Tired of holding up the checkout line behind you while you look for your store membership card? The type of card I am referring to are the reward cards for the grocery store, pet store, office supply store, etc. with the bar code on the back that provides you extra rewards as a frequent shopper. There are three quick and easy solutions to choose from so you never waste time again looking for a card.

1.  Gather all your store membership cards and put them in alphabetical order. Next, either put a rubber band around the cards or place them in a business card holder/case. When you are at the grocery store next time pull out the card you need, hold the card’s place until it is scanned by the cashier, then put it back in place.

2.  If you prefer you can have 6 store membership bar codes along with the membership numbers printed on one card. When you go to www.keyringthing.com you can print out a wallet card for free or you can have it made into a key ring card that is plastic. There is a charge for the key ring card ($4.95 as of May 2010) which is double-sided, full-color, credit card-size, 100% biodegradable; and earth-friendly plastic.

3.  If you have a smart phone you can download an application from the same company above to store your card numbers and bar codes in the application on your phone. Typically the cashier will need to use the handheld bar code scanner to scan your card instead of the larger built in scanner on the checkout counter. To learn about the application go to www.MyCardStar.com. The application is available for the iPhone, Blackberry, and Droid.

Happy card organizing!

It was an exciting and fun experience working as a Professional Organzier on the show “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” on TLC. “Time to Organize” was filmed in the basement of Jon and Kate Gosselin’s home. The Gosselin kids were adorable! The producers and film crew were awesome. By the end of the filming, I think the crew was in awe of what organizing experts do. This project could not have been completed without the help of my associate, Professional Organizer Paula Davis. Thank you Paula!

Even though Kate Gosselin was already organized and efficiently running her home near Philadelphia and Allentown, PA, she knew she could benefit from working with a Professional Organizer. Organized people do have a need for Professional Organizers, and therefore hire them. My organizing firm and the associates in my organizing store work with organized people all the time. Our clients know we take it one step further and pay attention to the detail, like labeling or researching the best possible products for our clients. These details are what organized people long for but don’t have the time to complete. Kate Gosselin exemplified this best when I introduced her to the label maker, a simple device she didn’t know existed. By her reaction you would have thought she found a box of lost diamonds! Of course we loved Kate’s reaction to the label maker because label makers are near and dear to every Professional Organizer’s heart, maybe the next best thing to diamonds.

Kate also loved the clear card pockets we put on the ends of the storage boxes in the basement enabling Kate to easily read what is stored in the boxes — especially when it comes to storing clothing for her twins and sextuplets. The ability to turn the card around and write on the other side (when the contents in the box change) amazed Kate. We even tucked extra cards in the pockets for Kate so she could change the contents of the box year after year if needed. I, along with our staff of Professional Organizers, want to insure that the organizational systems that we create for our clients last a long time. We also want to make it simple and natural for our clients to maintain it.

We added label holders to her wire shelves that easily snapped around the wire. We established categories (such as electronics, keepsakes, clothing, outdoors, etc.) to provide Kate and the Gosselin household the highest level of organizational retention. We don’t want to just get our clients “stuff” organized. We want our clients to easily and successfully retain the organization we create.

We placed the sextuplets and twin’s baby keepsakes and school memorabilia in acid free and lignin free storage boxes. We selected archival quality boxes to help insure the safe keeping of precious memories. We used a longer box to store and accommodate the children’s art work.

We were selective in the type of wire shelving we installed for Kate. Kate had large heavy tubs of clothing for the twins and sextuplets that she wanted to store on shelving along with a variety of boxes and household items. We knew we couldn’t use free-standing shelving as it isn’t adjustable to fit the height of Kate’s tubs. We also knew that the wire shelving system had to be heavy-duty so it could withstand the weight of the heavy tubs. Lastly it had to be a storage system that could be installed quickly and easily that very same day, a system that a homeowner could install himself. Bottom line, we needed a high quality storage system that is easy to install.

Be sure to visit TLC’s website. They have posted on their site “Diane Albright’s Organizing Tips from “Time to Organize” with Jon & Kate Plus 8. These tips include a few tips that didn’t air but were used during the organizational process. Of course there was much more organizing done than what TLC was able to squeeze into a 30-minute time slot. There also were tips and methods that Kate opted to decline, like the gift wrapping center, which were eliminated during editing. We encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter and blog as we will be posting in detail some of these “never before seen” tips and methods from Jon & Kate Plus 8.

If you missed the episode or would like to see it again, view TLC’s episode guide to find the next airing of “Time to Organize” on Jon & Kate Plus 8 - Season 5, Episode 16.

Please let me know your thoughts by commenting below.

On Wednesday, October 7th  I was thrilled to be part of WFMZ-TV’s Sunrise Show with the lovely and talented news anchor, Eve Tannery. Now that school has been back in session for almost five weeks it was the perfect time for me to provde some tips and tricks to make life a little easier for moms. I shared with Eve and the viewers tips on how to:

Remove Ink Marks

Organize School Snacks

Find Lunch Money Easily

Meal Deal for Kids

Get the Kids to Complete Chores

Cut School Pictures in a Snap

Clear Pockets to Label Boxes

Label School & Household Items

Store School Papers/Keepsakes

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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!

When your children bring home their school pictures this year, don’t put off the task of “processing” them. The cutting of pictures can be quickly completed with little effort and to perfection. You can process the pictures in about a tenth of the time than you did before. Don’t waste time cutting the sheets of pictures with scissors. Instead, use a desktop paper cutter. You know, the old fashioned style paper cutter, the type you see at schools with the long blade on the long handle.

Cutting pictures will be effortless, straight-edged, and quick. If you want to make the process faster, print small labels with your child’s name and information for the back of the pictures. This will save you from repetitive handwriting.

Don’t have a paper cutter at home? Put one on your birthday or holiday wish list. A paper cutter usually costs somewhere in the thirty-dollar range. There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t use my paper cutter – photos, school projects, and papers for home or work.

Happy school picture processing!

All Bright Ideas
is pleased to announce
the opening of our newest location
in
The Villages, Florida!

We proudly offer our professional organizing services in the Sunshine State to anyone living within an hour radius of The Villages including, but not limited to, Ocala, Orlando, and Tampa. Our services in Florida will be provided by our experienced Professional Organizers who travel back and forth between Pennsylvania and Florida and include, but are not limited to, de-cluttering, space maximization, organizing, paper management, time management, and unpack and setup of homes.

If you are a Floridian and are in need of organization, please email us or give us a call at 866 NEAT 911.