Lists for Repeated Activities

Ok - I've gone to my morning acquatic arthritis class too many times without something I need! I have forgotten lotion, body wash, my washcloth, my towel, and my under garments (I wear my swimsuit to the class) - not a pretty sight!

After forgetting both my wahscloth and towel one day this week, I decided to make a list of things I need to take. No wonder, I'm forgetting things - there are about 13 things on my list and several of them don't stay in my bag all the time because they need to dry or be washed, etc.

Do you end up not having everything you need at times? When we used to travel frequently, we kept a packing list we would refer to for each trip. Do you need one for your briefcase, your diaper bag, your gym bag, your purse, your child's back pack?

Take a few minutes to make a list to alleviate the feeling you're forgetting something, as well as the stress and the impact on your life when you find it to be true!

I'm in Family Circle Magazine - Organizing Your Scrapbook Materials

Check out the April 1, 2008 edition of Family Circle Magazine, where I'm featured in an article by Lindsey St. Clair on p. 26 about organizing your scrapbook supplies! How fun is that?!

Dreams really do come true!

Access Women's Shelter

I had such a delightful time with the women at the Access Women's Shelter in Akron, Ohio last week. During our time management seminar, we looked at the legacy they wanted to leave, their passions, their priorities, and their gifts. If we're going to talk time management, we need a context to determine what matters to us.

Since most of these women are in transition, we created Jazzmine, our fictitious woman. We determined her passions, priorities, and gifts and then made a weekly master plan she could follow each week when she sat down to plan the next week.

The women participated enthusiastically and related some of their own dreams and hopes. I sensed they left with some excitement about their future. You can read more about the seminar at http://client.mmpulse.com//CmpOnlineViewer.aspx?CmpId=2576&ContId=1377233. I'm so impressed with this organization, I'd encourage you to donate some time (if you live in the Akron area) or some money.

Products for Mom and Baby Made by Moms

If you're a mom and want to help other moms, check out Mom 4 Life. This informative website features products for mom and baby made by moms as well as other resources for moms.

If you've invented or created a product you'd like to market, this might be a wonderful place to start. You'll find a clear, step-by-step procedure to follow on the Contact Us page.

Just click the link to the right to check out their products and their other resources. Wonderful site!

Hope for Disorganized Students!

I've discovered a wonderful organizing system for students who have trouble keeping track of assignments, homework, etc. The DocOA organizing system is comprised of several folders - one for each class - with slots for assignments, finished homework, graded homework, etc.

It creates a home for all the paper associated with each class. No more zeroes because homework cannot be found. No more panic over a lost assignment sheet. There's so much more - check it out on our website www.1-2-3GetOrganized.com under "Products we Recommend."

Start with the family kit or go for the platinum package. I predict this system will reduce stress for both students and parents!

Laundry tip - color-coded laundry bags

I heard a tip to make laundry a little easier: buy each member of your family three laundry bags - one for whites, one for lights and one for darks. If possible, purchase a different color for each person. You could even get a light blue bag for lights, and dark blue bag for darks, and a white one for whites and tie a blue (color-safe) ribbon to it. Ok - I know I may be getting obsessive here!!

Train your children how to differentiate between light and dark colors - a great learning tool even for toddlers!

When it's time for a load of light-colored laundry, ask your child to bring you his light bag. Since it will probably not be full, tie up the bag and wash the entire bag. If the bag is not too full, you could toss it in the drier and save all the sorting! And since the bag is color-coded, you know who it belongs to!

Decluttering in 10 - Entry Way

Take 10 minutes and see how much you can declutter in your entry way or mud room. Get a trash bag and toss anything that is no longer useful. If others in your family have dropped their things in the entry, ask them to put them away.

Is there a place for each person's book bag, purse, briefcase, keys, coat, etc.? If not, add that to your to-do list for another day. If so, train them to put them away. Without a place for everyone's things when they come in the door, your entry can look like the aftermath of an explosion.

Do you keep your mail in the entry? Try sorting your mail near a trash can, recycling container, and a shredder. If you do this daily, your mail will not become a huge decluttering project.

Shake the rug and/or clean the floor if you have time.

What a nice welcome to your home!!

Our February contest winner!

Our February contest winner is Kristi from Maryland! She has a great way to store little things - file stickers, clear tabs for hanging files and the paper inserts, shipping labels, Roladex blank cards, price stickers for garage sales, name stickers for your children's school items, video/cassette labels, craft items, scrapbook embellishsments, etc.

"I get small ziplock bags that are the size of the item I have --- then I get a hole puncher and punch a hole ABOVE the zip area --- then you go to Staples (www.Staples.com) and get those metal ring fasteners --- and put all the baggies on the metal ring-- and then THROW THE WHOLE thing in your drawer.

NOTHING FALLS OUT OR AROUND and when you need those "LITTLE items" you just pull out the metal fastener --- and flip through each bag since they are see-thru, and then open the clip in the right area and take out the bag you want to use ---BINGO!

If you have lots of similar items -- I got a peg board and just slid each baggie grouping on a LONG peg."

Kristi suggests buying baggies online - much less expensive!

Decluttering - on the Radio

Don Shepherd and I will be discussing decluttering this morning at 11:35 Eastern on his radio show in Florida, WPBR 1340 am. You can listen in by going to www.talk1340wpbram.com and clicking the center of the page.

Decluttering and Taxes - Radio Interview

On Friday, February 29 8:10-8:20 Eastern I'll be doing another radio interview. This time it's with WMAC 940 am in Macon, Georgia. We'll be talking about decluttering and taxes. If you'd like to listen in, you can go to their website at www.wmac-am.com and click the live stream icon on the right side of the page.

While we're on the subject, if your receipts are in more than one place, now is a good time to go through your house and collect receipts or paperwork you need in order to do your taxes. Look over my other blogs on taxes about organizing receipts, etc.

Even if it is overwhelming, spend 15-20 minutes at a time, and you'll make surprising progress!!

Dinner in 10 - Chicken with Cranberry/Mandarin Sauce

Here's an entree that takes about 10 minutes: Chicken with Cranberry/Mandarin Sauce (from Woman's Day Magazine www.womansday.com).

Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray. Cook chicken tenderloins on medium heat for five minutes on each side or until no longer pink inside. I salted mine with garlic salt. Meanwhile, mix a can of whole cranberry sauce, a can of drained mandarin oranges, and sprinkle in some red pepper flakes. Red pepper flakes are powerful, so treat gingerly. Heat in the microwave until warm but not too hot. Serve over the chicken.

Serve with a vegetable tray and hearty bread.

Review of Three Steps to Time Management for the College Student

Alex Seise, a student at The College of New Jersey, reviewed my Three Steps to Time Management for the College Student today in The Signal, TCNJ's student newspaper. Here's an exerpt:

".... the book is extremely well-designed. Coggins' writing is clean with a comforting degree of matriarchal wisdom. The supplementary tools provided in the text encourage students to take her ideas into their dorm rooms and make the most of their four years away at college.

Coggins' guide is deserving of a space on every dorm bookshelf from community colleges to Ivy League universities. I know it will always be within reach for the rest of my time at college."

To read more, go to http://media.www.signal-online.net/media/storage/paper771/news/2008/02/20/Features/Book-Helps.Students.Simplify.Busy.Schedules-3219735.shtml

Interruptions at work

Are you being constantly interrupted at work? Basex, a New York research firm, discovered that employees worked on a project an average of 11 minutes before being distracted. Once interrupted, workers took 25 minutes to return to their original task, according to reserachers Gloria Mark and Victor Gonsalez of the University of California at Irvine.

So how do we fight this? Try to reduce interruptions and distractions:

- Tell your co-workers you will be available to answer questions at certain hours - at the top of each hour or at specific times during the day.

- Return phone calls at certain times. Change your answering machine message to let callers know when these times will be.

- Train your people to email or put in writing information that doesn't need a response.

- Educate your people to determine what priority level their interruption is - high, medium or low. Determine how each priority should be handled and communicate that to them.

- Have a sign or signal outside your door or cubicle to let people know not to disturb you.

- Do work that requires high concentration in an area where you won't be interrupted.

Have you paid off your house yet?

If you could pay off your mortgage in 1/2 to 1/3 the time, would you be interested - without refinancing and without changing your monthly budget?

My husband and I are so impressed with this program that he has become an agent so he can help all our friends pay down their mortgage in a fraction of the time.

It is legitimate and definitely not a scam.

Interested? Email bob@bobthemortgagebuster.com.

Losing those library books?

Do you have a mad scramble around your house when it's time to return library books, only to find when you get to the library that you're missing some?

Try designating a couple of locations in your home for library books and dvds. They go into that basket or onto that shelf when you come home from the library, and they are returned there when not in use. If your library supplies you with a list of the books you checked out, keep it in the same location so you can check to see if you're missing anything. As you check the list, make sure all the dvds are in the cases.

If necessary, ban very small books and require that they be read at the library.

Reward your children with a small treat or outing when all the books are in the designated areas when it's time to go to the library. It's a nice way to encourage your children to use this new system