SimpleProductivityBlog.com » Simplification

Applying One Box filing to Warranties

LJ — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:00:00 +0000

My Filing Heresy of putting things in one box rather than in nice neat folders has expanded.

I was in my office closet, looking at a pile of warranties to be filed, and looking at the mess that they had become. My eyes fell on my filing box, and I wondered if I could apply the one box principle. I think I can.

Filing Warranties with the One Box Filing Method

I grabbed a pile of clasp envelopes, an empty box, and the warranty pile.

I first went through the warranties, recycling anything we didn’t own any more. Then I sorted into three piles: household built-in, window treatments and other. In the household built-in pile went the warranties for the major appliances, heating systems and other large items that would convey if we moved and sold the house. Window treatments were in a separate pile because they would convey with the house, but might be changed.

I next labeled two envelopes: one for the built-ins, and one for the window treatments. I put the related warrantiesin these envelopes and put them at the bottom of the box. Next I tossed in the rest of the warranties.

All done!

I could have spent more time sorting and categorizing the warranties, but it is so rare that I have to go back into them that it seems pointless. Plus when it comes time to file new warranties, I just have to open up the box and toss the warranty in.

Photo by SuziJane

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Simplify Yourself Using Your Kids

LJ — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

One of the things I have been helping my daughter do is to get rid of the junk that has crept into her spaces. A packrat by nature, her room and play area are dizzyingly crowded with discarded papers, mixed up toys, and (sigh) Happy Meal trinkets.

We’ve been following the House Fairy program and working our way around her room. We did her desk last week.

Kind of as a treat (because I did the bossing around during her cleaning) and because I was aware of how much my space needed to be cleaned, we then tackled my desk.

She loved it. “Keep or toss?” she held up each item with a very serious look.

“Mommy, why do you have so many pens?” she looked at me very seriously. (Addiction?) “You need to get rid of some.” Pens are my weak point. But with her help, I culled. She did allow me to keep the pen she bought me last year as a reward.

But the true help came when I went to put a lipstick we had found in my desk drawer away. She followed me, and shook her head as I filled up the cat water. “Mom, I think you’re sidetracked.”

I was.

What I learned from this experience is that it is good to have another set of eyes on stuff, eyes that aren’t attached to the outcomes. No matter what age they are.

Photo by claude.attard.bezzina

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Juicing Citrus…With A Fork

LJ — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

Here is one way I eliminated a uni-tasker in my kitchen. We used to juice citrus fruit with a dedicated juicer. It was a pointed top over a glass jar. You cut the fruit in half and smushed it down on the top, and the juice would drain into the jar.

I didn’t want to clean the juicer one day, so I tried something different. I took a dessert fork (with close-set tines) and stuck it into my lemon. Then I twisted the fork around while squeezing the fruit over a bowl.

I actually think I got more juice out of the fruit using this method, and it was a lot less hassel to clean up.

Do you have any clever ways to juice fruit, or do anything else in the kitchen?

Photo by charles chan *

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Easy Side Dishes: Potato Packages

LJ — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:00:16 +0000

It is summer, the season of the grill. And grilling is great for preparing main dishes. But what about side dishes?

Before you reach for the standard coleslaw or potato salad, try these packets from my great-aunt Gladys that cook right on the grill:

Potato Packages

Ingredients:

4 potatoes, washed and thinly sliced
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoon butter or margarine
salt and pepper to taste
aluminum foil
olive oil in a pump sprayer (or cooking spray)

Spray the aluminum foil with olive oil to prevent sticking. Layer 1/4 of the potatoes, 1/4 of the onion, 1/4 of the butter on a sheet of aluminum foil. Repeat. Add salt and pepper, then seal up packet of potatoes. Repeat for the rest of the ingredients. Grill over the not-so-hot part of the heat until potatoes are soft.

Photo by smcgee

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Cook Meals During the Week in 10 Minutes: Weeknight Survival Cookbook

LJ — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

A few years ago I had a very different approach to cooking. I would normally only cook on weekends, using leftovers to see us through the week — however, the leftovers were never getting eaten, and any meal that required effort on my part after work was not getting made.

This led to either eating out frequently, or my standing in the kitchen wondering what we were going to do for dinner. I found myself without the energy or drive to cook and clean up. It puzzled me, because I thought I had successfully conquered this monster a few years ago with a system of menu planning, helped out by products from the Saving Dinner website.

Looking for an item to pad out an Amazon order for free shipping, I came across the book The Weeknight Survival Cookbook: How to Make Healthy Meals in 10 Minutes.

Review

When the book arrived, I found that it contained not only what looked like easy recipes with easily-acquirable ingredients, but also complete healthy and balanced menu plans with simple instructions. There are 12 weeks of menus in here, plus bonus recipes for crock pot, pasta, and quick desserts.

I am impressed with this book. With this book, I am doing the majority of the cooking on Sundays, and then preparing very quick meals through Friday. I have been taking the leftovers for lunch.

The first week, for example, called for cooking two meals worth of chicken breasts on the grill, while making boiled potatoes for Wednesday, two meals worth of roasted veggies in the oven, two meals worth of rice and a tabbouleh salad. Total time: about 30 minutes. The meals on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday have taken less than 10 minutes to prepare, and all have been very tasty.

Rating

This cookbook as a must-have for working moms. It’s a no-brain guide to healthy eating.

One note: these recipes make a ton of food. Even taking lunches out of them, we are still inundated with food.

Buy the book here: The Weeknight Survival Cookbook: How to Make Healthy Meals in 10 Minutes.

Photo by Amazon.

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Hacking Meals: The Planning Folder

LJ — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:00:00 +0000

I saw an article on a craft blog the other day about a magnetic meal planner: a place to keep grocery lists, meal plans and recipes all together. I looked at the craft and was disappointed in it because it was limited in scope and storage. But then I wondered why I couldn’t make one of my own. So here is my Meal Planning Folder.

Materials

For this project to make a two-week meal planner you will need:

1 plastic folder with brads in the middle to hold 3-punched items
10 plastic sheet protectors
1 pocket folder without tabs
Tape, preferably packing tape
7 pieces of paper
Inventory forms
Menu planning forms
A magnetic bulldog clip

Assembly

I assembled the inner pages of the folder first: 7 sheet protectors, followed by the pocket, followed by two more sheet protectors. I attached these to the three-hole section of the folder.

The front 7 protectors will hold recipes, the pocket will hold blank forms and notes, and the back two sheet protectors will hold my freezer and pantry inventories.

Next I filled the front sheet protectors with one sheet of paper in each. This is to keep the recipes for the days separate. I labeled each side of the paper with the day.

As a last step, I cut the three-hole strip from the remaining sheet protector and taped that to the front of the folder. Regular desk tape didn’t hold very well, so I ended up using packing tape. I slipped the current menu planning sheet in there.

All set to hang on the fridge!

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Creative Ways To Deal With Craft Supplies

LJ — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

I don’t know if it was inspired by my reading of Unclutter Your Life in One Week
, or by the impending deadline of visiting relatives, but last weekend I took it into my head to clean out the craft room, also known as the guest bedroom.

Since we don’t have many overnight guests, this room has a tendency to fill up with clutter. Quickly.

Bits and pieces of anything craft-related get dumped here, along with UFOs (UnFinished Objects). So I went through the room, processing the items as I went. It isn’t so much how I decluttered this space, but how I finished the decluttering that is of interest.

Letting Go

Of course the first step in this process was to go through everything and split it up. There was too much of everything. I sorted through all the craft items and made piles, putting back only those things I intended to work on, or could remember what they were for (don’t laugh – I often buy yarn with a project in mind, and then forget what project I intended it for). Same with my daughter’s craft supplies: anything she didn’t care for, or intend to finish, was removed.

This has been a stumbling block in the past; after all, investing time in something grows my attachment to it, even if I hate the sight of it now. I gave myself (and my daughter) permission to let the stuff go.

Donate

For the items we were not going to use, we pulled aside a bag to take down to our church. The bits and pieces are used for Sunday School activities. Knowing that the materials were going to this location made it easier for my daughter to give things up. She even split up some of her things, giving half to the church and keeping half for future projects.

If this method of donation is not an option for you, consider donating extra supplies to a day care center, school or scouting organization. These organizations always need supplies.

Consolidate

One shocking thing was that I had the same types of materials in various places. Yarn stored everywhere, sewing fabric in three places. By putting the bits I wanted to keep together, I was able to see more of what I had and let even more material go.

I grouped the fabric together by types (fuzzy and non-fuzzy), yarn by material (cotton and other), and put all my embroidery floss in the same container. I also put together the sewing projects in progress and the projects that needed finishing.

Hide In Plain Sight

Before I started the purge, the closet in the room was stuffed. Yet there were things in the room not being used to advantage. Case and point were two wicker boxes that were turned upside down into a mini-display area. By turning these boxes so that the open side faced the wall, I was able to put the scrap yarn in there and hide it from sight.

Creative Storage

Other things in my room need to be stored to preserve them in between uses. My self-healing cutting mats need to be stored flat, yet there is no surface available to do this. So I slipped the mats in between the mattress and box spring on the bed. It’s out of the way, yet being kept flat for future use.

Use as Decorations

Even after stashing most of my yarn in the bins, I had two groups of skeins left: one for a coat I will make this winter, and my collection of cotton for making dishcloths. The coat wool has an interesting texture, so I stuffed it into a clear glass vase for an interesting “decoration”. The cotton was put in a shallow basket with a pair of knitting needles sticking out of it, and placed on top of the wicker boxes.

Complete (or Make Plans To)

In the midst of the clean-out, I found three projects that need to be completed. Instead of putting these back into the space (and into the forgotten throes of my project list), I took the items and put them in my in box. All three will be dealt with this weekend. These projects have been on the list, and none will take that long to finish; but they have been languishing on the Someday list for years.

With two hours of work, my guest room is ready for the coming guests and much more usable for my purposes.

Photo by evelynishere

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Simplifying Vacation Preparation Using Remember The Milk

LJ — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

I recently went on vacation. Vacation for an extended period, for me, means that I have to do prep work to ready the house and animals for the absence. I know I’ve written before how I cannot rely on my memory for any accuracy with a list of things, so I have to have a checklist.

I’ve been using a written checklist for years. I have a printed piece of paper in a sheet protector, and I would check things off using a dry-erase marker. When I needed to add things to the list, I’d write them in on the protector, or I’d draw a line on the plastic to eliminate things. But a paper list is hard to transport and prone to smudges. This makes it difficult to use, particularly if I want to take care of things on my lunch hour

The latest version of the checklist is actually in Remember The Milk. I thought I would share how I use (and re-use) this.

Make a List

The first version of the list started with my paper list. I put down everything that needed to be done before a trip, removing and adding items as necessary.

Add Deadlines

Since the actions have to happen before the trip, I put down for each task when it needed to be done, relative to departure. Things to be done the day of departure got a (0d), things the day before got a (-1d), and so on.

Enter in RTM

I set up a permanent list for my trip items, named (not very creatively TRIP) and entered the items. I typed in the name of the item, the time frame, and in the notes put any other information (like kennel phone number).

My list looks like this: (this is a partial sample)

Take out garbage (0d)
Empty compost (0d)
Lock garage (0d)
Adjust heat/air (0d)
Set up timers (-1d)
Empty fridge (-1d)
Ask M to water outside plants (-2d)
Water plants (-1d)
Hold mail (-7d)
Hold newspaper (-7d)
Set up kennel (-21d)
Set up cat sitter (-21d)

Using The List

About a month before the trip is scheduled to occur, I go into RTM and set the due dates on everything based on the trip departure and the lead time I have noted. The items then show up on the appropriate day along with my regular to-do items.

This little method has really saved me a lot of frustration in the past two trips. I have not forgotten to do anything, and it has lifted the strain of getting ready quite a bit.

How do you make sure you get everything done for trips? Let us know below.

Photo by goosmurf

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How To Simplify (And Organize) A Pantry

LJ — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:00:50 +0000

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

I took some time this past week to tackle my pantry. Over the past months it has grown to be a mass of cluttered foodstuffs, making it almost impossible for me to find anything or even know what is in there. While I thought it would be a huge job, it turned out only take about two hours, and now I can find everything I have in the closet.

Reorganizing a pantry can seem like a daunting job, but with a few simple steps, it will go very easily.

Getting Set Up

To clean the pantry, I pulled out the trash can and put in a new bag. I also put the compost bucket nearby, and a pan of soapy water. I also had a bin to put recycleable items.

The trash can is to hold things that need to be thrown away. The compost bucket will hold vegetables that need to go, and the soapy water is to swish out the recycleable containers before I put the containers in the recycling bin.

Approach methodically

One of the worst ways to approach what is essentially decluttering is to start pulling things out willy-nilly. By breaking the pantry down into small sections, cleaning and reorganizing will seem less overwhelming.

I work from the top down, for the simple reason that as I clean, dust will fall to the lower areas via gravity. That means I am not re-dirtying things I have already cleaned.

Clean out expired, weird ingredients

I often buy ingredients I wouldn’t normally use because they are called for in a recipe. And either I don’t make the recipe, or I decide to skip the ingredients because I realize I have no chance of sneaking them by my family.

Other times food will expire. I found this to be particularly true of my “emergency” shelf, because I had not rotated the food into common usage on time.

For these two situations, I pull the food out. If the food is expired, I will toss it in the trash (or compost heap if it is veggies) and swish and recycle the container. If the food is not expired, I put it aside for the food pantry.

Sort

I like to keep my pantry sorted by like items. For instance, the short arm of the L of my pantry, top shelf, is where I keep the disposables. Paper plates, paper napkins, paper towels and disposable silverware. The next shelf down holds the condiments: wines, vinegars, oils and the backup items for ketchup, mustard and relish.

Some groupings from my pantry:

Rices
Pasta and sauces
Baking mixes and baking ingredients (nuts, chips, etc)
Cereals
Spices and seasonings
Dressings and mixes
Breads
Snacks
Canned goods
PB & J , nut butters, jams and preserves
Sundae bar (for make-your-own sundaes)

Replace Like Items Together As They Make Sense

Since my pantry is pretty much set up as groups and I was only doing a cleaning/purge, I put misplaced items with their fellows as I went.

However, if this is the first time you are doing your pantry, you might want to group like items together outside of the area before putting them back in.

Use Helpers

I’m not talking about Hamburger Helper here. I’m talking about things that make it easier to group like items together.

My canned goods are stored on a large turntable that makes an inaccessible corner accessible. My spices are stored on a double-level turntable to make it easy to access all the bottles. I use old shoe boxes and dollar store baskets to hold like items, like chips and snacks.

With a bit of sorting, tossing, and cleaning dust bunnies, I was able to simplify the pantry and get it into shape so I can find everything very quickly and easily.

Photo by lu_lu

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Simplifying Critter Control in Outdoor Eating

LJ — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:00:00 +0000

Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.

Summer is here in the northern hemisphere, and it is time to eat outside! The latest trend in outdoor living spaces brings al fresco dining back into the forefront of style. But nothing can ruin outdoor dining faster than pests.

My grandmother used to say that a picnic isn’t complete without ants. In our backyard it’s not just the ants but also mosquitoes, biting flies and wasps. I’ll be honest. While the ants are pesky, it’s the flying insects that really make it miserable. We take some simple steps to control them.

Citronella

Surrounding our deck are a series of citronella torches. We also burn a large citronella candle near our eating area. This deters most mosquitoes. When there is no natural breeze, we will bring out fans to keep the air moving. This keeps the remaining bugs from landing.

Screens

Flies love to crawl all over food. Mesh food covers keeps the bugs out while allowing us to see what food is where.

Wasp Traps

The past two summers the wasps (yellow jackets) have built a nest somewhere under our deck. We discovered this after I got stung the second time last year. We have sprayed the nest, but they must have another one somewhere. We use both a wasp trap to attract wasps away from our eating area. We also leave a half-empty can of sugared soda near there as well to get attract and drown yellow jackets.

Eating outside can be a very fun activity if you take care of the pests. Do you have any tried-and-true methods? Share below

Photo by ThenAndAgain

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