Multi-purpose, stackable, space-saving and colorful – it’s the perfect item for an organized kitchen.

There are several different uses for this set of cups and bowls – measuring cup, sieve, colander and mixing. Essential for every day cooking and special meals. Learn more here.

One of my favorite resources when it comes to articles about organizing is the Real Simple online magazine. Here are a few tips to get you started in decluttering and streamlining your kitchen. Read more here.

• Stick a magnetic organizer on the refrigerator door to hold pens and food labels so they’re easy to find when you’re marking and dating leftovers.
• Organize your pantry shelves as you would a library, with food items grouped by category.
• Stash pantry items in the see-through pockets of an over-the-door organizer to virtually eliminate search time.
• Keep plastic bags and wrapping together in a drawer near the refrigerator to make quick work of storing away leftovers.
• Group cookware or tools by purpose and assign them to specific cabinets, as with the bakeware shown in the picture.

• Store recipes and pictures of dishes – use the transparent sleeves to keep it clean from spills in the kitchen
• Re-label the alphabetical tabs with months of the year and store birthday and anniversary dates
• Use it to organize small stickers or embellishments for your scrapbooking project
• Sports collectors can organize their baseball cards
• If you recently painted walls or furniture, store the paint chip for future reference.

It seems like we’re busy all the time, even just as we’re getting out of bed! Here are a few quick tips to streamline your morning to add in a bit of breathing room before jump-starting the day.

• The automatic coffee maker – This is something I’ve talked about before. It saves you time and waking to the smell of coffee is a wonderful stimulant to get your body moving. Studies have shown that caffeine improves clear-headedness, and we all need that in the morning.
• An emergency outfit - If you didn’t have time to set aside an outfit for the day, no worries. Have a back-up outfit that can be  your “go-to” when you’re in a hurry or you spill some of that coffee on your shirt. Include any accessories like a scarf or belt on the hanger so you can grab it and get dressed quickly.
• Review the calendar – Do this as you’re sipping your coffee. I recommend that you keep one central calendar where you write all the day’s activities like school activities, concerts or party times, repair appointments, or a reminder to pay a bill. Check the day’s items carefully, it will help you plan your day in your mind and help you potentially avoid forgetting something.

Do you know how much time it takes to go through the mail, file papers or make a grocery list? Once you begin quantifying the amount of time it takes to manage any given task, you’ll be able to use that information to prioritize your activities.  Below is a quick exercise I regularly do with my clients:

- Start by setting a timer so it’s visible on a desk or countertop.
- I assign a task and let the client determine if the task can be completed in two minutes or less.
- If so, we set the timer and start the task (Ideally, we’d like to have it done in less time!)

The goal is to confirm or refute that a job can actually be done in two minutes. Sometimes we think an activity takes more or less time than it really does. With this simple process, clients can learn how much time is being spent and how much time can be saved. Being organized means being more efficient and more productive which can mean adding valuable minutes or hours to your day!

It’s not always necessary to buy a lot of new products to get organized. I tell my clients that a lot of organizing solutions are already in their home or office. It’s just about looking at them from a different perspective. For example, glass jars aren’t just for jam or snacks. Use them to group and categorize items for crafts or supplies – it’s an easy and simple way to prevent clutter. For more ideas, check out this Real Simple article.

It’s no wonder the 3-ring binder is a required school supply – it’s a versatile organizing tool. Invest in a sturdy binder that you can use over and over, and if you’re storing receipts or time-sensitive items, remember to clean it out at the end of the year and archive important documents.

Binders can serve a lot of different organizing functions:

• Using clear sheet protectors, file away warranties and manuals for electronics – keep the one for kitchen appliances in a cabinet and store the one for home entertainment in the living room.
• Apply the same idea above for recipes and create your own cookbook.
• Binders are portable, so they work well for projects that are active and require lots of meetings where you need to bring all your files and materials.
• As a reference tool, many people can share binders to store ideas, guides, contracts, etc. Create a table of contents in the front of the binder so people can quickly flip to the tab they need.
• Binders are excellent for filing chronological documents such as annual events, financial records or data logs, and school year activities.

My favorite closet organizing tool from The Container Store is on sale! Versatile, durable and easy-to-use, elfa® is a modular shelving and drawer component system that helps you maximize your space, increase storage and boost productivity. It works for tiny closets as well as walk-ins and is also great for the garage, home office and kitchen. Check it out!

I was recently quoted by Yahoo! in an article about how to help busy professionals save time and what kinds of gifts they may want for the holidays. Click here to read the full article, “6 Time-Saver Gifts for Busy Professionals”.

With time being such a precious commodity, my clients are always asking me how they can improve productivity and make more time.  One of my top recommendations is to utilize the timer on the coffee maker.  The average adult spends up to 15 minutes each day getting their morning caffeine fix – do you know how many minutes per week you could save by waking up to the smell of fresh brewed coffee at home?

]]> http://blog.innovativelyorganized.com/2009/12/07/time-saving-gifts-for-busy-professionals/feed/ 0 innovativelyorganized coffee maker timer http://blog.innovativelyorganized.com/2009/08/14/more-cooking-less-clutter/ http://blog.innovativelyorganized.com/2009/08/14/more-cooking-less-clutter/#comments Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:13:58 +0000 Elizabeth Bowman http://blog.innovativelyorganized.com/?p=692 ]]>

The kitchen is probably one of the busiest rooms in the house. It’s used for a variety of things – it’s a gathering place, dining room, meeting space, homework station and a place to cook!  Because of this, the kitchen tends to become cluttered faster. Here are some easy tips to keep the kitchen organized and clean:

• Remove anything from your kitchen counters that you do not use on a daily basis.
• Group similar items together in the fridge.  For example, place all the beverages on the same shelf, keep all the condiments together and put all leftovers in one area toward the front.
• For quick access, knives, peelers, vegetable brushes and cutting boards should be stored together in a drawer or cabinet near the sink.
• Dedicate a zone in the kitchen for lunch-making.  This will encourage you to brown bag it to work and school.  Stock it with lunch boxes or small recycled handle bags, sandwich bags, wax paper, a thermos, spare change for the vending machine and small microwaveable containers.
• Move on to gathering all the items that do not belong in the kitchen. Put all these items into a basket. (Important Note: Do not stop working on the kitchen and get distracted by taking these misplaced items to their homes.  Instead, if you have a helper, send them off to place items in their proper place or wait until later in the day.)