Wanted: An Organized Mind (To Create An Organized Wish List)
Inspired, as always, by the topic of paper organizing but unable to determine the focus of this week’s post, Paper Doll took a break to work out. I’ve been cross-training in preparation for this Sunday’s Chattanooga Komen Race for the Cure, and among my Netflix arrivals was Tamilee Webb’s I Want That Body, with segments like I Want Those Abs, I Want Those Arms, etc. Paper Doll isn’t the most coordinated or focused workout gal, and eventually got distracted.
A loose thread of thought reminded me of “I want…I want…I want!”, a phrase repeated by Eugene Henderson, the protagonist of Saul Bellow’s novel Henderson, The Rain King. I’ll admit I never cared for the book, which seems like Fitzgerald crossed with indigestion. I mostly found it memorable because Ally McBeal once quoted the “I want…I want…I want!” with ferocity.
Ally reminded me of a handful of DVDs I want…and I think you’re getting the picture. A long way to go to get to the topic of keeping track of what we want.
I’ve worked with clients whose paper clutter included large piles of clippings and marked pages, representing what they wanted:
- Layers of thick home dcor magazines illustrating remodeling options…representing anything from a desire for an updated home to a deep-seated annoyance with a spouse, job or life which only a whole new home could deliver
- Printouts from Jeri Dansky’s great blog, Organizing & Decluttering News depicting aesthetically-pleasing and yet entirely practical organizing tools…which, to someone suffering from disorganization, can mean faith, hope and the possibility of being both clutter-free and FABulous!
- Hand-scribbled notes regarding movie recommendations…to view if time and space weren’t so generally out of control
- Catalogs and catalog page clippings with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one saying which was a prospective holiday gift for whom
Pages and piles representing what people need/want, and in some cases, taking up space that could otherwise be given over to the very thing that’s desired…this is the clutter of want.
Don’t worry–this isn’t a diatribe on consumerism in dire economic times. This is just a way to deal with all the little reminders of goodies you might, someday, if you remember to know that such things exists, kinda, sorta, want to acquire:
1) Don’t keep whole magazines when one or a few items appeal to you.
We’ve talked before about what happens when we become clutter-rich but information poor. When you read a magazine, the point is to learn, absorb, and become entertained; keeping all of your magazines “just in case” you want to find something you saw in an ad or article clutters your life without delivering the goods.
A magazine’s web site will almost assuredly have a searchable database of articles and editorial content, but nowhere on the web or in any magazine will you be able to search and find in which year, issue, and page you saw a golf gadget, wrinkle-reducer or baby outfit.
At the very least (i.e., if the tech-savvy advice down below doesn’t resonate with you), follow my prior advice and/or carefully tear or cut out the few pages reflecting the items you might like to purchase, file the items in a project notebook or interest file, and once you’ve read the rest of the magazine, recycle.
2) Don’t keep whole catalogs.
For those to whom catalogs provide a chance to dream, the suggestion of unsubscribing will seem impossible. Fair enough. So, flip through the pages. Note that the toll-free number and the URL of the company is on at least every other page. Catalogs are designed this way to ensure that if the page depicting the desired item is separated from the catalog as a whole, the consumer can still easily and quickly make a purchase, either by phone or web.
So, instead of holding on to whole catalogs (especially catalogs that are more than one season or year old, depending on frequency of distribution), just keep the page of the nifty item you might like to buy.
3) Don’t save snippets of pages.
Let’s say you’re an Oprah devote and love The O List in the monthly magazine. Each such page has a vast array of nifty products that will transform your life.
If you clip out just the corner of the page depicting the photo, description and ordering info, you’ve got an oddly-angled, 1/5th of a piece of paper…if you’re a regular Paper Doll reader, you know that’s a floozy! Saving a partial piece of paper makes it more likely it will get lost, tossed or otherwise forgotten. So if you see something you must have, clip the whole page and circle the object if there’s any chance that three months later, you won’t recall whether you wanted the ultra-modern steak knives or the solar-powered hair dryer.
4) Don’t print web pages depicting items you want to purchase.
Aside from the tree-killing aspect, it’s silly to print out a page when you’ve got the ability to let the digital representation live right on your computer, either via a bookmark (see #5, below) or screen capture. A web page has clickable, interactive links and the URL you can forward to say “Hey, see the earrings on this page? Hint, hint.” You can’t click on an embedded link on a piece of paper, and a print-out can’t reflect updates in price, inventory status, or other variables.
5) Don’t save ANY pages when you can go digital instead.
Sift through newspapers or magazines as usual Clip all the pictures, ads and other fabulous prospective purchases Collect all the loose pieces of paper in a manila folder to keep with your action papers or a tickler file. Determine how often you want (and can afford) to shop and schedule a shopping block on your calendar or in your PDA. At the appointed day/time, sit down at your computer with the “Stuff To Buy” folder.
No matter what web browser you’re using, you have the ability to bookmark the product description of the item. This is the simplest way to capture the ordering page for whatever you want so that you can access it whenever, wherever you feel the need to make an acquisition. You always know where your computer is; if you have sixteen piles of papers meandering from the microwave to the kitchen counter to the coffee table to the top of your dresser, what’s the chance that you’ll find exactly the clipped page you want when you want it? (Social bookmarking through sites like Digg and StumbleUpon can also help you keep track of prospective purchases.)
A long tower of unsorted digital bookmarks is only marginally less of an annoyance than a tall tower of paper clutter in your home or office. It has the advantage of taking up a small spatial footprint, but it still requires you to carefully search, especially if your bookmarks aren’t organized or even alphabetized.
Instead, create a bookmark folder for “Pending Purchases”, then create sub-folders (and even sub-sub folders if you need more categories) just as you would subdivide a filing cabinet into hanging folders and manila folders. Sub-folders could be labeled as “Holiday Presents”, “Office Tools”, “Clothing”. The key is to divide and label the categories in such a way that you can easily find whatever you’re seeking when a need arises. For example, Paper Doll has a bookmark folder labeled “Fun For Me”, including bunny slippers, a Jane Austen action figure, and this…and I have to admit none of it is for blog research.
Bookmarks are great if you merely want to replace the clutter of clipped pages with a streamlined way to shop. But outside of emailing a link to someone who asks “What would you like for [insert occasion here]
In the past, creating a wish list was like registering for a wedding or baby shower. You went to a store site and marked what you wanted that was carried by that specific store. Like a registry, that still meant you had to tell people where you were registered, and listing too many places seemed greedy. Enter: Universal Wish Lists!
Amazon.com, now lets you register for anything you see at ANY store, anywhere online, on your Amazon wish list. Start a list and add the widget to your browser’s bookmark toolbar to add items to the wish list. Whether you’ve just found something while surfing or are perusing clipped items on your scheduled shopping day, one click saves anything on the web to your wish list.
Froogle’s Shopping List has a universal wish list, too. Just sign into your Google account, and start adding items from all over the web. You can share with others to use it as a wish list, or keep it private so it provides web-accessible bookmarks from any computer. Froogle’s Shopping List lets you annotate product pages with your own comments and sort by price, item or date.
I would be remiss if I didn’t note that there are charity wish lists, too, so instead of being surrounded by piles all the direct mail and clipped print ads for non-profits to whom you’d like to give (or would like donations made on your behalf), you can select the causes closest to your heart.
Until then, when something shiny makes you think, like Henderson, the Rain King, “I want…I want…I want!”, cut the clutter of excess magazines, catalogs and paper, streamline your desires digitally, and you’ll not only be more likely to get what you want, but to find it once it’s yours!
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