Image Courtesy BrotherUSA.com

Today on WFMZ-TV’s morning news show Diane shared with viewers tips and tricks on how to regain control after the holidays. She showed how labeling your cords and cables can save you time and stress. The Simply Stylish PT-1090 Label Maker has a special cable labeling feature to make labeling quick and simple.

Diane demonstrated how to keep cords at bay or tucked against a wall or desk buy using Command cord clips by 3M. Command allows you to place the clips where you need without the worry of damaging walls or other surfaces.

Diane showed how to eliminate the cords required to recharge your electronic devices.  Powermat simplifies charging by allowing you to charge over a thousand devices with one Powemat.

Are you struggling to remove price stickers off or have you accidentally put a postage stamp or label in the wrong place? Diane showed viewers how Un-du can quickly solve your dilemma. Un-du is a temporary adhesive neutralizer for non-water based adhesive. Water based adhesives are the type you moisten to stick such as an envelope.

To receive more tips and tricks on getting organized and staying organized, sign up for our free online newsletter, Organizing Made Easy and become a fan on Facebook.

If you live in close proximity to Allentown, Pennsylvania consider attending our free SOAR (Socialize, Organize, Accessorize, and Revitalize) Event on Sunday January 9, 2011 and helps us celebrate “GO Month” (Get Organized Month). This event is free to the public, but we highly recommend registering. Click, for more information.

Wishing you a happy GO Month,

Having trouble staying organized at home or work? There may be a reason. Studies show that we use 20% of our things 80% of the time. Which means you probably can easily locate that 20% of what you have. But what about the other 80% of what you have? Since you only use those items 20% of the time, you may have difficulty remembering where you put them.

Just think about papers alone? Do you go back and reference 100% of the papers you have? Most likely you go back and reference only 20% of your papers. So don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t remember where to find 80% of the things you have but rarely use. The good news is that there is a solution!

So you can easily and quickly locate the 80% of what you have but don’t often use, group like items together by category, such as office supplies, and label the location (shelf, drawer, bin, etc). For instance you may want to label one shelf “Printer Supplies” or “Computer Manuals.” Labeling will not only make it easy to find items, but it will help you to return items to their designated place. This is especially important if others around you need to find and use items you have.

For quick and easy labeling I like using a Brother P-touch label maker. Brother offers a variety of P-touch label makers, but whichever one you select, you’ll find it simple to use. P-touch also has a large selection of laminated label tapes. You might be surprised at just how many colors and sizes there are to choose from. Black tape with gold imprinting is one of my favorites label tapes!

Happy labeling,

As a Professional Organizer I work with clients to help them get rid of clutter so they can simplify their time and space. But while helping clients de-clutter, I encourage them to think green and donate or recycle when possible.

If you struggle with where to donate or recycle view the list below of places that take items such as batteries, computers, printers, cellular phones, TV’s, DVD and VHS players, cords, computer cables, Styrofoam chips, papers, clothing, hangers, household items etc. No matter where you live, this comprehensive list should be of assistance as many of the donation and recycling locations are nationwide. If a location is not nationwide, go to 1800recycling.com. On this site you can enter your zip code and type of item you would like to recycle or donate. A list will automatically propagate for recycling and donation locations that meet your item category and zip code.

If you have an item that is still in working or wearing condition, consider donating it to a local charity or use freecycle.org.  Freecycle.org is a site to give away items free of charge in your community to other individuals with no strings attached. Freecycle’s mission is to “build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources and eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.”

Batteries - Recycle

Books – Recycle or Donate

Cellular Telephones - Donate or Recycle

Clothing – Donate or Recycle

Dry Cleaning Bags (Plastic) – Recycle
  Your local dry cleaners

Electronic Items - Donate or Recycle

Eyeglasses & Sunglasses – Donate
  Pearle Vision
  Lens Crafers

Hangers (Clothing) - Donate or Recycle
  Dry Cleaners
  Churches
  Coat Rooms

Household Items – Donate or Recycle
  Good Will
  Salvation Army

Grocery Bags (pastic)
  Grocery Stores

Ink Cartridges - Recycle
  Staples
  Office Deprot

Papers – Recycle or Shred
  Paperretriever.com

Pet Items and more – Local Humane Society

Go green!

Whether you have electronic items that work or are in need of major repair, you can recycle or donate them. While some places refurbish the electronic items and resell them at low cost to needy individuals or organizations, others will recycle the parts. No matter what type of electronic item you have, there typically is a place to recycle it.

If you have any of the following items, consider recycling or donating them – computer, laptop, printer, fax machine, copier, PDA, cellular phone, keyboard, cords, cables, telephone, batteries (chargeable and non-chargeable). If you are not sure where to recycle in your area, go to 1800recycling.com.

Places that take electronic items:

Team Children - collected, repaired, and distributed over 9,000 low cost refurbished computers to families, schools and organizations.

Staples - Will take computers, monitors, and printers for $10 per item. If it is a Dell it is free

Office Depot – Fill the tech recycling box (Small $5, Medium $10, and Large $15 weight limit also) with as many acceptable electronic items. Acceptable items

Best Buy - Takes just about anything electronic, including TVs, DVD players, computer monitors, cell phones and more. You can bring in up to two items a day, per household, and most things are absolutely free. However, there is a $10 charge for TVs 32″ and under, CRTs, monitors and laptops — but they’ll give you a $10 Best Buy gift card to offset that cost.

All Bright Ideas – has a weeklong recycling event every two to three months. Takes just about any electronic item including batteries. They have a year round drop off for batteries (household and rechargeable but must be leak-free).

 Go green!

Whether you have household batteries (sizes AAA, AA, C, D or 9 volt) or a rechargeable battery it may be a little tricky finding a place in your community that recycles batteries. Since we know it can be a difficult challenge finding a recycling drop-off location for all types of batteries, we decided to become one. If you live in the Allentown, Bethlehem, or Easton area, also known as Lehigh Valley PA, your are welcome to drop off, during our normal business hours, batteries to be recycled. The batteries will then be provided to a recycling company.

Places to Recycle Batteries:

All Bright Ideas
217 Main Street
Emmaus, PA 18049
610.782.0636
Non-leaking, lead acid batteries: household batteries, batteries for cameras, laptops, cellular phones, PDA’s, car and lawn mowers.

Office Depot
Rechargeable batteries

Staples
Rechargeable batteries

http://www.1800recycling.com/
Find a battery drop-off location in your area

Happy recycling!

A label maker is the ultimate in organization. It is like putting icing on a cake, it is so sweet, at least for a person who has a passion for organization. When working with Kate Gosselin, of John & Kate Plus 8, Kate was thrilled when we introduced her to a label maker. Why wouldn’t Kate love a label maker, she loves to be organized.

We encourage all of our clients to make themselves replaceable and a label maker enables you to do just that. What I mean by making yourself replaceable is to set up systems so your household (or even your workplace) can function with or without you there. Once you get an area organized, label the shelves or containers. Then no one in your household will have the excuse that they couldn’t find something or didn’t know where to put something back in the right place. When you are out doing errands or exercising, you won’t be interrupted with, “Do you know where…” Then when you are at home, you’ll know that others in your household (the kids, babysitters, or significant others) can retrieve items AND put them back where they belong.

My very favorite label maker is the Brother P-Touch 2700 Label Maker that connects to a PC or Mac with a USB cable. The ability to connect to a computer allows you to put almost anything on your label such as a variety of fonts and font sizes, logos, shapes, multiple lines of text, UPS codes, etc. It is like having a blank canvas to be creative on.

Happy labeling!