there was a spyware program built into Windows Vista. It’s one of many great suggestions from the article.

What do you do to keep your PC clean? Let’s fill the comments with ideas and suggestions to help all of our PC readers.

Posted by Erin on May 20, 2009 | 39 Comments | Tweet This

Increase your productivity with keyboard shortcuts

When you constantly use keyboard shortcuts, it takes you less time at your computer to do the same amount of work as someone who is mouse dependent.

If you’re looking to improve your speed and productivity behind your keyboard, start by learning and practicing the basics:

Once you have these mastered, it’s time to give your productivity another boost.

  • For Mac users, keep a list of the programs you typically open in a given day and create launch and program-specific action shortcuts by going into Settings –> Keyboard Shortcuts. Then, hit the + sign to create your own program actions.
  • Windows users can download the program ActiveWords and create actions through it. (Free trial available, $30 for purchase.)

Then, stop typing the same words repeatedly by creating shortcuts for commonly typed symbols, code, and words.

  • For Mac users, download TextExpander and paste limitless text into your documents, e-mails, and programs.
  • For Windows users, keep using the program ActiveWords that I mentioned previously. In addition to creating program and action commands, it also inserts words with keyboard shortcuts.

I love TextExpander on my Mac and use it to enter Amazon links, the blurb at the beginning of every Unitasker Wednesday post, the templates for the Workplace of the Week and Ask Unclutterer posts, all five of my different e-mail signatures, our site’s submission guidelines, and hundreds of other paragraphs, sentences, and words that I type repeatedly.

How much time are you wasting by not using keyboard shortcuts? Take the time to learn, practice, and use keyboard commands to improve your productivity.

Posted by Erin on May 19, 2009 | 23 Comments | Tweet This

Organizing from A to Z

Unclutterer and Erin are mentioned numerous times in the June 2009 issue of Real Simple magazine in the article “Get Organized. Stay Organized. How to control the clutter for good” by Liz Welch.

The article works through the letters of the alphabet, giving organized suggestions for everything from artwork to grills and propane tanks to zippers and sewing items.

The most efficient way to store recipes is to “scan them, then organize them with a software system, like eChef recipe software,” says Doland. The program, which also lets you save recipes found online, has an easy-to-use search function: Type in “asparagus” and find every one of your recipes that calls for it.

The June 2009 issue of Real Simple is currently available on newsstands. Unfortunately, only the products mentioned in the article that you can buy are online. However, once June 1 rolls around, I expect the full text of the article to be available digitally.

Posted by Erin on May 19, 2009 | 10 Comments | Tweet This

How to clean stuff

Thanks to the website How To Clean Stuff, I now know how to clean the terminals to my car battery and the 10 dirtiest places in my home (ew!).

If you are looking to clean anything in your home, check out this site for solid directions. The comments are extremely helpful, too. Something I’m going to do this coming weekend is take Casey’s advice:

Apply Rain – X (typically used for vehicle windows) to your shower doors and you won’t have the water spots/scum/build-up from your water. The water will just run off of the glass like it does in your vehicle. I’ve also applied a coat of car wax to my shower walls (not the floor) and it has the same effect. The water just beads up and runs off. Saves A LOT of time in cleaning and elbow grease.

My shower stall is the hardest place to clean in the house. I really hope the Rain-X helps. Check out How To Clean Stuff for more great articles and tips.

(via Lifehacker)

Posted by Erin on May 18, 2009 | 20 Comments | Tweet This

Furniture solution for music practice space

Often when I’m practicing on one of my instruments I wish that my music stand was better suited for organizing and storing all the things I use when engaged in that activity:

In looking for a good solution, I came across an interesting organizational solution for the problem. It’s called the Musician’s Center and it’s built by Innovative Music Furniture, L.L.C.

It appears to be very well constructed and it seems to keep everything needed well organized and easily accessible. The build quality probably justifies the $2000 price, but it would also be easy enough to go the Ikeahacker route and convert a small bookshelf or nightstand by attaching the top of a music stand.

Posted by PJ on May 18, 2009 | 13 Comments | Tweet This

A year ago on Unclutterer

2008

2007

Posted by PJ on May 17, 2009 | Comments Off | Tweet This

The desk whisperer

Thursday evening, I was a presenter at the first Ignite-DC. An Ignite presentation is exactly five minutes, contains 20 slides, and each slide advances automatically every 15 seconds. An evening consists of 16 artists, technologists, thinkers, and personalities talking about subjects they love.

I gave a lighthearted presentation on the perception of productivity. (Not actual productivity — because that is what books are made of, not humorous five-minute presentations.) I wanted to entertain as well as inform, and I hope that I achieved that. Check it out:

(If you can’t see the above video, check it out directly on YouTube.)

Feel welcome to check out the other Ignite-DC presentations from Thursday and the world-wide Ignite website to see if there is an Ignite event scheduled near you.

Posted by Erin on May 16, 2009 | 24 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Swimming in financial prospectuses

Reader Erin submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

I’ve been focusing a lot lately on reducing my paper clutter in my home office. I’ve made some good progress, but there is one particular type of clutter that nags at me every time I try to cut down: The Financial “Prospectus” that every fund and investment seems to send out every other week (OK, maybe it’s a few times a year. It feels like a lot).

I am only 27 years old and therefore don’t have too many investments, and yet I still have a few stacks of these bulky booklets that are at best the size of a magazine and at worst the size of a small novel. I can only imagine that there are other readers out there who are just SWIMMING in these booklets.

What’s the rule of thumb? How long *should* one keep these books? If you tell me I can recycle at least some of them, I will be one happy girl.

The first thing you need to do is call your financial advisor and see if he or she can e-mail you PDFs of these booklets instead of mailing them to you. Most financial institutions are looking for ways to cut back on expenses right now, and the trend is to provide these as digital documents to their clients. I made the switch about two years ago. It saves them money and saves me space.

Unfortunately, this won’t take care of the documents you already have in your home. I’d ask your financial advisor if he or she can e-mail you copies of the old ones, too. If your advisor doesn’t have access to those files, I recommend keeping just the annual booklets for anything more than a year old. You may want to keep the quarterly booklets from the current year if you have an interest in such things.

And, when I say “keep,” I mean pull out the staples, scan the document, save it as a PDF on your computer’s hard drive, and recycle the original. These documents are good to reference, but they’re not legally necessary for you to keep in paper form.

Thank you, Erin, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. Great name, too!

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 May 15, 2009 | 21 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: Metro mini

This week’s Workspace of the Week is RunningDive’s small solution:

I chose this office because it truly surprised me. Almost every horizontal surface in the room is created with Metro shelving. This setup is easy to move and easy to configure however its owner needs it.

The printer and two shelves appear to be on a stand on the left-hand side of the desk, providing for additional storage. The filing cabinet looks to be the cream color box under the television. There is task lighting, overhead lighting, and wonderful light pouring in through the windows. And, for being an office, it blends in wonderfully with the other decor in this efficiency. (If I’m not mistaken, the couch is a pull-out and the coffee table is on casters to easily be moved. Also, brilliant.)

In the comments, he explained how he made the hanging bicycle rack:

I drilled a hole into the ceiling, and inserted an anchor bolt that expands when you tighten it, there is an eye hook on the end. And voila, bike hangs.

Thank you, RunningDive, for submitting your photo to our workspace pool. It’s a very well-organized space.

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 May 15, 2009 | 16 Comments | Tweet This

The Green Box

Just after posting Monday’s story about a mailing envelope that transforms into a clothes hanger, we came across this video of another elegant and environmentally responsible packaging solution that serves a useful secondary function:

Posted by PJ on May 14, 2009 | 23 Comments | Tweet This

Be organized with a Butler Bag

A couple weeks ago, I met a group of power professional organizers for drinks. These people are no-nonsense business owners who employ staffs and kick clutter’s arse. Additionally, they make me laugh, which makes checking in with them a few times a year a lot of fun.

As we toasted our drinks, I realized that all of the women in the group were carrying the same purse. I had to ask them about it because it was such a bizarre sighting. I mean, maybe in junior high a girl gets the same purse as her best friend, but it’s not something you typically see with a group of adults.

It turns out, none of the women were aware of the other women’s handbags. Each said she purchased her Butler Bag for the same reason — the purse’s inside structure. These organized women had all purchased the most organized purse they could find.

After talking to these organized women about their bags, I decided to buy one. (That is my purse in the above pictures.) I bought the “Classic” style in the color espresso. It’s only 13″ x 5.5″ x 5″, yet it holds all of my things with an unbelievable amount of remaining space in its five sturdy compartments. Check out the website to get a better idea of all of the things you can carry in one of these small purses.

I no longer have to search for anything in my bag. I don’t have to worry about the top coming off a pen and marking up my cell phone. And, since the purse is really cute, no one knows that I’m carrying it for utilitarian reasons.

If you don’t need a new purse, check out these purse organizers that make lots of pockets on the inside of your purse. For $20, they seem like a nice alternative.

Posted by Erin on May 14, 2009 | 46 Comments | Tweet This

Unitasker Wednesday: Drywalkers

Sitting down and taking off your wet or muddy shoes is such an awful chore. First you have to sit, and then you have to take off your shoes. Exhausting!

Well, stop wasting all of that energy and start using Drywalkers!

They’re clean shoes to put on over your dirty shoes! Wear these until they get dirty and then put on another pair of Drywalkers over your dirty Drywalkers and dirty shoes. You’ll never have to sit and take off a pair of shoes again! Just keep adding as many pair of Drywalkers as you need over the entire course of your life. Hey, you’ve always wanted to be a little bit taller!

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

Posted by Erin on May 13, 2009 | 58 Comments | Tweet This

A year ago on Unclutterer

2008

2007

Posted by PJ on May 13, 2009 | Comments Off | Tweet This

Tipke Marine Fold-It Utility Cart

I recently came across this space-saving, folding cart:

It seems like a great way to save space in your garage or shed, but $230 seems a bit pricey for a wheelbarrow. The Amazon reviews are overwhelmingly positive. We would love to hear from any readers who might have one of these, and can comment on whether they’re worth the cost. We would also love to hear about any less expensive alternatives you might be using. A folding wheelbarrow would be a nice way to save space in the garage.

Posted by PJ on May 13, 2009 | 14 Comments | Tweet This

Fake plants: Erin’s secret timesaver

When I decided to get clutter out of my life — physical, mental, time, and productivity clutter — I did it because I wanted to have more time and room in my life for the things that matter most to me. There are only 24 hours in the day, and I want to spend the majority of my waking hours doing what I value and find important.

Sure, there are chores (about 30 minutes a day) I don’t love, but doing them keeps stress and other negative effects out of my life. My overall life is better because I have routines in place to take care of the not-so-great parts.

One thing I don’t like doing is gardening or anything to do with the yard. I know that some people love gardening and are horrified that I don’t like it, but I enjoy things that I’m sure they have no interest in doing (cheese making, doing stand up comedy, reading mystery novels, playing the pedal steel guitar). We’re all different, which is what makes unclutterers so great.

Since I’m not fond of gardening, I have fake plants in all of the flower boxes on the front of my house. These are high-end fake plants. Even when you’re standing inches away from them, you have no idea that they’re not real. But, unlike real plants, I don’t have to do anything to maintain their beauty.

  • No watering.
  • No weeding.
  • No dying plants.
  • No plant diseases or pests.
  • No maintenance.

If you’re interested in sprucing up a flower box with fake plants, follow these tips to make it so that no one on your block has any idea:

  • Use high-end fake plants. If it looks bad in the store, it’s going to look bad in your flower box. The French make the world’s best fake plants, and if you can afford them, buy them. My favorite is Trousselier at 73 blvd Haussmann in Paris. If heading to France isn’t in your future (Trousselier doesn’t have an online shop), check out your local craft store and be very picky about what makes it into your cart.
  • Buy plants, not flowers. You don’t have to worry about things blooming in the wrong season if nothing blooms. And, even when they are very well made, fake flowers can still look fake.
  • Only display the plants during appropriate seasons. If a fern wouldn’t be growing outdoors in January, don’t have a fake fern outdoors in January. Store it into a garbage bag in your garage, and put it back out in the spring.
  • Only buy fake plants that could grow in your region.
  • Take the time to plan out and landscape your flower box before you go shopping for fake plants. You want the plants to look as natural as possible.
  • Buy fake plants with realistic looking imperfections. Not every leaf on a plant is the exact same shade of green, and sometimes a leaf or two is brown. Nature isn’t perfect, and neither should your fake plants be.
  • “Plant” your fake plants in gravel with fake moss or fake grass as ground cover. Weeds won’t grow in rocks, but they will grow in dirt. If you “plant” in dirt, you’re still going to have to pick out weeds.

Okay, now you know my time-saving secret. Where do you cut corners to free up time in your schedule to pursue the things that matter most to you?

(My apologies about the picture being small. It was hard to line up an image that didn’t flash my neighbors’ license plates to the internet.)

Posted by Erin on May 12, 2009 | 64 Comments | Tweet This

Hinge hooks

Back when I was a home renter instead of a home owner, I spent a lot of time trying to hunt down organizing and storage solutions that didn’t force me to change my space. I haven’t forgotten that frustration, and I like to keep an eye out for products that I can recommend that renters and home owners can use.

Recently, I learned about these simple hooks that fit over the pins of door hinges. You pull out your hinge’s pins, slip the hook onto the hinge, and then slide the hinge pin back into place. When it’s time to move, you remove it as easily as you installed it. No nail holes to fill or patches to paint. Plus, the hook is behind the door and out of sight when the door is open.

Posted by Erin on May 12, 2009 | 14 Comments | Tweet This

Not getting things done? Try WSD

I want to welcome guest author Tim Chase and his “family friendly” version of WSD. His system is just as simple, just as much fun, but with a less-adult vocabulary.

Thanks to my local public library, I’ve joined the ranks of folks who have read David Allen’s Getting Things Done. However I became bogged down in the implementation details. Then I stumbled across this article on smallist.com and in a lightbulb moment I recognized it as a similar technique I’ve watched my father use for years.

Failed by GTD

Overwhelmed by GTD’s buzzwords (contexts, ubiquitous capture, tickler files, 43-folders, buckets, etc), the simplicity of WSD is appealing:

  • Find something to write on.
  • Find something to write with.
  • Finally, and most importantly, WRITE STUFF DOWN.

GTD also seems to promote beautiful yet expensive implements — PDA/smart-phones, Moleskine® notebooks, space-pens. WSD has no such pretensions. While you can use your PDA/smart-phone, your Moleskine or your space-pen, you can certainly employ a wide varity of writing surfaces and implements.

Writing Surfaces

Write on whatever is handy — 3×5 cards (Hipster PDA-ized or otherwise), Post-It® note pads, cheap spiral-bound pocket notepads, envelopes, margins of newspapers or magazines, or even paper-towels, napkins, tissues or toilet-paper in desperation. You can carry them with you at all times or just as needed. I prefer to only carry paper when I know I may not have something on which I can write. A box of old business cards and a small whiteboard in the kitchen for grocery lists; page-a-day calendar sheets in the study for to-do lists; a small tablet by the bedside and in the car; Post-It pads at work. For other places, I simply take a little pocket-sized notepad (a four-pack at the local dollar-store).

Things on which you should not write your important brain-droppings: receipts, bills you have to pay, cheques, paper currency, contracts, library books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, or the Magna Carta. Unless you copy them off ASAP to something less transient (and in the case of library books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, or important constitutional documents, I suggest removing your writing from them first).

Writing Implements

Writing implements also abound — while you can use your space-pen, that $180 gold-encrusted beast engraved with your name and business, or your favorite Hello Kitty® glittery gel pen with the glow-in-the-dark purple ink, I lean toward the cheap and abundant options. You’re not illuminating monastic manuscripts, you’re getting an idea out of your head and onto paper. Out and about, I usually carry a Papermate® medium-point point pen because they write well and come in 12-packs for under $2 (USD). Occasionally, I augment with a #2 automatic-pencil, also obtained in multi-packs under $2 (USD). I’ve found that the long narrow “tool pockets” in carpenter jeans/shorts hold my writing implements so they don’t jab my thighs like a regular front pocket can. And they make for a snazzy quick-draw holster effect when you whip out a pen on demand.

Depending on your location, you may find you don’t need to carry a writing implement. We keep stashes of implements around the house — in the nightstands, in the desk, in the catch-all drawer, in the bill drawer, in the cars, etc. If you’re the type who steals pens from coworkers and banks, cut that out. Or, at least give them back. At conferences, many companies hand out business-branded pens for free. In addition to the craft-boxes, parents likely find crayons under foot, in couch cushions, up noses, and on the floor under little Johnny’s wall-art. For those who do their best thinking in the shower, you can find shower/tub crayons to scrawl on the shower wall.

Conclusion

Get something to write on. Get something to write with. Write stuff down.

Posted by Tim on May 11, 2009 | 48 Comments | Tweet This

Uncluttered packaging

A graphic design student at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Steve Haslip, designed a prototype for a mailing envelope that transforms into a clothes hanger. As far as we know, the design isn’t yet manufactured. But, we absolutely love it and hope that someone starts using it.

From the product description:

The concept was fairly simple: I buy t-shirts online and they always come wrinkled and I always run out of coat-hangers. So I designed a sustainable, reusable way to send and keep your t-shirts. As you open the package you create a coat hanger. The packaging could be made from recycled material whether it is card or plastic and the only waste is the green tear-away tab.

Do you know of additional product packaging that keeps clutter and waste away? We’re always on the lookout for great, uncluttered design.

(via Packagings of the World)

Posted by Erin on May 11, 2009 | 30 Comments | Tweet This

A year ago on Unclutterer

2008

2007

Posted by PJ on May 10, 2009 | 2 Comments | Tweet This

Review: Bento for iPhone

If you’re a Mac user who has searched for a user-friendly personal database application, no doubt you’ve come across Filemaker’s Bento. Bento is a great way to keep your personal data organized, and it integrates well with Address Book, iCal and Mail.

This week, Filemaker released Bento for iPhone and iPod Touch, which can function as a standalone application, or sync with the latest version of Bento for the desktop. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical of the idea of a database application on a smaller device such as the iPhone, so I decided to test it out for a couple of days to see if it was as usable as advertised.

My first impression was that it’s clear that Filemaker took great care in making Bento for iPhone as iPhone-like as possible. I’d almost say that it’s easier to use than its desktop counterpart. And, while it lacks some of the deeper functionality of the desktop version, what’s included is extremely simple to use.

As I browsed through Bento for iPhone’s default templates, I was delighted to find one for creating a home inventory, something that has been on my mind ever since reading Gary’s experience of losing everything in a fire.

Adding a new inventory item was intuitive, and about as quick as possible given the limitations of the iPhone keyboard. But, adding a photo was much easier than it could ever be on a desktop, because Bento for iPhone integrates core functionality such as the iPhone’s camera. You can also use data from Contacts, iCal, Maps, Mail and Safari. I found that it was faster to add the item name and photo on the iPhone, then sync with the desktop to add other information. I was able to add a few dozen items in a fairly short amount of time, and never encountered any problems syncing data.

Bento for iPhone will appeal to anyone who wants to stay organized and take their data with them. The portability makes it much more convenient for capturing many type of personal data. Whether you want to take your recipe collection with you while you shop, track the foods you eat during the day, or make sure you’re prepared with a home inventory.

Bento for iPhone is currently available for $4.99 through the iTunes App Store. It’s bit more expensive than the typical iPhone App, but for what it does I consider it a bargain.

Posted by Brian on May 9, 2009 | 4 Comments | Tweet This