Smead File System Review

I got to review this file system from Smead.  I am always up to try new ways to organize all those papers we constantly have flowing in. This is one of the areas I find that SO many of my clients have issues with also.  I tend to try different methods myself…I want to keep myself open so that I can find something that can work for everyone.  Different systems work better for different people.

This system has a unit called a Stadium File that can sit on your desk or counter.  I placed some empty folders in here so you can see the different colors in this pack of file folders and see that they have the 3 different tab positions.

There are file folders – Smead SuperTab File folders –  that you can get to go in the Stadium file. They have the 3 tabs (one left, one right, one middle) in different colors. I was sent a sample pack of pastel colors- pink, purple, blue, brown and green.  I have to admit when I reviewed this file system I primarily used the folders I already had labeled and loaded the Stadium file. I did change over these 3 folders that I hand labeled so that I could try the SuperTab File Folders sent to me. I did not find any difference from the ones I currently used – these work just fine.

I was also sent these labels – the Color Coded Labeling System Viewables Starter Kit that can be used to really make this look very professional.  They are color coded and you can print them on your computer.  I did not do this myself, but love the looks of them.  They look much better than just hand writing like I did.

I have been using this system for a couple of weeks now.
I liked it because it was very accessible…I sat it on the corner of my desk. So instead of taking papers that go in the files and putting them in a pile to file later (when I’m in a rush) it was easy to just slip the papers in this system quickly.  No drawer to open, nothing to pull out.

The only issues I have with it would be that if the folder is a little full…papers don’t just slip down easy…you have to pull the folder out a little bit and then place the paper in, so it doesn’t stick out.  It is also a little big and bulky.  I have a large desk so I was able to make a place for it.  I like it in my “Zone A” area of my desk (used frequently and daily). So for me it worked just fine. In a small location it might not be as easy to use. But on the other hand, it might work better for some who might not have room for a whole file cabinet in a small space – but could use this instead. So just a matter of how someone wants to use it.

Would I recommend this?  Yes…I have no problem recommending this to someone. If you have the space for it and like a system that is easily accessible.  I would not recommend this for long term storage, as there is a limit in space allowed for the file folder. But for current files and an “inbox” this is a great system. Will I continue to use it? Yes…I plan to leave it on my desk and use it!

Places to purchase:

1. Stadium File $18.29
-Office Depot
-Franklin Covey
-Amazon.com

2. Viewables $20.99
-Buy Online Now
-Office Depot
-Staples

3. Supertab $19.99
-Office Depot
-Staples
-Buy Online Now

Disclosure: I will receive a $20 Target gift card for doing this review.  Did that influence my thoughts?  Nope..I’ll tell it like I see it. The thoughts are my own, the pictures are my own.  The list of locations to purchase the merchandise I did get from Buttoned Up.

What do you have trouble Organizing?

We all have an area of our house that gets messy just because we either can’t stand to organize it ….or we don’t know how?
I would say for me the area that I like the least is paper management. The file system! I have one that works for me. But what works for me certainly doesn’t always work for my clients.

There are file systems that you can have your broad topics: Home management, Cars, Bills, Kids.
Then you can have those systems that people like to micro file: Business meeting Aug 7, 2009, Billy’s monthly karate etc…

There are some that love the paperless concept: Neat receipts or a Snap Scan by Fujitsu that can scan all your receipts, business cards etc.. into your computer – thus ending most paper content.

There are those that are scared to throw out a single piece of paper. I had one client that has a huge amount of paper and files. I thought a Snap Scan (my sister recommended….she loves hers) would work well for him and he agreed. But I knew with him, it would only be for magazine articles and articles related to his profession. The volume of these things alone was immense. No one can MAKE someone throw something away if they aren’t ready. We can encourage them to and try to get to the bottom of why they feel they can’t part with it…but bottom line is…it is theirs and their decision.
But to get on with my story – After hours of scanning and several boxes of papers, magazines etc..that I was thrilled we were going to be able to get rid of since we had just scanned them….. You guessed it – he didn’t want to throw them out…just yet. We did talk and I did convince him that he had all the information and as he backed everything up automatically every 30 minutes (I think) he wasn’t losing any of that information.

So what do you hate to organize? Share your thoughts, your pictures….I’d love to help if I can.

Disclosure: I am not presently representing either the Neat Receipts or the Snap Scan, I have used them both in the past and did a past review on the Neat Receipts.

The 12 Step Program for the Surface Abuser

I love this desk, family work center. But what a desk CAN look like

The 12 Step Program for the Surface Abuser.

1) Admit that you have a problem.

2) Ask for help with your Surface Abuse problem. (Professional organizers are everywhere!)

3) Remove ALL surfaces in your home.  (Only kidding!)

4) Realize that this will take on going maintenance to maintain.

5) Visualize what you would LIKE this space to look like.

6) Start the process with one surface.

7) Get a black trash bag for trash and a White trash bag for donate.

8) Begin the Sorting process. Clear everything off your counter and clean it first.

9) Realize that clearing your counter will lead to some organizing in other areas of your house. (this is a Good thing)

10) Decide what to do with all the papers and clutter.

11) Plan daily to clear  off anything that might have accumulated in this “hot spot” zone and place it in the folders or cubbies you created.

12) Be sure to take before and after pictures so help remind yourself how you want to keep your new clear counter.

Disclosure: The above picture is not from my home (I WISH!) It was from a Parade of Homes model that boasted like the best family organizing center ever!!  But you can find these products at The Pottery Barn.

Kids Art

Kids Artwork – Great Ideas

1) Photograph it

If you have a hard time throwing away their artwork, then one solution is to take pictures of it. You can have it on your computer or in a scrapbook and remember it for years to come. You can now do all kinds of neat things with them.

2) Photo Gifts
I just had mugs made for my Dad and sister for their birthdays with special pictures on them from SnapFish

3) Give them as Gifts

You can give one or two a year to a Grandparent or Aunt and Uncle if you can’t stand to throw it away, but you have your paper for the month. (My rule of saving only one paper for the month…but with most of these ideas, you can actually get rid of all the actual artwork but still see it for years to come!)

4) Frame Them

Frame some of their artwork and hang it. I was just getting a picture framed for a client and there was a woman there with her grandchild’s art work that she was having framed to hang up. She was going to have it hanging in the guest room where her granddaughter stayed when she came to visit. She was using an expensive frame and mat, but the frames above in the picture are only $1.99 at Ikea. There are all kinds of cute colors and they would work great, so you don’t have to spend a lot of money.

5) Art Gallery

I remember growing up that our upstairs hallway was the art gallery. Both my brother and sister are artist and did wonderful work even in grade and high school. My mother had their pieces displayed in the upstairs hallway. They were her favorite pieces. Then if something new came in she would take one down and put the new one up. We all thought that was great and anytime guests came to our house, mom proudly took them upstairs to show them the “art gallery”.

6) Photo Book

I heard a great idea from watching Peter Walsh on Oprah the other day. He suggested taking pictures of your child’s artwork with your digital camera and then putting them in a digital scrapbook. You can use snapfish.com or shutterbug.com, and I also know that Creative Memories(their package for a 20 page book is about $99)does the same thing too. Actually Oprah offered a deal for 48 hours after her show aired for snapfish….you could go and purchase a 20 page hard covered book (normal price is $29.99) and get it for free. (I did have to pay S&H about about $7.50). I did not have pictures of the kids artwork to upload at that point, but I did make a book of our summer vacation this year though. I haven’t received it in the mail yet.
But I do think his idea was great. You could make one of these each year with their artwork and it would be great fun for them to look at through the years and easy to pass on to them when they are grown.

7) Wall Art

Another thing they had on his segment of the Oprah show was to take carpet squares and use double sided tape and tape them to the wall to make a bulletin board. What they showed was using two different colors with two across and 3 down. Then they used that for a bulletin board and hung one piece of the kids artwork in each square to showcase it. This is one way you can change them often.

Let me know if you have any other ideas of what to do with your child’s artwork!

School Paper!

How To Handle All The Kids School Papers

School Papers – What do you do with them all?

Now we have a sorting system for mail and other papers coming into the house. But what about all those school papers that come in everyday?
You also need to work out a similar system to sort those papers.
I have the triplets come in each day (they are in 2nd grade) and take out their folders and put on the couch where I sit so I can go through them. They get their snack and then do any homework they have for the day. While they are getting their snack I am going through their folders.

Sort the Papers
I first of all see if there is any weekly papers to update us for the week from the teacher. They usually send something like that on Monday and Friday. Then I see if there are any homework papers for the kids to do. Once I have pulled those out to read in a few minutes…I go through the rest of the papers. Most of them are worksheets with a few pictures thrown in. If there is anything really special, like a story they made up with pictures then you can set it aside to keep it. I recommend only keeping at the most one paper per month. Yes…per month!! Think about it. That is still 12 papers per child per year. Multiply that times 12 years in school and that is still a lot of papers to store! It is enough to remember what level they were on and to see how they drew.

Blended Family
Our situation may and hopefully is different from yours in that since this is my 2nd marriage and these are my step kids. So I have to save all the papers so that their mom can see them when they go to her house at the end of the week. I have a folder that I keep all the papers in for the week from the kids. At the end of the week on Friday when they are going to go home with their mom I put all their papers in one of the kids book bags so that their mom gets to see everything. We let their mom keep those special papers for them. If there is something that we really like, we make a copy of it and give the original to their mom. Then when they come back to our house again in a week, they will have a boat load of papers that their mom kept for us to see.

Ok to Get Rid of School Papers.

We go through those to see what happened that week and read everything. After we have seen everything and have gone through it with the children (if necessary), then I throw them away. (recycle)

You don’t have to feel guilty about throwing these away!! These are worksheets for the most part. If you keep everything….then nothing will seem special.
I have heard some mothers say that they want to keep everything to give their child when they grow up. Is this really a favor you are doing for them? You hand them over boxes and boxes of papers. Now they have to go through them and either throw them away or store them (more clutter)themselves. They may enjoy looking at a few of them, and if there was just a few from each year it would be fun. But if its all their stuff then it is cruel to do to them. You are basically giving them boxes of guilt so they can decide what to do with it and its off your chest now. I think that you would find that most kids wouldn’t want you to keep everything they did.

What To do with Special Papers and Pictures
You can have a bulletin board that you keep a special paper of the day or of the week on to showcase it if its a little special and they worked hard on it that week. This will make them feel proud. Then when you take it down, if its not that most special paper of the month…throw it away. The kids don’t have to know you are throwing it away, chances are they will never miss them. I have done this for years with my kids and my step kids and I can not think of a single time that the kids have been upset or realized that their papers were gone.

Remember, it is not like you are saying your child isn’t special or you don’t like the work they do by throwing it away. But keeping everything is not feasible if you want to have a home that is comfortable and not cluttered.