Organization 101 Lesson 4
Keeping in Touch and Organized
This day and age it's hard to keep up with your own life let alone the lives of your friends and relatives. The first thing I will suggest to you is to get a good calendar and address program for your computer (I have a Mac and I think it has the best Calendar ever!). Take all of the various calendars and slips of paper that you have to remind you when everyones birthday, anniversary and other special event is and spend the afternoon putting them all into you computers calendar, as well as adding their addresses to your address book (you will thank me later). If you don't have some information about someone write down on individual post-its for each person what you need. Then when you get it you can toss that post-it and move on to the next.
Also using your computer for this makes an easy to print Christmas card writing list, you will never forget anyone again.
Once you have all of that done it's a matter of keeping up with all of these events. I set my iCal to remind me 2 weeks in advance for birthdays and gift giving holidays so that I have time to purchase a gift and a card. It gives me time to be lazy about it for a couple of days and then I still have time to get out and get something in time. Then I have a second reminder for the day of so that I remember to call and say "Happy Birthday" to those whom I love.
Another great thing that I started doing at the beginning of this year was to create a card box. I just bought one of those photo boxes that you can find at Target for about 5 bucks and in it I put regular envelopes for sending letters, a few different kinds of stamps (I like to buy the stamps that support child abuse awareness, special x-mas or valentine's day stamps and other things like that) and then I buy cards when I see them for particular people. Their birthday might be 2 months off but I found the perfect card, now I won't have to run out and find it later.
This little box has been wonderful, no more looking for stamps or losing them, trying to figure out which box I put the envelopes in the last time I got one out. I just keep it on the shelf next to my desk and anytime the mood hits me I can write a letter and mail it out without any hassle. I have everything I need now with my computer and my card box I am ready for every holiday.
With this idea you can also buy an assortment of blank card and get well cards to have on hand at all times. I also keep a stack of Thank you cards in the box so that I don't have to run to the store for those.
All of it fits into one small box that doesn't take up too much room and it is decorative so I don't mind having it sit out on the shelf with a label that says "CARDS" on it. I will never lose the things I need and I don't have to call my in-laws any more to ask them the addresses of every one of my husband relatives.
Once you do that you can use photo boxes to store several smaller things on the same shelf with labels so that you can get to them easily. Small office supplies and extra wires to your digital gear, the possibilities are endless. When it's all in boxes with the same style it looks organized and neat, it doesn't matter what is in the box.
Hope that has given you some ideas for what you can do to organize your card and letter writing as well as other things, it's just the tips from a crazy and unorganized person trying to get organized myself.