Best Results Organizing

So far, we’ve talked about the NAPO 2012 Conference, itself, and have explored some dreamy paper products, as well as meat-and-potato organizing essentials. Today, we’ll be looking at more NAPO 2012 Expo innovations — so get ready to pocket some organizing solutions.

CAPTURE THE WRITING ON THE WALL

The prettiest paper-related booth at this year’s Expo had to be 3M’s Post-It extravaganza. Post-It has come a long way from basic blocks of yellow, as we discussed in the Paper Doll Winter 2012 Carnival. Indeed, there was so much to discover, we’ll have to have a “stick ’em up” day to cover all of 3M’s sticky innovations. But today, the topic is pockets. (Trying saying THAT aloud three times, quickly.)

The first time I heard about Post-it Wall Pockets, I was jealous, and not just because a colleague had received a sample and I hadn’t. It was such a simple but brilliant idea, I kicked myself for not having come up with it!

Now that I’ve finally seen the product up close, I have not been disappointed. All varieties come with 3M’s durable adhesive-backed strips, which hold securely but remove cleanly. My curiosity as to whether the Post-it pockets would have the stamina to support multiple pieces of paper has been satisfied, and I can envision the wide variety of applications, including:

• Inside kitchen cabinets for keeping emergency numbers, cooking/measurement equivalencies, important dates, etc.
• On the interior of school locker doors for holding permission slips, ID cards, notes, photos, etc.
• Behind the garage door for keeping recycling and trash pick-up schedules handy

The pockets are designed to stick anywhere other than on wallpaper or delicate surfaces, though I can’t imagine you’d want to apply adhesive pockets on Great-Grandma’s antiques in the first place.

Post-it Translucent Greek Key Pockets — Don’t know what a Greek Key is? Neither did Paper Doll, but Google made clear that the 3M folks were talking about the decorative pattern on the colorful pocket fronts.

Longtime readers know what a fan I am of pink, but I have to say that the mossy green isn’t to my tastes. Paper Doll is hopeful that 3M will expand the line, as they’ve done with so many of their compellingly sticky products, to include blues, reds and other “serious” colors that might make these incredibly useful pockets more appealing to tough guys and bank-serious office-supply shoppers.

These designer pockets come in three distinct layouts:

Vertically arrayed for bills (5 3/8″ wide x 7 7/8″ high) so you can keep pending invoices and bills to be paid in one tidy spot, perhaps on the side of your filing cabinet next to your home office bill-paying center or in the information hub of your kitchen.

Horizontally arrayed for letters (9″ high x 12″ wide) to handle all letter-size invoices, handouts, flyers, etc.

Horizontally arrayed for organizing receipts and coupons (4″ high by 9″ wide) with a shorter vertical profile to prevent items falling out of reach.

The Greek Key pockets come two-to-a-pack (of the same dimensions) or in multi-packs (with three different shapes/sizes).

Post-it also has clear pockets in the same dimensions, in single packages or multi-packs, in case you’d rather have your pockets blend in to your home or office surroundings. These clear pockets have a delicate (but translucent) dotted pattern, allowing you to still see which documents are contained.

HOLD ON TO YOUR DIGITAL DEVICES

As we saw last week, folders are great for corralling presentation papers as well as academic materials. When all of your information is paper-bound, you’re set. But what happens when you need someplace to put your flash drives? Sure, most have a little plastic hole in the casing to let you attach a cord, but flash drives as jewelry aren’t always optimal.

Carrying them around in backpacks, purses and attach cases keep them relatively safe, but flash drives are tiny, and if you’re carrying multiples, it’s easy for the cords to get tangled or the drives to get lost in the bottom of your pack. Of course, keeping your digital files in the cloud (via Dropbox or a similar service) can make it easy to access your files, but as many of us at the NAPO 2012 conference learned, free (and even paid) internet access is not always dependable. It’s best to have your digital files close at hand.

Smead’s Self-Adhesive Poly USB Flash Drive Pocket solves that problem.

At a slim 2″ wide by 3 9/16″ high, this clear, acid-free, PVC-free, polypropylene pocket has a white peel-away liner which reveals a permanent adhesive backing.

Having pockets for your USB flash drives offers an efficient way to safely store your digital files with the corresponding hard copies. The pockets are sized to fit most common USB sizes, and feature a reclosable flap for added security. The Self-Adhesive Poly USB Flash Drive Pockets come in packages of 6.

POCKET YOUR PAPERS ON THE GO

There are lots of other times you might want to have a pocket handy. For example, the Smead Self-Adhesive Poly Corner Pockets may look like the beginning of an origami lesson, but they pack a powerful organizational punch.

Arranged with two clear, PVC- and acid-free polypropylene right triangles to a white liner sheet, the adhesive-backed pockets fit practically anywhere you might need to store full-sized pages, index cards, spare note cards, cheat sheets, etc. If you’ve got a flat surface, whether vertical or horizontal, you’ve got a way to keep things copacetic.

The great thing about the poly pockets (not to be confused with Polly Pocket) is that they can be quickly and easily added anywhere — inside a daily planner, file folder, three-ring binder, or wherever — to provide a safe place to tuck items away.

Just peel, stick the (permanent, water-based acrylic adhesive) pocket, and tuck your items in. The Self-Adhesive Poly Corner Pockets come in two sizes, small (4″ x 4″) and large (6″ x 6″), but only in 100-to-a-box cartons.

Smead also manufacturers similar poly pockets for business cards (3″ wide x 4″ high), CDs/DVDs (5″ x 5″) and documents (9″ wide x 6″ high) such as for packing slips attached to the outside of containers, all in packages of 10.

For something with a larger pocket profile, 3M’s Post-It line has created some nifty Notebook Pockets, available in two sizes: Small (5.5″ x 5.3/4″) and Large (5″ x 8″), sold three pockets to a package.

These are ideal for students, busy volunteers or professionals, for holding note cards, coins and cash for the vending machine, receipts, coupons, or schedules. The durable, clean-removing adhesive strips allow you put them in daily planners, notebooks or binders quickly and easily.

A dotted pattern on the front of the pocket affords attractive light security, and there’s a re-writeable stripe for labeling the pocket. 3M’s Dual Lock flap closure protects papers from sliding out — and it’s surely a nicer solution than taping a zip-lock bag to the inside of a notebook.

FINDING THE (K)NACK(it)!

No recap of the NAPO Expo’s pocket organizing solutions would be complete without mentioning our friends from NACKit, whose products Paper Doll reviewed at length a few years ago.

As you organize — as you purge non-essentials, group similar items together and tidily contain them —  the final key is knowing what’s living where. Labeling boxes is essential if you don’t want to lift, move and look through stacks of boxes to find what you want. But labels can be problematic — adhesive can dry up, ink exposed to the elements can fade, and people tend to just scribble new, sometimes indecipherable, labels on top of old ones.

NACKit! developed a refillable, re-usable labeling system based on a simple premise. Apply durable adhesive-backed pockets to any container and merely change out the NACKit! label card, as appropriate.

Each original NACKit! kit contains two dozen 4 3/4″ x 6″ self-adhesive vinyl pockets and 28 blank NACKit! cards with lined backs for listing contents. Mini kits contain three dozen 2 3/8″ x 3 3/4″ pockets and 40 blank cards. Original NACKit! kits are most suitable for packing boxes and storage tubs, while the Minis work best with smaller boxes, bins and totes.

Every Original kit includes 24 pre-printed label cards and four blank cards for customizing. Label any blank card by hand or use the NACKit! card template and Card Designer to create labels that fit your preferences and inimitable style.

Get the basic NACKit! for Everything (with all cards blank) or select a kit with pre-printed cards for popular categories.

• NACKit! for Home — with cards for Arts and Crafts Supplies, Baby Clothes, Books, Camping Supplies, Financial Papers, Holiday Decorations, Photographs, Shoes, Sports Stuff, Summer Clothes, Winter Clothes and Toys.
• NACKit! for Moving — with cards for Attic, Basement, Bathroom, Bedroom, Dining Room, Family Room, Garage, Kitchen, Laundry, Linens, Living Room and Master Bedroom.
• NACKit! for Office — with cards for Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Banking Documents, Clients/Patients, Contacts, Office Supplies and Tax Documents.

The NACKit! for Christmas includes 16 self-adhesive pockets as well as 16 red and green cards for Indoor Lights, Outdoor Lights, Tree Ornaments, Wrapping Supplies, Greeting Cards, Wreaths/Garland, Decorations and Holiday Dishes, and four blank cards.

You can also buy the NACKit! Origimini, which includes a combination package of one dozen original-size self-adhesive pockets and 16 original cards, as well as one dozen mini pockets and 20 mini cards. And if you’re setting up a new home, NACKit even sells a huge combination Toolkit, which includes two Everything kits, two Mini kits, two Origimini kits and one pre-printed kit of your choice.

Happily, you don’t need deep pockets to make use of any of today’s pocket-based organizing solutions. But if you’ve got money burning a hole in your pocket, be assured there are more nifty NAPO 2012 Expo product recaps to come.

An organized army travels on its stomach, and here at Paper Doll HQ, we like to set out a smrgasbord of organizing options to help readers do battle with paper clutter. Longtime readers know that the bread and butter of paper organizing tends to come from the two bigwigs of the industry, the butcher and baker, so to speak: 

&
 

Today, we’ll start with some innovations that each brought to the dining table at NAPO Expo 2012, and then follow up with some candy for dessert.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

Typically, file containment falls into two categories — solo or bulky. Folders, whether 1/3- or 1/5-cut file are designed to work on their own. Sure, you can group a series of file folders in a hanging folder, or plop them in your briefcase, but they’re still distinct entities that can get separated from the group.

Conversely, accordion files tend to be bulky, and they’re designed to gather individual sheets together, even if sorted by category. They work best for specific types of projects, like collecting tax documents, but they’re not particularly attractive or efficient for presentations.

Also, most paper solutions are arrayed horizontally. Sure, the minute you pluck a file from a cabinet or a paper from the accordion file, you’re likely to turn it to display vertically…but what if you didn’t have to?

Smead’s Stackit™ Organizers offer an intriguing approach for projects and presentations. This letter size (9 3/4″ x 11 1/2″) vertically-arrayed organizer has three 5″ pockets (each of which are able to hold up to 50 sheets). The top-tabbed back panels of the first two pockets serve as dividers and are suitable for labeling. Because of the pocket styling, papers are protected from shifting, wrinkling or other damage during transport.

As with accordion files, the Stackit™ Organizer has a flap to secure documents and protect them from the elements (like a rain of coffee), and it’s even lightly scored (like the bottom of a file folder) to allow expansion. However, instead of requiring an elastic band to hold the flap in place, the cover flap neatly tucks in to the front pocket, creating a streamlined little package.

The Stackit™ is made of durable linen stock (available in black, dark blue and grey), from 40% recycled content/10% post-consumer material, with a reinforced bottom. It’s so new that it’s not yet listed at most of the major office supply stores, so keep your eyes open.

A sister product is the Stackit™ Folder in linen and textured stocks. These folders, which hold up to 100 pages, are also arrayed vertically, making them backpack-friendly. As with the Stackit™ Organizer, the pockets are 5″, safely securing the papers on three sides, preventing “floppiness” — and the folders bear the same fold-over, tuck-in flap. The front of the pocket is die-cut to hold a business card.

The linen Stackit™ Folders come in packages of five, in the same black, dark blue and grey as the Stackit™ Organizer; the textured versions come in black, red, green and light blue. Paper Doll envisions using a rainbow of Stackit™ Folders for separate elements of a larger project or for providing personalized presentation folders to each member of a board or committee.

Another divide-and-conquer advancement comes from Pendaflex. Readers may recall that Paper Doll reviewed an innovation in the NAPO Expo 2011 recap, the Pendaflex Divide-It-Up Multi-Section File Folder.

As that review indicated, the Divide-It-Up did as described, using an origami-ed folder to create sub-sections, making it ideal for travel documents and other itinerary-based papers. At the time of my Expo recap, I was pleased with the general concept, but not entirely thrilled with the execution.

The prototype felt flimsy and was available only in a drab manila, which, while suitable for general office filing, lacked pizzazz. Happily (though Paper Doll takes no credit for it), Pendaflex has radically improved the Divide-It-Up, creating a sturdier product. Plus, making it available in bright blue, yellow and red means it’s easier to locate and quickly retrieve from a check-in counter.

Better yet, by using the brighter material, the pockets alternate light and dark coloring, making it easier to differentiate the individual sections. The other features remain the same — four divided sections, or pockets, of elevating height, with 2 1/2″ tabs for the first three folders. One 5 1/2″ tab covers half the folder’s height (or width, depending on your vertical or horizontal layout) at the back.

LOCK AND LOAD

Remember the PeeChee folder from last week? When I shared it with colleagues, it started a vibrant conversation about pocket folders. (Yes, we professional organizers really do get excited about such things!)

In office settings, the standard is generally horizontally-arrayed top-tab manila folders. But a pocket folder definitely has its place — in board rooms for presentations, and in school rooms, lockers and backpacks, for academic papers. This year, Smead introduced multiple new lines of pocket folders, with the lion’s share of the attention focused on the Lockit line of two-pocket folders.

A basic two-pocket folder is just that: basic. One large piece of heavy-duty paper with the bottom edge folded up and a crease down the middle creates two pockets. Every other embellishment is gravy. (See, we’re still sticking with that meal metaphor!)

The biggest problem with two-pocket folders has always been the inability of the rough-and-tumble user to keep contents tidy. Mead’s middle-school standard-bearer, the Trapper Keeper, organizes folders by keeping the two-pockets corralled in a three-ring binder, and the pressure of the binder and other folders is usually (but not always) enough to keep errant papers from wiggling loose.

Smead’s Lockit Two-Pocket Folder works on the same basic principles, but brings something new to the table — a little loop. When raised, it makes the folder look like a prop briefcase for a third-grade production of Death of a Salesman.

When lowered, it locks the papers down! Tight!

The Lockit comes in boxes of 25 letter-size, textured (pebbled) black, blue, red and assorted color folders, as well as black, dark blue and maroon linen. Each 4 1/2″ pocket holds up to 100 sheets of paper. The pockets are die-cut; a business card fits on the left pocket, a CD or DVD on the right.

An even niftier advance is the Lockit SuperTab Two-Pocket Folder. It combines all the features of the standard Lockit with Smead’s patented SuperTab, so that when you’re done with your folder (at the end of the semester or after a project has been completed) you can label the tab and file it with traditional file folders.

As with all SuperTab products, the tabbing space is 90% larger than on standard folders, offering abundant room to label your contents. The extra-wide 1/3-cut tab is also advantageous; however, the tab is only available in the first (i.e., left) tab position, and I’d like to see Smead revisit this with tabbing at the center position, as well. The Lockit SuperTab Two-Pocket Folder is made of 11-point laminated stock, and comes in 5-packs of shiny black, blue, green and red. The pockets can accommodate 50 sheets, each.

STAND AT ATTENTION

It’s hard to be too innovative with hanging folders. Sure, we’ve looked at strengthening the hooks and firming up the rods, but there’s rarely BREAKING NEWS about hanging folders. Pendaflex has been trying to rectify that.

First, Pendaflex came out with the Ready-Tab Reinforced Hanging Folders. With these, instead of plastic inserts, the folders came with little tabs, in five positions, awaiting being folded up into place.

Should you choose to change placement, just fold the tab down and lift another tab upward. The durable polylaminate strips reinforce the top edges and the bottom fold, making it extra-sturdy for repeated use, and the boxes of 20 or 25 (depending on color selection — available in standard green, assorted, blue, red, yellow, violet, bright green or pink), all include a printer-ready insert sheet for labeling.

This year, Pendaflex added a new variation: the breathlessly-titled Ready-Tab Extra-Capacity Hanging Folders with Lift Tab™ Technology! The 2″ capacity letter-sized folders, available in standard green and a narrow assortment of colors, makes use of the stuffed-crust pizza metaphor for positioning tabs. Sturdy plastic-coated write-on/erase-off tabs (yes, you can erase pen marks) are tucked away inside the wrapping of the hanging rods. Just select one of five positions and pull upward on the tab. Change your mind, press it back into the pizza crust (I mean, hanging folder) and select a new tab.

AT EASE — WITH DESSERT

Man cannot live by bread (or meat and potatoes) alone. Paper supplies, particularly for filing, are the functional main course of organizing products, but just because something is useful doesn’t mean it can’t be yummy. That’s the belief, at least, of the enterprising women who shared some gorgeous wares at this year’s NAPO Expo.

Office Candy, a distribution company started by professional organizers Laurie Noelle Meek and Beth Schlatter,

 

asks, Why not have a little fun in your home office? Why not, indeed?

Office Candy has gathered a delightful collection of colorful, appealing organizing tools, from file folders and notebooks to clipboards and gadget holders. It’s a one-stop shop for pretty. The theory is simple — if you’re working with attractive tools, you’ll be more inclined to use them to their greatest benefit.

Office Candy carries some favorite brands, including Knock, Knock and Gallison, and has introduced Paper Doll to some new charms, including folders from Lady Jayne (seen below) and Cavallini.

 

The gals at Office Candy stock the classy Jamie Raquel mobile file totes I reviewed last year, as well as a variety of other fun, new products, like these Lilly Pulitzer notebooks.

 

Win the paper clutter war. Taste the rainbow.

Readers, I ask you to imagine the coolest shopping mall or bazaar you’ve ever encountered, but every product or service sold focuses on the wonders of organizing, and shopping hours are severely limited. Now imagine throngs of friends you haven’t seen in at least a year, circling around you, mingling and hugging and talking at an ever-elevating pitch. Throw in some delicious (looking) appetizers, and you have Paper Doll‘s experience at the Expo portion of the NAPO 2012 Conference and Expo.

Torn between researching the magnificent products, visiting with friends and delighting in the delicacies, I feel I gave everything short shrift, but over the next couple of posts, I hope to share with you some of my favorites of this year’s Expo — the innovations, the updates and even a few novelties.

At a point in time when technology seems to be the Belle of the Ball, Paper Doll is pleased to note that a variety of paper organizing products shone as stars at NAPO 2012. Indeed, today, we can start with the Arc of the Expo!

ORGANIZERS OF THE FLEXIBLE ARC

In every NAPO 2012 attendee’s conference bag this year, in addition to the itineraries and documents, was a lovely surprise — a leather notebook with five sturdy, colorful, re-positionable poly tab dividers and a three-pad stack of 50 task pads.

M by Staples’ Arc customizable notebook system is visually appealing. To be honest, having merely looked at the packaged product, Paper Doll didn’t quite understand the hubbub at first. Apparently, Arc is designed as a more affordable version of Levenger’s Circa, a high-end customizable notebook system. But I must say, Arc is plenty luxurious, without need for comparison, at affordable prices.

The intriguing aspect is how it’s put together. At first, before the unwrapping, it seemed to be another take on a daily planner, like my Franklin Covey Classic — a leather cover for a ringed notebook that holds a variety of pre-punched paper elements. Ah, how naive I was. Arc is actually much more like a Chinese menu, columns A, B and C from which you can pick a dizzying array of tasty options. To get an overview, check out the different demo videos of Arc personalities (Arlo, Alex, Reyna, Katie, Izzie and Emily).

The “spine” of the system is not, as it first appeared, the traditional metal ring. Rather, Arc employs solid plastic discs (though they’re called rings) which fit into the grooves in the front and rear panels to form the exterior of the notebooks.

The paper pages and other inserts fit snugly around the unusually-shaped ring edges. The M by Staples Arc system rings come in two sizes, 1″ and 1 1/2″, both in a sturdy, shiny black, priced about $2 for a package of twelve, so you can expand the girth of your system like a tailor might let out a pair of trousers.

The Arc System covers come in two styles, leather (from $14.99) and poly (from $7.99). The leather versions come in velvety, traditional blacks and browns, as well as modern brights, like red, pink, blue and a chartreuse-ish green. Although the official web site lists the leather notebooks available in two sizes, 6 3/4″ x 8 3/4″ and 9 1/2″ x 11 1/2″, my own red notebook measures 8.5″ x 5.5″, so it seems the marketing is just slightly lagging the innovation.

The durable poly versions come in solids (black, blue and green) and black-and-white patterns (flower, hibiscus and a mysteriously unnamed pattern), in two sizes, 6 3/4″ x 8 3/4″ and 9 3/4″ x 11 31/4″.

The Arc system is not just affordable and highly functional. It’s also customizable, making it highly flexible for multiple professional, academic and personal uses. The system offers a wide array of options for re-positionable pop-in insert accessories for the letter and junior-sized platforms:

—Stacks of 50 premium heavyweight pages, including narrow ruled paper, graph-ruled paper, project planners (with space for titles and dates, project elements and summary comments) and To Do pages ($3), as well as an assortment of weekly/monthly page options

–Sturdy poly pocket dividers with pockets cut on the diagonal for easy access ($3)

—Poly tab dividers, in packs of five, in black or assorted colors (with labels) ($3)

–Sturdy sheets bearing 200 adhesive page flags in assorted colors ($3)

—Task pads ($4), similar to the sturdy Franklin Covey “Weekly Compass” pages.

Other accessories include rulers ($1), and business card holder pages ($9 for a package of five). Arc also manufactures special hole-punches ($40) for achieving that Arc-style punch, which looks to Paper Doll to be best described as a sideways umbrella or mushroom.

I would recommend checking out the Arc system (either online or at your local Staples) for anyone who prefers upscale appearances and flexibility without an upscale price.

EVERYTHING IS JUST PEE-CHEE!

Longtime readers of Paper Doll will recall that about a year and a half ago, we talked about mysteries in the office supply aisle and discussed some back-to-school items of note. At the time, I recalled the warring popularity of Trapper Keeper folders vs. the individual two-pocket types of my youth, and mentioned my fascination when colleagues Brandie Kajino and Krista Colvin informed me that folks in the Pacific Northwest (and elsewhere to my far left, geography-wise), referred to folders by a particular nickname: PeeChee.

Imagine my surprise when Krista Colvin greeted me at the NAPO Expo with the declaration that she had something for me, and she produced my very own, 100% official, PeeChee All Season Portfolio, manufactured by Mead…the very same people who created the Trapper Keeper!

My new PeeChee, seen here, for scale, with my Arc notebook.

Mead was in the NAPO Expo hall this year, showing off their newest wares, including the At-A-Glance WallMates flexible, re-positionable dry-erase boards that I reviewed back in February.

PeeChees weren’t on display at the NAPO Expo, but I’m delighted to learn that PeeChees are still going strong. In fact, a quick perusal of Mead’s web site finds that the Wild West (well, Wild West to this native Buffalonian) back-to-school staple isn’t just peach-y, but is also blue-y, rose-y and green-y, now that Mead makes a Color-Talk line of PeeChee folders.

ALL YOU NEED IS (A FEW) DOLLARS AND AN ORGANIZING DREAM

Speaking of folders, I had to mention (even though we’re not nearly ready to talk about the big guns of the paper world) something nifty I saw at the Pendaflex booth. Below, Paper Doll‘s BFF — financial organizing maven and Professional Daily Money Manager Nanette Duffey — with Esselte/Pendaflex’s Rick Drish, are showing off a new kind of folder.

“New, Paper Doll? What’s new about it?” you might wonder.

“Oh, the color scheme?” you posit? Well, yes, I did think the idea of 1/3 cut file folders with a black exterior and white interior was nifty. Black and white is quite elegant, and for the fashionable set, turning the folder inside out provides double the artistry. Black with white interiors, or white with black interiors — you pick!

But no, that’s not what really got me going. You may (just barely) be able to see that the folder has a slight graininess, befitting recycled paper. And if you guessed that, you’d be getting warmer — it is a variation on Pendaflex’s multi-color 100% recycled file folders.

But what really gave me the giggles was the fact that these Black and White Recycled Folders aren’t just recycled — they’re recycled from used lottery ticket paper! This earth-friendly, snazzy-looking folder is made from 100% recycled fiber and 40% post-consumer fiber, and is acid-free. It can be purchased in boxes of 50 from office supply retailers, and is part of Esselte’s Pendaflex-Oxford-Ampad line of Earthwise products, of which we’ll be discussing more, closer to Earth Day.

Readers, that’s just a taste of what’s to come as we continue to recap the delicious fascinations of the NAPO 2012 Expo! (Which gives you more than I got in the Expo hall, as I never did get to taste any of the supposedly delicious hors d’oeuvres, busy as I was, playing intrepid reporter. Appreciative comments left below, and crab cakes packed in dry ice and sent to Paper Doll headquarters, will be acceptable recompense.) See you next time!