Get Organized with Thirty-One Totes

Confession: I am a bag lady.

Purses, tote bags, cute re-usable shopping bags. All that stuff.

A friend introduced me to Thirty-One Gifts and its like a bag-lady shopping spree. I think I might be getting close to actually owning 31 bags from them - mostly multiples of my favorites in various colors.  The patterns are fun and bright (and I’m excited that they finally got pink!) and are pretty durable, because I do drag a bag around and put it through some work.

These are my favorites and I keep coming up with more uses for them.

A few of my 31 bags

Large Utility Tote. I own three, or maybe four.  

(It's the big blue one with Just Piddlin' embroidered on it, in the photo)

It’s large enough to hold a small child. Or laundry, to the Laundromat or on a roadtrip. It holds all the towels and snacks and goggles for a day at the pool or beach.  Or all the stuff that you keep in the back of your trunk – more reusable grocery bags, a pair of sneakers, wipes, tennis balls (everyone does carry all this in their trunk, right?)  Keep one packed in your car for the impromptu fun day - balls, sunscreen, frisbees, picnic blanket.

As an indie writer and publisher - I have one specifically for book vendor events to carry all the materials (tablecloths, bookstands, decorations, etc.) that I need for my table.

Utility Tote with pockets. I own three - two regular ones and one with a zip-top.

The Organizing Utility Tote is a great mobile office

This is a great bag to be used as a mobile office, whether for “real work” or “mom work”.

I use it for my PTA meetings to carry my files and notes that I’ll need, and fill the pockets with other random items – pens, notecards, snacks, a bottle of water.

For my sorority conferences, I tend to volunteer in some of the behind-the-scene tasks, so I’m running around a lot. In my bag, I carry paperwork and schedules, snacks and personal items in a Zipper Pouch, and in the pockets I have all the things I need to get to quickly – my phone, room keys, pens, candy and a bottle of water.

The Zipper Pouch helps to organize everything in the big bag

And again – as the small business woman – it’s perfect to carry the supplies I need for book vendor events.

I've seen other moms use these as diaper bags and the family tote bag for all the stuff you need for a day out.  For the kids' sporting events, pack your snacks, hand wipes, cowbells, a hat, and (for the swimming and track parents) a book.  Going to the park? Water bottles, first aid kit, snacks, bubbles, hat, sunscreen - it all fits in there. Since the bags are wipe-able clean, you don't have to worry about the little spills from all your necessities.

Zipper Pouch.  I own two and need at least one more.

Always have your crochet or knitting project with you

Since I carry so many big tote bags, I needed a way to organize and collect the small things in my life. These are the perfect size for an iPad, as well as a wallet, keys, phone, inkpens and a lipgloss – all the important miscellaneous for the day.

I use another one for my yarn project.  It fits a small skein and a pair of needles or a hook. I can take along a small project – a scarf, a headband, the beginnings of a blanket – wherever I go.

I have the regular sized ones; there's also mini and thermal ones.

Organizing Shoulder Tote.  I own one.

For those days when all you need is a phone, lipstick & keys.

I was given this one as a gift and immediately, I knew I would use it for those outings when I don’t really need a purse, but do need to carry around all my miscellaneous personal items (see all the stuff I carry in the Zipper Pouch.)  I use it when I’m at a community volunteer activity or a day out wandering with the kids.  I’ve also found it to be a great size for the traveling knitting or crochet project - since it hangs on my shoulder, I can walk and stitch at the same time.

Okay. Am I up to 31 yet?  I’m pretty close. And I think I’ve left out a few.  Go – check out the site for my favorite Thirty-One Gifts consultant, Sakima - she's set up a special page for Just Piddlin' readers - and see how these bags can help organize your life.  And if you come up with any other great ideas - leave them in the comments (I can always use another excuse for a new bag.)

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#Organized Calendar To-Do System

Ah- the  ever-present, never-ending to-do list.  Whether scribbled on designed, organizing sheets or typed into a smartphone app – but do we ever ever check everything off?  And then there’s the pile of papers to go along with it. If you’re a parent, this may be dominated by permission forms, tests, progress reports and volunteer forms to sign and return, presumably before the deadline. Then there's the sale you missed, the coupon that expired.  Every now and then, I wonder if there’s a better way to go about this necessity of life, other than the scribbled long lists on my calendar pages or the clipped stack of index cards, I’ve been employing.  But I like that system, so I’m not trying to abandon it, just improve upon it.

There’s a lot of options and how-to’s out there, but none of them are really effective  unless it’s do-able for you – your personality, your lifestyle. This do-able part is important because any organization system has to be one that you can keep up with and manage, regardless of what the experts say.

Recently, I came across this idea of “43 folders.” Although new to me, this tickler system seems to have been around for a while.  With the 43 folders plan, you have- yeah, you guessed it – 43 manila folders, each labeled 1-31, for the days of the month, and for each month.  All the stuff that you have – primarily all those papers that you have to do something with – you stick in the folders for the day (of the current month) or the month that you need to do it. Each day, you pick up your folder and do whatever’s in it.  At the beginning of each month, you move all the stuff from the folder and distribute them to the appropriate day folder.

I like this idea, and I like folders, but 43 folders sitting on my desk seems like a whole lot of folders. Plus, I generally plan out my to do list and meal plan along with my schedule.  Doesn’t make sense to make a long to-do list on the day I have to be running around to meetings or with the kids, that’s just a set-up for disappointment of not checking anything off. So I’ve modified this idea and am trying out a new plan.

How-To: Calendar To-Do

1. I printed my weekly calendar from Google Calendar.  Yes, I still have the paper date book, but also keep an electronic version so my family can input and access our schedule, too. And I do like the reminder feature – a text or email to remind you of where you’re supposed to be.
2. All those papers that have some kind of due date - permission slips, bills, library books due slip, invitations – I sorted by week.  I could also add coupons, restaurant discounts, sales ads, and other random things that have an expiration date.
3. Clip the sorted papers behind the calendar page when they should be done.
4. Each week, I have that packet of papers that are due, my calendar, and I can jot additional reminders on the calendar page.

I’m in week 2 of this new system. We’ll see how it goes.

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Decluttering in 15 Minutes

Every January, I add decluttering to my list of other impossible goals.  Truthfully, I started in December.  Okay, well, I started to panic in December because I still was working on last January's plans to declutter.  It is my perpetual goal.   You'd think at some point, the goal would be reached and we would exist in an absolutely organized, everything in it's place little world.  But, alas, the junk drawer has a permanent place in my kitchen.

In an effort to be more productive, my task continues with these two simple guidelines:

• 15-minutes at a time
• find a re-use for anything worth re-using 

Why only 15 minutes? Doesn't sound like a lot, but it's just enough of a time constraint to feel like I need to focus on the task.  If I give myself unlimited time, even an hour, my mind wanders and I end up on some tangent.  You know, go from cleaning out the fridge to reorganizing the entire kitchen type thing.  

And the re-use thing?  Because I do have a habit of holding on to things that may or may not be useful right now, but might be later on.  (Some people call this being a packrat, I call it being prepared.)  But with these guidelines, if I can come up with a good use for something, I can keep it.  Otherwise, it needs to be thrown out, recycled, or donated, as appopriate.

My intention is to pick one space a day, allowing that if I can't think of a space, I'll skip that day.  And space needs to be also narrowly defined to keep the task do-able.  This one yarn basket rather than my entire yarn stash (crafters, you know what I’m saying).

So far, I’ve done my lingerie drawer and under my bathroom sink.  Yes, each in 15 minutes.  What got thrown out, what was reused? 

Lingerie drawer – My weight has gone up and down during my pregnancies and since then.  Now that I’m at a pretty consistent weight, I threw out the underwear and bras that were too big, too small, the wrong size, the wrong whatever.  Never liked how the wire poked me in the side, didn’t like the fit of the bra.  Wasn’t as cute on me as the mannequin?  Yeah, got rid of all that.  Nothing to reuse.

Bathroom cabinet – I did the hallway bathroom, so the main task here was putting stuff back where it really belongs, rather than here where it was stashed by people too lazy to go upstairs.  I threw out expired pain relievers in the first aid kit, old sunscreen, and miscellaneous junk. It’s a good idea to keep lotion, toothpaste and toothbrushes in this bathroom though for the kid who “forgot” to use these items and needs to hurry up and get out the door. 

I almost threw out some used jar candles, but instead they became my re-used items.

Burned down jar candles?  Fill with warm water to loosen the wax.

I filled them with hot tap water and let them sit a few minutes to soften the wax.  I spooned the wax out and washed out the jars.  Ta-da - sparkly new little jars!  I can use them as little flower vases for a few blooms or to hold little knick-knacks – make-up brushes, pens, crochet hooks.  I found that the rounded jar is perfect to hold a ball of yarn and keep it from rolling away while I’m working with it. 

Jars from candles after being cleaned out - perfect for re-use around the house.

I think my desk drawer is next.  And I’m sticking with 15 minutes.

I’m not an organization expert so I don’t promise any earth-shattering tips on how to get your space in order.  But if you, too, need to get some orderly space, I invite you to join me through the month.  I'll post here and/or on FaceBook any interesting re-uses or tips.  Feel free to share!