My very best friend Laura got me this for my birthday one year and I LOVE it! It’s one of my favorite gifts of all time and it has saved my butt on more than one occasion. And it’s so simple too! She got a cute little bag and filled it with a bunch of items that would come in handy for a girl “emergency” – things like a surprise lunch date or dribbling my latte on a shirt before a meeting.

Some of the items include (not all are pictured):

• tampons
• nail file
• nail clippers
• safety pins
• hair ties
• bobby pins
• sewing kit
• stain remover
• breath mints
• stomach medicine
• aspirin
• hair brush
• lint roller
• tissue
• toothbrush, toothpaste, floss

It’s such a simple idea, but it’s also fantastic! Many of the items are available in the “travel” section at the drugstore. I keep mine under the seat of my car. It keeps my car organized and, between this kit and the one my dad gave me, I’m ready for just about any emergency on the road!

Image source: drugstore.com

Here she is! My car all organized with the goods from yesterday’s organization inspiration post. Not too shabby, huh?

Here are are few more angles:

Do you see the black storage boxes there? I love how they look like they fit in with the car. The box on the left holds my emergency car kit from my dad, my dashboard wipes, a rope, first aid kit and water. The box on the right holds all the stuff from my weekend gig. I had plastic storage boxes with lids for awhile (boy, those were a pain!) and I never liked how it always looked like I was moving.

And what do you think about the mesh bags in the pockets behind my seats? I like how much better that looks than a bunch of doggy bags, dog toys and supplies stuffed in there.

In that top picture you can see the project case under my seat that I keep to entertain my neices and nephew if we ever go to a restaurant or something. I keep it simple with some blank pieces of paper, a coloring book, crayons, markers, a list of games you can play in a car or restaurant, and a few sheets of paper with a bunch of dots on it to play that game where you make lines and boxes and write your initial in them. Works out great.

So, there you have it. Hopefully one day I’ll make a little more colorful (like the organization inspiration post), but in the meantime I’ll just have to settle for having a super-organized car.

One of my favorite things to do it organize every inch of my life – I just love it. Sometimes, after I organize something, I’ll just look at it. Like, for a long time.

I’ve decided to share some of my handier tips in a new segment here called Organization Inspiration. So, in this premiere edition of Organization Inspiration, I hope to show you some fun ways to tackle organizing your car.

1. It’s always good to have an umbrella in your car. My “car umbrella” ends up rotating quite a bit because I loan it out a lot.

2. I keep this project case filled with coloring books, crayons and markers under a seat for those times when I might take my neices and nephew to a restaurant.

3.  A cute notebook is always a good thing to have in the car.

4. Little zipper cases are great for cars. Whenever my make-up has about a 1/4 left (foundation, mascara, blush, eye shadow), I usually retire it to my car or office drawer (that way, I never need to resort to using anything but the “best stuff”).

5.  My favorite part of my organized car: these black storage boxes from the Container Store. There are a few reasons why I like these storage boxes, and I’m going to bullet them for you – these boxes:

• are so easy to get stuff in and out of
• hold a lot of stuff
• don’t look like they belong on your garage (ie, they’re not plastic storage boxes)
• are only $20 a piece!

6. Whenever I try to save a few bucks, I take my car through the drive-thru car washes instead of a hand wash. While I’m sitting in my car letting the automatic scrubbers do their thing (probably while I blast Bon Jovi), I use these wipes on my dash and console to make my car *look* like I went through a hand wash.

7.   My very best girlfriend, Laura, got me the most thoughtful birthday present a few years ago. It was a little case filled with stuff that I might need in a girl emergency (think nail files and hair ties – and stay tuned later this week for more information). That little case has saved my butt on a number of occasions, and it will always have a place in my car.

8. This fancy case might be a nicer container for my (real) emergency kit (the one my dad gave me - which has also save my butt on a number of occasions).

9. I like keeping collections in these mesh bags in the pockets behind my seats. I prefer the mesh bags because it looks nicer to keep everything in there, and I can grab everything easily if I need two. Specifically, I keep doggie bags, a portable water bowl and a frisbee in one mesh bag, and my sunblock, flipflops, and (ahem) tanning lotion in another mesh bag).  

 So, there you have it. I hope you were inspirated by some of my organization solutions. Check in later this week to see all these goodies in action!

Also, I’ll have the full breakdown of item #7 in a post later this week too!

Is this not the yummiest-looking food-on-a-stick you’ve seen today? And, my gosh, they were every bit as good as they look… and so easy!

I got a new barbeque grill! I’m very excited about it. I’ve been scoping out craigslist for a grill for a couple months. I saw my stainless steel dream listed for $100 and called immediately. No answer. I left a message. No response. I called back the next day and the guy said he lowered the price to $80 since he thought the plates needed to be replaced (awesome – I still would have paid $100). I told him I could be there in 30 minutes. When I show up he shows me the grill and tells me all about his sons and his wife. He had to get a new grill because he was hosting a graduation party for his son and needed to be able to barbeque more food. He also tells me he got the barbeque at CostCo a few years ago for $400. Score.

After looking at it for a bit, he says “tell you what, give me $60 and it’s yours” (awesome – I still would have paid $100). His son helped me load it into my car and I gave him $30 as a graduation present. The new stainless steel grill plates cost me $60 and I love, love, LOVE my new grill.

Barbeque Chicken Kabobs

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5-8 large cherry tomatoes
1 package mushrooms
2 peppers (green, red or orange)
1/2 onion
nonstick cooking spray
salt & pepper to taste

1. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Cut into large cubes
2. Cut the peppers and onion into large pieces
3. Spray your skewers with nonstick cooking spray
4. Thread the chicken, tomatoes, onions, peppers and mushrooms on the skewers
5. Add salt and pepper to entire skewers to taste
6. Put on preheated barbeque until chicken is cooked through

So, I’ve only brought my lunch one day this week. BUT in my defense, I had 2 lunch meetings and 1 lunch date this week too, so I’m doing pretty good. The important thing is that I haven’t *paid* for lunch at all this week… right?

This salad recipe is inspired by one I had at Nordstrom Cafe. It is so yummy. Although I couldn’t quite get it right until I found this dressing. I grabbed it by mistake when I thought it was a different dressing I like, and when I tasted it I thought “that’s the Nordstrom dressing!” – and trust me when I say it really makes this salad.

The bring it to work, I put the mixed greens, chicken and walnuts in one tupperwear container, all the berries in another one, and the blue cheese crumbles in a small tupperwear container. I bring the dressing in the bottle (until I can buy a fancy alternative).

Three Berry Salad with Chicken and Walnuts

2 cups mixed spring greens
3/4 cup cooked chicken, chilled (seasoned with salt and pepper)
1 cup berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries)
2 tbsp chopped walnuts
1 tbsp blue cheese crumbles
1 tbsp light Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette (by Wishbone)

Combine all ingredients – enjoy!

For the record, I brought my lunch in this fancy bag:

Fitting that I brought my Nordstrom Cafe-inspired lunch in a Nordstrom bag, huh?

I don’t bring my lunch to work often enough to justify a pretty lunchbag, but I really want one! So, I’m going to make a deal with myself. If I can bring my lunch 3 times a week for the next month, I can get a pretty lunchbag. That’s only 12 lunches. I can handle packing 12 lunches (right?). But it will save me at least $60 over the course of that month, so then I could justify buying one (or two or three) of these:

1. Eco Friendly Reusable Lunch Sack Bag
2. Koko Insulated Lunch Tote ~ Jenn Funky Floral
3. Insulated Lunch Purse – Black and Grey with a Band of Lemon Yellow
4. Shinzi Katoh Double Deck Bento Box ~ Hungry Bee
5. Set of 3 reusable snack bags
6. Built NY Gourmet Getaway
7. Take -a- Long Cutlery Wrap — Black and White Flower
8. Lime and White Damask Lunch Bag Tote – Zippered closure

I will let you know how it goes!

Boo to torn finger nails! It keeps getting caught and I’m afraid it’s going to tear… and nail glue isn’t enough. It’s a pretty quick fix though, and all you need is:

• a pair of scissors
• nail glue
• a nail file
• clear polish
• and a teabag!

1. Remove all polish and start with a clean nail
2. Cut a patch from the teabag and glue it over the tear
3. Let the glue dry completely and file your nail smooth
4. Apply a coat of clear polish

Just like new!

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Lynda M! Just for leaving a comment, she won a $50 gift card to Target (courtesy of my office). Lynda says she’s excited to use the gift card to organize her bedroom closet (do you think she might pick up one of these bad boys?). It’s a bummer she was only one item off on her guess for the number of Costco items stuffed in my super-organized laundry closet - but $50 ain’t too shabby.

And just to show-off, here’s a list of all those Costco items (even the embarassing ones):

1. 409
2. Windex
3. Pig Ears (for dogs)
4. Toilet Paper
5. Soap
6. Conditioner (green bottle)
7. Crystal Clear Cutlery
8. Paper Plates
9. Jumbo-sized Pepto-Bismol
10. Tylenol
11. Tide
12. Dryer Sheets
13. Bleach
14. Softener
15. Paper Towels

And while we can’t all be lucky enough to be Lynda, I think anyone can use the promo code from the coupon in Real Simple to get 20% off any Merona Clothing item! Just plug in the code before 7/15/10: MRNADSRS

Oh – and for the record, some folks innocently forgot their guess and posted two separate entries. So I compiled all the individual entries and used this method to pick a winner fair-and-square.

Thanks everyone – let’s do this again soon, ok?

Here’s my teeny tiny home office! That baby is a total of SIX square feet! Until recently, my computer/bill pay/filing center was crammed into minimal square footage out of necessity. But now I have an extra bedroom to maybe turn into a guest bedroom/office (just like Sherry and John!) one day. Until I’m hit over the head with inspiration though, my humble home office will stay just like this:

1. My shelves (from Ikea) hold my printer, supplies, paper (“good paper” and “printer paper”), magazines and greeting cards.
2. My desk (from The Container Store) has a work area that rolls out to hold a laptop computer. The cubbies hold envelopes, pens/pencils, checks, notepaper and stamps. I keep the stapler, tape dispenser and label maker on the top.
3. My filing cabinet (from Staples) holds my files: house stuff on top and personal stuff on the bottom. I hate that fake plant, but I’ve had it forever and it seemed dishonest to remove it just for the picture.

So, there you have it. A little post for a little office.

Here’s another shot, to give you some perspective:

Welcome to part 2 of my three part series on where I work! Between the office and my office at home (stay tuned for that tomorrow!), I spend a lot of time sitting right smack-dab in the middle of these photos – so I figured I’d break it down for y’all.

This part focuses on the area to the right of my keyboard/monitor – where I have my active files, my phone and (spoiler alert) my fake plant.

My “active projects files” set-up is what I think is most helpful to breakdown, and I wouldn’t like it as must as I do without this little guy:

He keeps my “official” project files (the ones I bother to make labels for) organized at the top, and my miscellaneous-type project files neat-and-tidy in the three drawers underneath. I particularly like this system because I don’t have to make folders for the projects that:

• can be tossed when I’m done with them; OR
• that can go into a file I already have in my filing cabinet

The drawers keep everything I need handy, and when I’m done I can toss them in a file or toss them in the recycle bin.

Anything that doesn’t fall into one of the two excuses above, I consider an official project, and so I make a folder with a label. David Allen defines a project as “any desired result that requires more than one action step” – so the folders along the top hold all the action steps along the way.

The pretty folders in the back are key to my organization system. These are labeled:

• SIGN & RETURN TO JEANNIE
• ROBIN (my boss)
• TIMESHEETS
• EXPENSES

All the managers know that the blue folder (SIGN & RETURN TO JEANNIE) contains something that needs to be signed (and returned to Jeannie… imagine that). It’s sturdy and stands out… I’ve had great success having items signed and returned in a timely manner and I’ve never had one lost.

The “ROBIN” folder is what David Allen calls an “agenda” folder. Basically, you make a dumping ground for everything you need to review with an individual (or group of individuals) and that way you review everything at once. According to David Allen “Standing meetings and peope you deal with on an ongoing basis may need their own ‘agenda’ list” and since I only see my boss a couple of times per week, this is where I put everything to review with her.

“EXPENSES” hold the receipts for items I can expense (and the scraps of paper on which I write down my mileage) and “TIMESHEETS” hold timesheets (because sometimes these are done weeks in advance… shhh… ).

My phone set-up is pretty straight-forward: phone, paper, pens, and phone list. My favorite little tip here is that everything you pin to a board or wall looks more organized when you add a label:

The last stop of the tour of my office space, is the some-what sad looking corner:

A fake plant (did you know most offices with a plant service won’t allow you to have a potted plant (one with soil)? Sad, huh?), a photo of my dad and brother at a ball game, and a box of tissues.

One very important part of my workspace that is not pictured is my inbox. David Allen covers the inbox at length in his book (seriously, pages and pages… and it’s all good stuff!). Two tips regarding the inbox:

• Keep it empty (or nearly empty): otherwise, people won’t trust that you’ll actually get to whatever it is they want to put in there and they’ll just leave it on your desk chair
• Keep it out of your line of sight: that way, when somebody tries to interrupt you with something, you can simply say (without even turning your head!) “you can just stick it in my inbox and I’ll get to it. If I have any questions, I’ll let you know” – awesome.

You can encourage productive behavior by your co-workers (I didn’t want to say “train your co-workers” – they’re not seals). If you keep your inbox empty, they will trust that you’ll get to it and not interrupt you: everyone wins!

One item that you might notice is missing (and another favorite little organization tip) is a tape dispenser. Most people don’t use tape enough to justify the desk space. You probably don’t need this on your desk, so feel free to throw it in your desk drawer. Another item that is missing but should actually be there is my stapler (somebody had borrowed it). David Allen suggests (and I agree) that you should have a stapler that you don’t need to pick up to use.

So, there you have my entire office area (between part one and part two). Tomorrow, I can’t wait to show you my SIX square-foot office!