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Monday, April 21, 2008

Talk About Your Purse

Talk About TuesdayWelcome to our first themed Talk About Tuesday! If you are new, check out the Guidelines before posting. Thanks for joining us!

This week we are talking about our purses. We want to hear all about yours, what works for you, what doesn't and we want photos. Pretty please! If you have something else you are dying to talk about instead of your purse we will forgive you.

Are you sure you're ready for this long post? This is how I organize my purse.

First of all I don't carry a fashionable little purse. I carry a Mom bag. My Mom bag used to be the Sweet Tomato but it got old and ragged so I bought the exact same bag in dark brown so it wouldn't show dirt and would last longer. You can find it here at bagsbuy.com. Don't pay full price because if you sign up for their e-mails they will send you 10-20% off coupons every week. I love their discounts and free shipping.


Like the Sweet Tomato, my new bag goes everywhere I go. You can read more about it here.

This is the inside. I keep some tic-tacs and unmentionables in the zippered pocket. It was a pain getting my cell phone in and out of the narrow cell phone pocket so I use it for pens. I use the clip for my patented key system.

The key system includes a very high tech baby link toy, connected to a springy thingy, connected to a key ring, holding my van door opener. It's easy to find in my bag and I can easily unclip it if I'm leaving my bag behind. The coil is great for putting around my wrist so I don't lose the whole thing which I will if it isn't attached to something and I can clip the baby link to a shopping cart or pocket or such. I am personally giving you permission to copy this very complicated system for yourself. You're welcome.

This pocket holds my MP3 player as you can see. The player goes under my pillow at night and in this pocket during the day so it makes it to the gym with me.



This side used to be one big pocket. That didn't work for me so I sewed vertically along the strap lines and made three narrow pockets. One for my water bottle, one for my extra small Organizing Bag that holds my credit cards, and one for my planner.


On this side one pocket holds a little notebook where I write down ideas, one holds my weight lifting gloves, one holds my cell phone and one holds my gym card. With only one thing in each pocket it's easy to grab what I want. Everything gets put away in the same place every time.

Inside my bag I have a smaller bag to organize more Organizing Bags. How exciting is that!

If I don't want to lug the big bag around I can fill this smaller bag with what I need and take it with me. I hardly ever do though because I just can't part with my Mom Bag.

The pink bag holds a bag for receipts, a bag for tissues and one for my camera which of course I had to take a picture of without the camera in it. You understand.

Another bag holds a little container of Play-Doh lotion. It's really just lotion in a tiny Play-Dough container but people seem to get excited about my Play-Dough lotion. There's an idea for you Play-Dough marketing people. It also holds a cute little leather measuring tape that I bought at Target several years ago, a comb and elastics for hair emergencies and a container filled with band aids, Advil, cough drops, safety pins, etc. I bought the container at The Container store. I tried to find it online for you but no luck.

One more extra small Organizing Bag with goodies in it. How cool are you when you're the only person at a Scout meeting with a pocket knife? Take that you unprepared Eagle Scouts!

See how nicely everything is contained in there? Nothing is getting smashed at the bottom of my bag. Love it.

One more thing I always have with me is a book in a medium Organizing Bag so it doesn't get wet or ruined. I keep sticky notes in the label pocket for bookmarks and marking things I want to write down later.

It all fits nicely in the Mom Bag with room to spare for snacks, a sweatshirt, library books, a knitting project (also in a bag) or anything else I want to shove in there. Pretty soon it will be holding diapers!

So now do you want to know how much this bag weighs? Today with a full water bottle and the two books that I'm reading and can't go anywhere without, it weighs 10 pounds 8 ounces which happens to be the exact weight of my first child when he was born. When this new baby is born it will be like carrying twins!

Actually I don't carry everything in the bag every where I go. I pack it up with my books, projects and what not before I leave the house but I unpack it when I get into the van. That way when the kids are in art class or we stop at a park I can read or knit while I wait. When we get home I pack it up again and take it all in the house in one trip. It's fabulous. If you are a tiny bag woman you don't know what you're missing!

Anyone who participates in TAT this week will be entered to win a free extra small Organizing Bag. You have until Wednesday to link up. Now let's see what's in your purse!

*Important - Please link to your individual Talk About Tuesday post instead of your home page or else my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will have to spend time fixing the links. Here is how you link to an individual post if you’ve never done it before: Right click on the date at the bottom of the post you want to link to (or the post title depending on where you blog) click “Copy Shortcut” and then paste it into Mr. Linky.

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Sunday, January 06, 2008

Story of Stuff

Update: Hidden in the sacrasm of this post is my excitment and support for all of this. I love that people are blogging about it. I don't think anyone trying to consume less is funny. I think the fact that our country needs to have a "movement" about it is funny in a sad way. Since I am also on the bandwagon I am putting myself at the top of the list. I hope more will hop on because I was getting tired of doing all the nagging myself.

Apparently there is a new movement surging the nation (or blogs at least) which I find wonderful and hilarious at the same time. People are getting on the band wagon to STOP BUYING STUFF! This is wonderful because the money I see people waste on crap brings tears to my eyes and it's hilarious because some of us have been doing it all along. Where were the rest of you? Oh ya, out shopping.

Here are some of the new (or maybe not so new) band-wagoneers. Hopefully they will inspire us to new heights of simplicity. Do you know of any more?

Me!
We Don't Buy It
The Year of Not Shopping
A Year Off
Random Rantings
The Simple Family
Can We Make It?

Stranger and I sat down and figured out how much money we spent total on Christmas this year. It was around $400. That includes money we spent on each other, our three kids, friends and family. Are we cheap? Maybe. Are we trying to live a frugal, clutter-free, stress-free life? Most definitely yes!

I'm sure you've all seen The Story of Stuff but if you haven't watched it with your kids yet you must do so immediately. I watched it with mine and we had a lengthy discussion of it. They saw for themselves why their mom won't buy them every little piece of crap their heart desires. One thing I taught my kids long ago is that we can afford anything we want. We just can't afford everything we want. I never EVER tell them, "We can't afford that," because we can. Most people afford what they want to afford. If you're broke and you're paying for your Internet connection and a cell phone instead of food then that is your choice.

When we're in the store and my kids see Moms buying stuff for their kids they will sometimes whisper in my ear, "We're saving our money for other things aren't we Mom." Dang right!!! My kids have a great life. They just have a different life from most other kids in America and I'm proud to say it is a life we chose for them instead of a life we accidentally fell into because it was the same one everyone else was living.

So what's your story of stuff?

On a different note. I am the number one search result for "How To Start Your Own Pancakes Business". Who knew I had so much to offer in this field?

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Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Money...It's Not Just For Rich People

I listened to the CD and now I've read the book and my conclusion is that I picked the wrong hobby. Seven years ago I thought I needed to get organized to get my life in order and all along I could have been becoming a millionaire instead!

That's what Janine Bolon set out to do once she had a baby and left her career to become a stay at home mother. She decided she needed a hobby to keep her mind occupied because we all know how craziness sets in when you're home all day with an infant. She started reading books on becoming frugal and wealthy. Not only did she read them like I do but she actually implemented them in a way that I have never done. She implemented them so well that all her friends and neighbors thought they were poor and left sacks of food and clothing on her doorstep! Now I don't know if I want to live that frugally but I know I could be doing better than I am.

My husband has taught me a lot about cheapskatedness but I still have much to learn. My first project is going to be the shopping price book that Janine talks about in her book Money...It's Not Just For Rich People. It's a list of everything you buy at which stores and what prices. Then you can look through the weekly ads to make your shopping list. You may think you're getting a good deal by buying in bulk but how can you be sure until you do the math? Guess what my new addition to the Tomato is going to be? A calculator!

Stayed tuned to watch me become The Organized Millionaire!

Hey, do you want to do this with me? Read the book and we can do assignments out of it together.

Our quilt raffle is up to $579!

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

No New Junk

I seriously hate gift giving and I think I have stumbled upon the reason why. I always thought it was just because I was cheap and selfish but I am ready to face the truth. I hate wasting money on stuff that people don't really need. Gift cards are boring and giving money to people who didn't come out of your body is just plain weird.

Garage Sale FurnitureI live for E-Bay, garage sales, antique and thrift stores. If you would invite me over I would like to rummage around in your basement as well. I bet there is some really cool stuff down there that I could take my tools to. From now on that's where all your Christmas and holiday gifts are coming from. I mean the other places, not your own basement.

If you don't like your gift just think of it as my contribution to your next garage sale which I am totally coming to. I won't get my feelings hurt when I see that you're selling if for a quarter. I will just buy it back and sell it on E-bay for $1,000.

If that doesn't get me in the spirit of gift giving then you can go back to thinking I was cheap and selfish like you always did, or just plain lazy which you could totally forgive me for, right?

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Saturday, April 21, 2007

I'm Almost Speechless

Look at what we are getting next month. Could I BE more excited??? Well maybe I could if it were one of these but I'll take what I can get. Too bad it's an hour drive but I'm sure that won't stop me.

The first thing I am going to buy is this and then I think I will get a bunch of these and stick them on every metal thing I can find in the house just because they are so cool. And then I'll throw in whatever else I can cram into the back of my van after I take all the seats out and make the children walk home. If we take their bikes it will be a much faster trip for them.

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Tuesday, December 26, 2006

A Million Pieces of Heaven


That's right! I have my very own Container Store photos to post!!! Today was our last fun day as we are headed home tomorrow. The one thing I really wanted to do on this trip was find a swap meet to go to. We don't have any real swap meets in Utah. Stranger felt sorry for me that we never made it to one so he took me to the container store today. It was better than I could have imagined and fun for the whole family. Can you just see how much fun everyone is having?

They even have stuff you can try on. I'm not saying your supposed to try it on. I'm just saying you can.

It became apparent that I was going to be busy for a while so Stranger left me with the baby and took the kids next door. Did you know that Best Buy offers child care while Moms are shopping at The Container Store? They take all sizes of children too.

Speaking of every size imaginable, The Container store has it. The only way they could make it any better is if they get one of those machines like they have on Star Trek where you tell it what food you want and it appears. "A container that's 10x12x4. Red. Linen. With handles." Or, "A speckled blue ring box that's disguised as a little tiny gift bag." Oop, there it is!

There are so many containers to choose from that it could give you nightmares trying to decide which one you want. Like, you go to school and it's third period before you notice you forgot to get dressed after your shower this morning so you run to your locker to get your gym clothes but all of a sudden your school is The Container Store and you can't figure out which of the thousands of stainless steel garbage cans is supposed to be your gym locker. Every time you reach your hand into one to pull out your sweaty shorts you find a handful of stinky moldy cheese instead and then for some reason you decide to start eating all this cheese until you realize you have turned into a giant block of swiss cheese and the other students are storing their books in you which is fine with you really because no one seems to care if cheese comes to school naked.
If you wake up with a funny taste in your mouth and every bar of soap in your house is missing, don't come crying to me. I tried to warn you.

There's something else I have to warn you about. Just because you find something at The Container Store doesn't mean it is an item worth owning. If you even think about buying a Hot Dog Storage Container then I am so never speaking to you again.

Dear Container Store,

I love you with all of my heart but I hate you for making me want to go home with 37,000 jewel colored acrylic treasure boxes in various sizes. I despise you for making me think I need to spend $15,000 on a storage system for my garage. I will never forgive you for offering me containers that coordinate with every holiday of the year or for showing me how beautiful my closets can be as soon as I decide to sell the rights to name my right butt cheek on E-Bay to pay for the make-over. You are all I've ever wanted but our love cannot last. You will always offer more than you can give and I will be left picking up the cluttered pieces of my broken heart. Goodbye Container Store.

P.S. I'm keeping the colapsible zippered boxes to remember you by. Is that wrong?

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Thursday, November 09, 2006

Sweet Tomato


I love my new purse! I love it so much that I have named it. Yes, it’s big. Yes, it holds everything I need it to hold. And yes, I take it everywhere I go. That’s how handy it is.

This is quite a change from the tiny-pursed woman that I have always been. A tiny purse is easy to organize. But then here comes a baby. A tiny purse does not double as a diaper bag. So then you have a tiny purse plus a diaper bag. A tiny purse does not hold a sewing project. So then you have a tiny purse, a diaper bag, and a project bag. Why go through all that when you can have one big sweet Tomato?

I co-sleep with the Tomato. Why should I grab my planner, my notebook, my cell phone, and my mp3 player out of the Tomato when I can just take the whole thing with me? Besides, it holds my Purse Organizer which has a lot of things in it that I might need in bed. If I cut myself sleeping I have a Band-Aid right there. If I get a sliver from my night stand I have the tweezers to operate. If I missed a spot when I flossed, oh look, some floss right here!

When I come in from the car I grab the mail, water bottles, diaper bag, jackets, anything that is cluttering up the van and throw them all in the Tomato to carry in the house. I told you it was big! If it was a little bit bigger I could throw all the children in too. But I don’t ever abuse the Tomato. As soon as I get inside I put everything away and the Tomato is ready to go on its next adventure. That is the key to our loving relationship.

With everything organized into Bags, I can just take out what I don’t need at the moment, such as the diaper bag, and toss in something I do need, like my Lazy Paper Manager. Here is what the Tomato has in it at all times. Wallet, cell phone, car door opener, tissues, Purse Organizer, Receipt Organizer, Recipe List, planner, and a spiral notebook. Everything else comes and goes.
Here are some things I put in the Tomato as needed. Water bottles, scriptures, toys, camera (if I had a smaller one I would keep it in there all the time), diaper bag, blankies, items I need to return, snacks, gym clothes, sewing projects, books, etc. I even keep my medication (when I’m taking something) in the Tomato. If I forget to take it before I leave the house or go to bed I can take it as soon as I think of it because the Tomato is always with me. .

Emergency uses for the Tomato include; sleeping bag if I ever get trapped on a mountain, table cloth for a picnic, prom dress if I ever get asked, sled for a perfect snow day, water balloon launcher because you never know when you’re going to need one, or a parachute to stop the van if the brakes ever go out.

Do you see why I love the Tomato so much? So don’t ever snicker at it or make jokes in front of it about how it looks more like a suitcase than a handbag. Laugh at me but never at My Sweet Tomato because that would just be mean. Posted by Picasa

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Saturday, October 28, 2006

Shop With Bob


I finally have my new Bob jogging stroller! My shop-o-holic husband broke down and bought it after looking at strollers for six months which seems to be the minimum shopping requisite at our house. I got my new stroller several weeks ago but it has taken me this long just to snap a photo of it. I can’t blog it without a photo! Let me tell you though, it is wonderful! It’s lightweight, yet it can hold up to 70 pounds so I don’t worry when Persistence wants to climb in with Lovely. Even with both of them in there it is a breeze to push with its front swivel wheel. Thank you for all your diligent shopping Stranger!

Lovely can’t wait for me to buckle her in it with all the fancy rings and straps and pockets for her drinks. The peek-a-boo window is fun for her too. She can keep her eye on me to make sure I don’t transform into a 6 year old maniac driver who doesn’t know how to watch for cars and might ditch her to chase a bug that’s skittering across the street. It’s funny how babies can tell who’s holding them and who’s at the wheel. Big people just feel better.

I decided last spring that I wanted a new jogging stroller. Stranger thought this was a frivolous idea. The jogger that we bought used at a garage sale 5 years ago for $20, that’s falling apart, is perfectly good enough for us. Somehow I convinced him that a new one was in order. (Just because he lives in Louisiana doesn’t mean he’s too far away to nag.) I wanted to spend $100. Stranger decided Bob was the best and he wasn’t going to settle for anything less. It was Bob or nothing. I think he could just imagine himself skating the Bob across the floor during dollar night at the roller rink. All the other Daddies would see the Bob and hang their heads in shame. It would be Daddy’s Roller Rinkapade Heaven.

Since I couldn’t get that ONE place to give me the sale price on a Bob, Stranger turned to E-Bay. Oh, you were thinking we’d get a good deal there were you? Think again. Let me just tell you that Stranger bought our jogger on-line for $285 with free shipping and no taxes. Regular price is $360 so he saved more than $75 and that was the cheapest we could find it anywhere.

Take a look at what someone paid for one a few weeks ago on E-Bay. $330 + $40 shipping. $370. That’s $85 more than we paid for it and $10 more than you can get it anywhere else on-line since everyone else offers free shipping! While we were watching the strollers on E-Bay I saw people pay even more than that.

This is just to show you how crazy people are on e-bay. It used to be a place to find good deals but no more. People pay more for stuff there than they can pay anywhere else. If you are shopping on-line, definitely look at E-Bay but don’t stop there. Here is a search I did the other day.

Can your brain even comprehend what you are looking at? (Or can your eyes even see it?) $112, $135, $152 for hot rollers!!!! I get that they are a discontinued style. And maybe they would complete that Roller Rinkapade look you’re going for but come on people! They’re not ten year old toasted cheese sandwiches! They’re hot rollers!!!

Which leads me to my next discovery. First of all I want to say congratulations to all of you out there who get to go grocery shopping without your whining children. I’m so happy for you. Really. I don’t feel resentful in the slightest. Really. Unfortunately I get to take three ornery children with me each and every time I go to the store. As if the fighting weren’t enough, the last several month Persistence and Lovely have gotten too much for me to push around in a shopping cart full of food, if there is even room for food with both of them in there. Yet Persistence hasn’t been ready to give up her shopping cart royalty crown. Another problem is that Lovely likes to lie down. She is a very lazy baby and will snuggle up to a blanket/jacket/piece of fluff any chance she gets. A shopping cart isn’t a very comfortable place to get cozy.

Our solution? We take Bob shopping with us! It’s wonderful! Lovely can relax all she wants without touching all those nasty cart germs, Persistence has something to amuse herself with as she pushes Lovely through the store and I actually have room for groceries in my cart now. Yay!!!

Guess what we had for dinner tonight? You guessed it didn’t you? We really need to eat toasted cheese sandwiches more often. Not only are they tasty but our salvation might be on the line. Posted by Picasa

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Saturday, October 07, 2006

The Shopping Girl's Best Friend

Now, I would never do anything dishonest with this little piece of equipment. I'm just saying it's a handy tool to have around. The kids like to rip tags off of clothes before I've decided if we're keeping them. I even do it myself once in a while. This can be our little secret. Just let me know if you need to borrow it.


Here's another one of my brilliant ideas, and by brilliant I mean, "D'oh! Why didn't I think of that before!" See how clever I was to attach an elastic to the paint brush so I could hang it up to dry? So that's what that little hole is for! I'm so clever that I didn't even know how to spell D'oh so I had to google it and came across a website full of Homer Simpson quotes that I couldn't stop reading and laughing at. See? This is why blogging is pure evil. It sucks you in to it's dark world and it never lets go. Who really cares about elastics and paint brushes anyway? Not me. Homer Simpson is way more entertaining. I need to get myself a television so I can start living life to the fullest. (Did I really just take a picture of a dirty paintbrush and post it on the internet?)

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Thursday, September 14, 2006

Working The System

Ten days. That’s all you get. It used to be fourteen days but now it’s only ten. That’s how long Old Navy will give you to obtain a price adjustment. Did you even know this was possible? Probably, but I doubt very many people take advantage of it because the sales people always look surprised when I arrive at the counter with only my receipt and demand for a refund.

I stopped by there on a Saturday afternoon which was a big mistake. I usually let everyone else have Saturdays and I do my shopping on a week day to avoid the crowds. I walked out of there with an armload of clothes. Some of them on sale in addition to using my Gap card and getting an additional 10% (I think) off. Then ten days later I went back with my receipt and got a refund. Here’s how it played out:

Original ticket - $206.49
After discount - $154.99
After refund - $127.21

So I got almost 25% off originally and another 18% off for stopping by their store for five minutes.

I do this everywhere I shop for clothes because they get marked down so fast. As I’m checking out, I ask how many days they allow and I mark it in my calendar. Then I plan my errands for that day so I don’t have to make a special trip to town. I always know right where my receipt is of course and it’s almost always worth the small bit of trouble. Don’t we all love to save money? Besides, if you don’t do it then you’re just a Turkey Noodle Brain.

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Friday, August 04, 2006

Organize Your Receipts



I keep this Receipt Organizer in my purse. I fold the receipts so I can easily see the name of the store. If it’s a receipt that I won’t need to use to return anything, like fuel or restaurant, then I add it to the back of the bag. If it’s a receipt for clothing or something I might need to return later, I add it to the front. That way I don't have to search through the whole pile to find what I need. If you are like me and you only pay with credit card, you can use these organized receipts to balance against your account statement. Then put them in a letter sized envelope marked with the date. Keep these envelopes with the account statements. You can look over the account statement to find a specific receipt if you need it later. You’ll easily locate it in the corresponding envelope!

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Saturday, July 22, 2006

Organize Your Purse

I keep a plastic garbage bag tied up tightly in my purse just in case. Yesterday when I was out, the baby’s diaper leaked onto her skirt and I was able to throw it in the bag to bring home. I was so happy to have that bag! (You can buy my Lazy Organizing Bags here.)


Here is a list of things I keep in my purse organizer. Does it look like a mess? It’s better than a mess at the bottom of my purse! Since it’s see-through I can easily find anything I need. That’s nice for lazy people like me. If it takes me 3 seconds too long to find the nail clippers I might chew my cuticles till they bleed.

  • Protein bar – When hunger strikes
  • Advil – When I was too lazy to eat the protein bar and I got too hungry and now I have a headache.
  • Plastic shopping bag – Bib, messy diaper bag, muddy shoe bag and various other repulsive things bag.
  • Measuring tape – For when I’m in a stranger’s home and I compulsively start measuring her kitchen so I can once and for all order my kitchen island.
  • Pocket Knife – For everything but self defense.
  • Allergy pills – Yeesh! You have a couple pills in your purse and people start to think you’re a drug addict!
  • Spare keys – For our house which we NEVER lock. We don’t live in a house locking kind of neighborhood. For Stranger’s truck. I don’t know what happened to my spare key but apparently I can only get a new one at the dealer.
  • Pen – You should pretty much know what pens are for.
  • Nail Clippers – Fending off the nervous, not nail, but cuticle biting. This isn't the strangest thing I do.
  • Body Mist – Stinky sweaty gym Mom
  • Band-Aids – More for the tears than for actual wounds.
  • Chap stick – Arid Utah winters
  • Comb and Hair elastics for the girls – Critical for that “let’s not look like home-schoolers in Mart-Mart today” objective.
  • Dental Floss - I’ve never used it but I can’t part with it because you just never know when you’re going to have a flossing emergency.

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Monday, July 17, 2006

No I Won’t Stop. I’ll Never Stop.


This is just about the sweetest little dress I have ever seen. I want one exactly like it for myself. But the best thing about this dress is the great deal I got.

$19.50 Regular Price
$10.99 Sale Price
$6.99 Rang Up As
$5.59 With promotional 20% discount

More than 70% off. Not bad for a days work. Definitely worth the 4 hours and $40 in gas I spent looking for this great deal. Besides. It’s so cute! The cutest $45.59 dress I have ever bought for a 1 year old. It's a sickness really. Something I caught from my husband. He taught me everything I know about wasting money to get a good deal.

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Saturday, July 15, 2006

Organize Your Grocery Shopping

Lazy Meal Planner– Make a list of all your favorite recipes and their ingredients and keep it in your planner. Now you can make a meal plan and shopping list in your free time at work, in the car or even while you’re at the store. You’ll never again forget an essential ingredient for dinner.

This is something I read about 6 years ago when I first started getting organized but I never thought I needed to do it. After 6 years of forgetting things when I’m at the store I decided I did need it. It was really a very simple project because I already have all my recipes on the computer so I just printed out the Title and Ingredients list for all of them. I used a very small font so they fit on 2 pieces of paper. I keep this list in my car and I take it into the grocery store with me whenever I shop. Oh how I wish I had done this sooner!

I have tried and tried and failed at sticking with some kind of a meal plan. What I have discovered is that I just want to make my meal plan while I’m shopping. What looks good and what’s on sale, these are the things that help me decide what to make. Is there anything wrong with that? No. Does it mean I’m not organized? No. It just means I do what I like and what works for me.

There I go. Lying again. Maybe it means I’m a LITTLE bit unorganized and I like it that way. In my next life I will make meal plans and stick to them.

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Tuesday, May 25, 2004

The Return Cupboard

I only have Chris' organizing to write about today. He amazed all of us by returning some huge, un-used bags of insulation that we've been storing for two years. He also picked up new fence parts for our damaged fence. Tonight he took the entire section out and put it back together with the new parts and it looks great! That's two more things we can check off our list.

Do you have any returns you need to make? I keep telling myself I will never buy another item that will need to be returned but I just can't help myself! I like to bring things home so I can decide here that I don't want them. What works for me is to tape the receipt to the item and store it in a cupboard by the back door. I check the cupboard before I run my errands and grab anything that needs returning. This works for things that need to go back to friends and family as well as library books and such. When my friends drop by I look in the cupboard before they leave so I can send them home with their forgotten things.

You might think leaving an item out on your kitchen table will help remind you to return it. Sure you will notice it there for a few days but eventually your brain will get sick of thinking about it and you will look right at it and not know it's there. Don't clutter up your home and your mind like this. If you are afraid you'll forget about it if you put it away, make a note in your Planner to return it by a certain date and get the thing out of your sight!

I'm sending off a catalog return today that I've had sitting in my sewing room for the past three weeks. I knew right away that I wanted to return it. I should have sent it back the next day but instead, I choose to let it bother me for three weeks. This is exactly what I'm trying to teach myself not to do anymore. I'll keep working on it if you will!

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