And you thought you didn't have room for more furniture...

Here are two examples of furniture pieces that stack into sleek sculptures:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2010/08/-look-for-less-dedon-obelisk.html

How to Get Rid of Clutter...and Organized Confusion

This is a great article from AOL Healthy Living: 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karim-orange/getting-rid-of-clutter_b_933690.html

"Getting rid of clothes we'll never fit into again means accepting our current shape and level (or lack) of fitness...Getting rid of an expensive item we never use means admitting that we made a poor decision when we bought it..." Poignant thoughts.

The Back-To-School Shopping List

Getting the kids ready to go back to school seems to become more complicated each year. The supply list is longer, the money is tighter, and the summer is shorter—and hotter! Here are a few ways to organize your school supply shopping to save time and money.

Read the list, and then make your list. Your child’s school probably gave you a list of supplies to send to school with your child on the first day of school. If you don’t have it, contact the school to get it. The list may even be on the school’s website. Once you have this list, make a list of other items your child may need for school.

Shop in your house. Once you complete your supply list, look for items around the house. Most people have more pencils, pens, and other office supplies than they think they do. Include your child in the search: make it a scavenger hunt!

Start at the dollar store. You’d be amazed at what you can find at the dollar store, especially classroom supplies like disinfectant wipes and tissues. I suggest purchasing as many items as you can at a dollar or discount store, then going to other stores to finish your list.

Read the ads. Many office supply stores, department stores, and pharmacies have sales on certain items in August and September. Some of the prices can’t be beat, like notebooks for 10 cents or pencils for a penny. Consider the value of your time, though. Would you prefer to spend hours going to five stores to complete your list or to spend more money buying all of your items at one store?

Buy in bulk. If you have an organized group of friends, you may be able to purchase school supplies in bulk and split them amongst yourselves. Many stores offer free shipping once the bill reaches a certain amount, so you can shop without even having to leave the house.

Remember the calendar and to-do list. Your child’s teacher may or may not have a system for students to keep track of homework assignments and project deadlines. I suggest purchasing a weekly or monthly pocket calendar and a small notepad for your child. These items often cost a dollar or less at dollar stores or office supply stores. The habits of tracking daily assignments (as a to-do list in the notepad) and long-term projects (in the calendar) will help your child learn time management skills, which will help them for the rest of their lives.

Here is a great article about car organization and maintenance from one of my favorite blogs, Lifehacker:

http://lifehacker.com/5817998/how-to-organize-and-maintain-your-car-to-save-you-time-money-and-effort

 

Looking for a Job? Get Organized!

If you are in the midst of a job search and waiting for employers to return your calls, don’t just sit there and wait.  Now is the perfect time to organize your portfolio materials for possible interviews.  Examples of your work set you apart and may be why you are hired.  Here are some examples of what you can do while playing the waiting game.

Gather visual examples.  Gather all of your writing samples, graphic design samples, etc., into one place.  Then sort the items by type, then reverse-chronologically.  Once this sorting is complete, choose one or two samples from each category.  Make clean photocopies or print hard copies of each one to bring to interviews.  Also, make sure you have digital versions of each sample in case you need to email them to a potential employer.

Compile your work history.  Since you fit your resume into one or two pages, it may not list every job you’ve ever had, or it may not include specific dates, locations, telephone numbers and other details.  Now is a great time to create a document with more details for your own use.  Write down every job you’ve ever had, including part-time jobs and internships, and include their address, phone, contacts, and a list of duties and accomplishments.  This document is a great resource if you have to change your resume to apply for a different position or a job in a different field.

Obtain reference letters.  Now that you have a work history, see if you can use any past employers or co-workers as references.  If you do not have any reference letters, ask some recent employers to write you basic letters that you can use for any job application.

Don’t forget the numbers.  Employers are busier than ever, reading more resumes and managing short-staffed teams.  They may not have time to read your resume with a fine-toothed comb, but numbers will jump out.  See if there are places where you can add statistics about how much you increased sales, publicity, output, productivity, etc., to your resume or cover letter.  Include these numbers in your work history as well, so you can use different statistics with different types of jobs.