Archives for October 2009

A year ago on Unclutterer

2008

2007

Posted by PJ on Oct 7, 2009 | Comments Off | Tweet This

How I keep project clutter under control

I’m a project guy. It’s rare that I don’t have four or five small projects going on at once, and since I’m not a neat person by nature, it’s very easy for me to let clutter get out of control.

About six months ago, I replaced the shelf that I was storing my printers on with Elfa drawers. This created the opportunity for a whole new project organization system.

Several of the drawers on the left serve as storage for office supplies. Most of the drawers on the right are for my photo printer paper. And the drawers in the center are individual projects.

Each drawer slides all the way out, so when I want to work on a particular project, I can bring the whole drawer to my desk. When I’m finished, the entire project slides back into the cabinet. I never feel like I’m actually cleaning up, but everything remains much more organized than it would otherwise be.

The whole thing is on casters, so I can roll it out away from the wall when I’m printing with really large paper, or I can store unfinished paintings against the wall behind it.

Posted by Brian on Oct 7, 2009 | 19 Comments | Tweet This

Organizing medical billings and paperwork

Professional organizer Julie Bestry speaks from personal experience on how to organize medical billings and paperwork to avoid bankruptcy in her article “Don’t Let Hospital Billing Errors Bleed You Dry“:

Harvard University research indicates that approximately 62% of U.S. personal bankruptcies are caused by unaffordable medical bills. Given that, it’s vital to keep track of medical billing, particularly hospital billing, to make sure you are being charged a fair and accurate amount. In fact, some medical billing experts believe that up to 80% of all hospital and medical bills contain at least one error, underlining the importance of vigilance in scrutinizing your medical billing paperwork.

She discusses how to detect errors in your bills and also has a wonderful guide to how to organize this paperwork:

These five posts are a fantastic resource. Again, this is a time when I hope that you won’t ever have to use this information.

Posted by Erin on Oct 6, 2009 | 16 Comments | Tweet This

Being a smart furniture consumer

Smart consumerism is based on the principle of buying the best quality of good to meet your needs and budget. Saving up your money and buying a beautifully crafted piece of furniture out of durable materials will ultimately keep you from wasting money and time in the future. Plus, if you research and buy only quality goods, you won’t make impulse purchases.

An unclutterer is a smart consumer.

In September, Karawynn Long (a guest author on the website Get Rich Slowly), posted the informative article “Furniture Shopping Secrets: How To Tell Superior from Shoddy.” This article helps anyone shopping for furniture to be an informed consumer. And, when it comes to being a smart consumer, knowledge is essential.

A brief selection of the text:

Wood furniture — composition
I used to think hardwoods were hard and softwoods were soft. Silly me! Actually, hardwood just means ‘from a deciduous tree’ and softwood means ‘from a coniferous tree’, and some hardwoods (like aspen) are softer than some softwoods. What you want on exposed surfaces is a wood that’s reasonably scratch-resistant. You can test this easily enough by attempting to draw a thin line with your fingernail across the wood; if it makes a visible dent (use a flashlight here if necessary) you know it won’t stand up to much use.

Structurally, any kind of solid wood or sturdy plywood will do the trick. If plywood, look for at least nine layers. Check the wood for knots, even on unexposed pieces; all knots are susceptible to cracks. Some woods, like pine, are ‘knottier’ than others, and therefore less desirable. Avoid particleboard, pressed wood, or fiberboard.

Veneers — a thin piece of premium wood covering a lower-quality piece of wood — are often used even in very high-quality furniture. As long as the base piece is solid wood or plywood, the only drawback to veneer is that it limits the number of times an item can be refinished.

The article discusses composition and construction of wood and upholstered furniture and includes a quick furniture checklist to have with you when shopping. Remember: informed consumers are smart consumers, and unclutterers are smart consumers.

Posted by Erin on Oct 6, 2009 | 8 Comments | Tweet This

Uncluttered mealtime

Reader Beth sent us the following wonderful suggestion for organizing meals at home for little money and little stress. Thanks to Beth for such wonderful advice:

I understand the challenge of cooking — I live alone and love to cook. So, I wanted to share some of my ideas on “uncluttering” mealtime:

[1] Make a list of staples that you always have in your pantry. I have tried weekly meal plans and sometimes I don’t feel like cooking on Thursday what I scheduled on Sunday! Here are some things I always have available –

  • Pasta
  • Canned Tuna Fish
  • Tomato Sauce
  • Eggs
  • Bacon
  • Cheese
  • Ground Beef (frozen)
  • Chicken (frozen)
  • Fresh vegetables (whatever is in season)

[2] Pick a day (usually on the weekend for me) and cook a big dinner. Tonight, it was a big dish of pasta with fresh tomatoes (out of my garden) and cheese. I now have leftovers for two other meals. Other times, I will make a dinner that is too big for just me – such as meatloaf. I have purchased plastic freezer containers with partitions (they look just like a TV dinner) and I usually have leftovers for 3 to 5 dinners. They go in the freezer — marked with the contents and the date frozen. An easy and more nutritious dinner than takeout!

[3] Set a grocery budget and stick to it! Be creative! That tuna fish salad can be used for soup and sandwiches one night and tuna melts the next.

[4] Trade meals with friends or relatives. My mom lives with my brother so she has the same problem as me. If she is cooking a big dinner one night for the two of them and has leftovers, I might say to her “hey, save me some lasagna and I’ll give you a tray of chicken parm.”

I would be interested in hearing others ideas!

I agree with Beth, I would love to hear other ideas, too. How do you make mealtime uncluttered in your home?

Posted by Erin on Oct 5, 2009 | 37 Comments | Tweet This

Rethinking the vase for a small space

I recently learned about the store-flat reusable Vazu vases and instantly thought about our apartment and small-space dwelling readers:

They are available in many colorful designs (some holiday themed, most are abstract patterns), and so much easier to store than their glass sisters:

Check out the product video to see the Vazu vase in action. I have one in red and adore it. These vases are simple, reusable, and perfect for a place with limited storage.

Posted by Erin on Oct 5, 2009 | 14 Comments | Tweet This

A year ago on Unclutterer

2008

2007

Posted by PJ on Oct 4, 2009 | 2 Comments | Tweet This

A good night’s sleep improves productivity

Failure to get a good night’s sleep can significantly alter your abilities to be productive, handle stress, and live an uncluttered life. I’m currently experiencing this phenomenon first hand since my son started teething. I have never in my life been this tired for such a continued amount of time, and I’m envious of parents whose children are seemingly unaffected by the teething process.

Actually, I’m envious of anyone who gets sleep, irrespective of if they have children. I may even be thinking mean thoughts about all of you and your well-rested state of being right now …

Where was I?

Oh yes, sleep deprivation.

We’ve talked in the past about how it is important to keep a sleep journal to determine the number of sleep hours you need to function at your best. Too little sleep and too much sleep can influence your behavior, so it’s best to know how much sleep you need. If you don’t know how to interpret the data you collect in your sleep journal, I recommend checking out the article “How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?” by the National Sleep Foundation.

Missing out on sleep affects motor skills, cognitive abilities, and other brain functions. Also, and this is the part that is most disturbing to me, being suddenly woken up (say, like by a crying baby) can have the same effects as sleep deprivation. A study by researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that sleep inertia (being jarred awake) is the same as being deprived of sleep for 24 hours.

From an article about the study on Medical News Today:

The study showed test subjects had diminished short-term memory, counting skills and cognitive abilities during the groggy period upon awakening known as sleep inertia, said CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Kenneth Wright, lead study author. The new study has implications for medical, safety and transportation workers who are often called upon to perform critical tasks immediately after waking, since cognitive deficiencies following 24 hours of sleep deprivation have previously been shown to be comparable to the effects of alcohol intoxication, he said.

In addition to tracking your sleep patterns, you might also want to try different methods of waking up. A blaring alarm clock might not be the safest way to wake you up from your beautiful, relaxing, glorious night of sleep.

Posted by Erin on Oct 3, 2009 | 26 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Partner’s messy desk

Reader Montse submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

I’ve been living with my boyfriend for 3 years now. We live in a flat, not very big. I’m really worried about his stuff. He is a computer technician and although he’s really tidy with the stuff that he stores in the computer (pictures, scanned documents, etc.) he’s not so organized with the things (clutter) that are all over his desk. He can’t toss any old item (hard disks, cables, routers, etc.), as he is able to fix them quite frequently. He has all of this stuff widespread on his desk. I do not know what to do and how to convince him to keep them organized.

I would like to buy him some plastic drawers to keep his stuff. If I do so it is to help him to put those thingies in a place. I even can help him labeling the drawers with a labelmaker (that indeed he gave to me as a gift). His stuff will be at least out of sight but still available on his desk. However, I know that this does not solve the problem. Once the drawers are full, he will conquer the desk again, as he has done with some of the drawers from the closet that I emptied for him. I did so in order to avoid seeing his stuff on the desk, but that drawer is full now. So, the problem is not buying more storage as the room is not very big (just 8 m2). I would like to know if you have any clue about what type of storage would be the ideal one for this kind of stuff, and also if you have any piece of advice on how to let his things go and how to keep this type of things organized.

I know many people will disagree with me on this, but I’m of the opinion that his desk is his domain. If he wants it to be messy while he’s working, he should be allowed to keep it messy. As long as no one except for the two of you are coming and going in your flat, a little mess on his desk is okay — especially when he’s using it.

When he’s not working or if you’re having guests over to your place, then you need to decide how much the mess truly bothers you. Constantly nagging him to clean up his space can create animosity in your relationship. Would the benefits you gain from his desk being clear in front of guests be worth the anger and frustration that he feels toward you for constantly bothering him about it? You’ll have to weigh both sides and determine which route to take.

Simply put, you can’t force someone to become organized. A person has to choose this way of living for himself. Have you talked to him about why you want his desk to be organized? Has he explained why he prefers it to be disorganized? Would he be okay with being messy sometimes but having a clean-up plan in place for when other people come into your space? Would you be okay with that? Talking about it will likely help you both to better understand how the other person feels.

If you can give a little and be okay with him having some mess on his desk while he’s working or just when the two of you are in the flat, then hopefully he’ll agree to cleaning up his desk when guests come to visit. The two of you can acquire a box or bins or large anti-static bags for his things that he can quickly put parts into and easily remove them when he’s ready to get back to work. He knows how best these things should be stored, so talk with him about what you can give him. Don’t just buy things without his input because it will make him feel like you don’t respect the repair work that he does.

I hope that the two of you find a solution that you both can live with. Good luck!

Thank you, Montse, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

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 Oct 2, 2009 | 33 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: Call for entries

This week, instead of highlighting an office, we want to make a request. Our Unclutterer Flickr Pool is full of images of amazing spaces — but the vast majority of those spaces are in people’s homes. I work from home, so I’m quite the fan of the home office. However, we know that most of our readers work in offices in buildings outside their homes. We would love for you to share an image of your corporate-style office space.

If you need to ask your boss to take a picture of your space, ask. If you’re the boss, snap those photos! Cubicles, open offices, and offices with no windows are all welcome — they don’t have to be design award winners, but practical spaces where you get work done.

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. We simply want to increase the number of offices into our Unclutterer Flickr Pool that are outside people’s homes. Thank you in advance for your submission and we look forward to seeing your productive, efficient, and organized offices.

Posted by Erin on Oct 2, 2009 | 6 Comments | Tweet This

Eliminate collaboration clutter with Subversion

Collaborating on files with a group presents a unique set of challenges. Where do you store the files? Who has the latest version? What changed?

Let’s say you’re composing a song about Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote. You get your band together, you lay down the tracks, and there they are on one computer. You can go back and punch in a solo, cut vocals, or whatever else you need to do. No sweat. But what if one of your bandmates lives 800 miles away?

One option would be to keep sending a file back and forth for each change. The problem is that it’s difficult to keep track of changes, and eventually you each end up with a folder full of files and no way to tell who has the latest version.

A better solution is Subversion, a version control system designed to be a single repository for current and previous versions of files.

In my example, the file happens to be a GarageBand file, but Subversion can just as easily handle any other type of file. Developers have been using it for years to keep track of source code and documentation.

Here’s how it works:

  • Create a Subversion repository. You can create a free repository at Beanstalk
  • Get a Subversion client like Versions. There’s a 21 day free trial period.
  • Create a bookmark to your repository in your client. You can find Versions-specific instructions here
  • Check out a “working copy”
  • Add folders and files to your “working copy,” or make changes to existing ones
  • Commit

When you commit a change, Subversion updates the current version of the file with the changes that you made, but also saves the previous version so that you can revert back to it if you need to. If you try to commit a change to a file that someone else has recently changed, Subversion will let you know. If it’s a text file, you can see what the differences are, and choose to merge the changes together.

091001-subversion

By keeping all your files updated and in one place, Subversion is a great tool for eliminating collaboration clutter.

These are the basics, but If you want to indulge your inner egghead and understand more about how Subversion works, I recommend O’Reilly’s book.

Posted by Brian on Oct 1, 2009 | 17 Comments | Tweet This

Organizing the events after a loss of life

No one likes to think about losing loved ones, but unfortunately it can be a reality. The website About.com has an extremely helpful set of downloadable PDF files that you can print to aid in organizing all of the events after a loved one has passed.

The Death, Dying, and Bereavement Guides include six forms to help plan the events after a death: compare funeral/burial/cremation options, information for writing a eulogy, data needed for an obituary and death notices, and flowers and donations thank you note wording suggestions.

This is one of those times when I hope that you never have to use this information from our website.

Posted by Erin on Oct 1, 2009 | 16 Comments | Tweet This