Office Supplies | Best Results Organizing

Paper Doll Explores the Best of Desktop File Boxes

Posted on: September 23rd, 2024 by Julie Bestry | 8 Comments

September always gets me thinking about school supplies, and office supplies are really just school supplies for grownups (and for all of us pretending to be grownups).

So, when an editor friend (now at Yahoo! Life), contacted me for a few organizing-related pieces, and asked me what my favorite under-$20 organizing item was, I immediately knew that I was going to pick something related to paper. (I mean, come on, I’m Paper Doll!)

Of course, longtime readers know my absolute favorite tool for organizing action-oriented paper is a tickler file (like the Smead Desk Filer/Sorter, above) but if you’re going to buy one (instead of making one on your own with 31 folders for the days of the month and 12 more for each day of the year), that’s going to be just a bit outside of the $20 range.

Thus, the answer I gave my editor pal for her piece, which came out last week as The Under-$20 Products Professional Organizers Tell Every Client to Buy, was a desktop file box. In turn, this got me thinking about whether I’d ever really talked about this tool in depth.

I went back to my series from early this year on the basics of paper organizing:

Part 1 of the Reference Files Master Class really dug into the mechanics of filing — cabinets, bins, Bankers Boxes, hanging files, interior files, and yes, tickler files. But because I primarily recommend desktop file boxes for action files rather than reference files (with a few notable exceptions, discussed below), I realized hadn’t mentioned desktop file boxes in years!

So, today’s post explores the benefits and use cases of desktop file boxes and looks at the different types you might consider, depending on your aesthetic tastes.

THE BENEFITS OF DESKTOP FILE BOXES

Most of the file solutions we look at are vertical.

Whether you’re using a filing cabinet or file drawer, tub or milk crate, you get to corral a lot of paper, categorize it, and store it vertically. Those solutions are fine for most of your reference material, but action paperwork requires a format from which you can deftly pluck what you need, quickly and, if necessary, often.

Desktop file boxes are a versatile paper organizing tool with a wide variety of benefits.

Small Footprint for Maximized Space Efficiency

A desktop file box is letter-sized and has rails for hanging folders (into which you can placed tabbed interior folders) but isn’t as deep (front to back) as a file crate. The typical letter-sized file box or crate is about 14″ or greater deep (from front-to-back). This allows you to keep a hefty number of papers and categories on your desk, but uses far too much desktop real estate for action items or quick reference.

Conversely, a desktop file box works as a miniaturized version of your typical file drawer or crate and rarely measures more than six inches deep (front-to-back).

Ease of Accessibility

A desktop file box ensures that you can keep a small, curated number of important documents and information within arm’s reach, eliminating the need to search through drawers or filing cabinets for frequently used items.

Improved Organization

Unlike with a full-sized file crate, a smaller footprint means you’ll be less inclined to pile papers on top of a desktop file box. (They’d fall off.)

And again, this solution allows you to provide a dedicated space for everything you need close at hand — though you must employ a reality check to ensure you continually edit and keep from overstuffing the box. Because there’s limited space, it encourages you to sort items in an orderly fashion, whether by date, category, project, or whatever other system makes sense to you.

Customizable

You can still use the same standard hanging files, tabbed interior folders, and labels you use for your regular reference filing system, making it easy to add or switch contents.

However, because this is a smaller profile tool, you can choose a completely different set of folder colors and styles (like these Japanese watercolor themed folders) making it easy to tailor your desktop resources to your personal organization style.

So, your general reference system may make use of traditional Army-green hanging folders and manilla tabbed folders, but your desktop file box could use purple hanging folders with matching interior folders, or any other combinations to express your style.

Portability

Related to the whole point of a smaller footprint is that a desktop file box can be portable. You can easily carry it to the conference room at the office, the dining room, or your back deck if you want to work on tasks or categories somewhere other than where the desktop box lives. Stay organized while going (somewhat) mobile.

Visual Clarity

A small container means that you can quickly see whatever files are stored. In a full filing cabinet drawer, you’ll need to let your fingers do the walking and hope that you haven’t accidentally misfiled a folder. The smaller profile means you’ll see what you need immediately, saving time and effort.

Versatility

As I’ll illustrate further on in this post, desktop file boxes come in a variety of styles to adapt to your decor.

USE CASES FOR DESKTOP FILE BOXES

Any kind of file box or plastic crate with rails can hold hanging folders and organize your papers in lieu of investing in a filing cabinet or a desk with file drawers. But a desktop file box helps you organize a smaller sub-set of papers and takes up less real estate.

Thus, a desktop file box helps reduce desk clutter while making good use of limited space through compact vertical storage. You’ll use a familiar, categorized hanging file and tabbed interior file system, but only for the papers you really need. In this case, that’s either going to be:

Action-Oriented Task Paperwork — These are the same kinds of things you might put in your tickler file, if you were going to use them, but organized by category (like To Pay, To Read, To Call, etc.).

While my preference is to recommend organizing action paperwork by date assigned (in a tickler file), some of my clients find that very few of their action items are deadline driven. While deadlines are key for students, office workers, or parents, if you find that your tasks are less driven by due dates and more easily categorized by type of labor, categorized files may suffice.

And, of course, you could use a desktop file box as a tickler file, either with a DIY set of 43 folders or by storing your actual tickler file vertically, numbered tabs upward so that the individual slots act like folders.

Time/Event-Specific Information — If you’re going to meet with your contractor about your kitchen remodel or need notes to help you through a Zoom or telephone call, you’ll want them close at hand on the day you need them. In lieu of a tickler file, putting these notes in your desktop file box for the upcoming week when you’ll need them means you can plan ahead without having to keep the papers or file flat on your desk, cluttering it up; neither will you rush to your filing cabinet right before your meeting.

Red-Hot Reference Paperwork — It’s been a baker’s dozen of years since I wrote Paper Doll Gives You the Business (Files) — Part 1, the first in a short series on organizing paper in small business offices. At the time, I raised the concept of Red-Hot Reference documents. At the time, I wrote, in part:

Red-Hot Reference is the term I use with clients to differentiate between super-important reference materials and run-of-the-mill general reference information. These are the documents that need to have prime real estate on or near your desk so that data can be gleaned with minimal effort and maximum speed. Red Hot Reference includes:

Vital Contacts — Even if you have a computer database or a pre-programmed phone, there are going to be phone numbers, extensions, hot lines, email addresses, and shipping information for customers, vendors, and support team members that you’ll need to grab quickly. …

[t]here’s a difference between having information somewhere and having it at your fingertips. After all, telephone books (remember them?) have practically every number one might need, but nobody leaves the telephone book for the baby sitter. Instead, wise parents create an essential list of emergency numbers — parents’ cells, grandparents, pediatrician, Poison Control, etc. For your business, only you know which numbers (major vendors, labs, clients/customers, etc.) that you need to reach on a frequent or emergency basis. Those are the numbers that should go on your Red Hot Reference emergency contact list.

I went on to talk about other business-specific issues one might need to keep on hand: contract-related deal points, emergency procedures, etc. The key is that no matter how digital our world may be, keeping some items in analog form offers a great safety net.

For what other use cases can we envision using a desktop file box?

In your family communication center (perhaps in the kitchen, home office, or family room) use a desktop file box as a mail station. Sure, your kids are going to text you (maybe even from upstairs) to say they need a permission slip signed, but they have to find some place safe to put the permission slip.

If everyone in the family has a folder in the desktop file box to use as their in-house mailbox, there’s one safe place to leave mail, important papers to sign, and notes of encouragement (or maybe apology notes).

If your kids’ schools don’t use portals for sending absence, early dismissal, and tardy excuses, you may be expected to send notes the traditional way. Paper Mommy used to scribble a note on a piece of scratch pad: “Please excuse Julie at 1:15 p.m. today. She has an orthodontist appointment.” (The unspoken remainder? “And I don’t want to bring her back afterward for the last half-hour when she just has gym class and we could be home watching General Hospital. Tracy Quartermaine is withholding her father’s heart medicine, and what is climbing a rope compared to that?!)

If your school expects you to fend for yourself for these kinds of excuses, draft an excuse template with blanks to fill in for the date, time, reason for the absence/early departure/tardy, and a signature line. Print of a short stack of the forms and keep them in one of the folders so you and your co-parent can quickly fill in and sign one to make mornings a little less hectic.

In the kitchen, keep folders of clipped recipes (faves or ones to try), take-out menus, coupons, and those little manuals for kitchen appliances for when your brand-new air fryer just keeps beeping at you and you haven’t quite mastered the instructions (at least not enough to keep the manual in your regular household reference system).

In your children’s rooms or the family communication center, or wherever you handle kids’ paperwork, collect school calendars, lunchroom schedules, activity calendars, etc., create a training system.

When your kids are little, show them how you file items away. As they get older, your middle-school and older students can use a desktop file box to keep track of returned homework, tests, and essays so their lockers and backpacks aren’t overflowing with materials they might need later in the semester (but don’t need to keep schlepping back and forth). These skills will be advantageous to them in college, when they have to handle all of their own papers.

On your home office desk, think about the papers that cause you the most consternation when you forget them. Maybe you’re always forgetting to bring your action-item papers (like the paper forms you need to fill out for the doctor’s office or the financial records to show your accountant). Still, put a reminder in your phone to take the folder with you on the right day.

When creating a mobile workstation — If your desktop file box has handles, it makes it easy to move work files between all the different locations where you need to get things done. That might be the guest room, a co-working space outside of the home, or anywhere else you need some alternate file support. (For more detailed mobile office suggestions, read On the Road Again: Organize Your Mobile Office.)

Gathering critical documents for special projects — Envision the various projects in your personal life when you might want a smaller file space than a drawer, but more than a folder. For example, documentation for a complex tax year, supporting documents for an adoption, or notes and intermediate legal paperwork related to a legal separation or divorce.

Near the entertainment center for complex electronics — In most households, I recommend having a separate section of the family files system for all the different appliances in the house. However, if you’ve got a home entertainment center with a big TV, a stereo, an audio bar and multiple room speakers, plus plug-in doodads like Firesticks or home assistance devices, your digital world may be overwhelming. Keeping a small, unobtrusive desktop file box on the family room bookshelves will help keep all the flimsy little manuals accessible.

A BEVY OF DESKTOP FILE BOX SOLUTION STYLES

Desktop file boxes come in a variety of colors, styles, and materials. This is just an ice cream taste of what you might find for your home or office.

Metal Mesh

Metal mesh desktop file boxes are heavier than plastic, but lighter than acrylic. Although you’ll mainly find black versions in office supply stores, there are other color options online. However, consider that a neutral color like black or white will likely look better with a wider variety of hanging folder colors.

Below, find a GoldOrcle Hanging File Organizer from Amazon. Running from $17.99 to $19.99, depending on which color you choose, the metal mesh comes in black, pink, or white (each with five grey hanging folders), or black with seven assorted rainbow-colored folders.

This mesh file box measures 12.2 wide x 9.45″ high x 5.45″ deep, making it closest in capacity to the plastic file boxes, below. The handle is built into the top of the box frame.

Most mesh boxes are similarly built, though if you want a handle built more into the body of the box and not connected to the frame, Staples has a True Red Wire Mesh File Organizer in black or silver, measuring 12.4″ wide x 5.79″ deep x 10.16″ high for $16.99.

Metallic

The U Brands Hanging File Desk Organizer in Copper and Rose Gold (or alternatively in Gold) is extremely lightweight at only one pound, but measuring 12.2″ wide x 6.85″ deep x 9.37″ high, it’s got one of the larger footprints while not being excessively hefty.

This version has a slightly more decor-oriented vibe than most options, and while the almost 6500 Amazon reviews offer high praise — it ranks 4.9 stars — I wonder about the soldering and how easily transported it is. Perhaps it just looks delicate but is actually tough?

At only $17.99, it’s definitely worth a try if this is your style.

Plastic

The Pendaflex/Oxford Portable Desktop File is a great starter option. It’s lightweight at 1.4 pounds and perfect for when you care more about function than aesthetics. It measures 9-1/2″ high x 12-3/16″ wide x 6″ deep, which offers the perfect balance between a full-sized file crate and some of the shallower file boxes, below. It comes with five letter-sized hanging folders with clear tabs and inserts.

Amazon has it for $18, but this one is also the easiest to find in Big Box stores like Walmart or office supply stores.

If you find black a bit dour, it’s also available in blue (with five color Pendaflex hanging folders, tabs and blank inserts) for $28.90 and slate grey (also with the folders, tabs, and inserts) for $27.50.

There’s no explanation for the difference in price between the three colors.

Acrylic or Lucite

Acrylic and Lucite offer a luxurious, faux-crystal/glass look. However, depending on the workmanship, they (like plastic) can squeak on some countertops and desks. Affixing few flat, felt circles to the underside can reduce the squeak.

The Classic Acrylic Slim Desk Organizer is available for $49.99 from Amazon. It measures 12″ wide x 4″ deep x 10″ high. Although it’s fairly hefty at 2.3 pounds, the 4-inch depth makes it less practical than those with greater front-to-back depth. It’s striking to look at, but I’m always puzzled by the choice of putting the built-in handles on the front and rear of the box, as one would be more likely to carry it holding the short sides.

This Luxe Acrylic Desktop File from The Container Store measures 7″ long (deep), 14-1/2″ wide, and 10-1/8″ high. The UV-resistant material is designed to extend the product life and prevent yellowing, even with exposure to sunlight and other elements. The sturdy side handles extend beyond the body of the box for convenient transport. This exclusive Container Store file box is $32.99.

The Russell & Hazel Clear Acrylic Slim Hanging File Box is similar to the first acrylic option above, but with gold-toned hardware. It measures 4.5″ deep x 12-1/4″ wide x 10″ high. You can purchase it directly from Russell & Hazel for $44.

Fabric-covered

This is the “sneaky” category. Fabric-covered desktop file boxes tend to be built of sturdy cardboard with a cloth covering, and are lidded more often than not. When purchasing online, be sure to check that what’s called a file box actually has either internal hanging file rails or a top edge that serves the purpose of a hanging file rail.

When, I initially looked at the $20 Brightroom Canvas File Box at Target, I was focused on the aesthetics. My larger concern was that the lid might serve as friction; just as people tend not to put laundry in a hamper if it has a lid on it, there’s a tendency to avoid filing when a file box has a lid. I was looking so intently at the lid that I didn’t notice that there were no references to file interior hanging file rails. Oops.

Avoid friction. Just as people tend not to put laundry in a hamper if it has a lid on it, there's a tendency to avoid filing when a desktop file box has a lid. Share on X

Then, I had the same problem with the Container Store’s Bigso Stockholm collection. Pretty colors, decent pricing (at $22.99) but while it references that the boxes “can hold” hanging folders, there’s no reference to (or pictures of) hanging file rails. Buyer beware!

Alternatively, this Oterri File Organizer Box with Lid at Amazon is only $18.99, but has all the features the Brightroom and Stockholm lack. It’s 10.6″ wide x 8.26″ deep x 13.38″ high (with largest footprint of the various options here) and uses a linen fabric cover over sturdy board base. It comes in black, dark blue, green, grey, lavender, light grey, pink, and sky blue.

Although it comes collapsed, when put together, it includes a smooth sliding rail for hanging folders. It does have a lid (a plus for portability, but a downside for those disinclined to file), with an extra mesh pocket for supplies! This is also the only option that is collapsible when not in use.

Wood

As I alluded to in The Truth About Celebrity Organizers, Magic Wands, and the Reality of Professional Organizing back in 2020, I’m not comfortable with Marie Kondo pushing her various lines of what are basically pricey boxes.

However, even I have to admit that the Marie Kondo Shoji Bamboo Desktop File is lovely in its simple elegance. Measuring 13-7/8″ wide x 5-1/2″ deep by 9-7/8″ high, this handmade, bamboo file box, another Container Store exclusive, is $39.99.

For those concerned about the environment and inclined to eschew plastic, bamboo (a renewable resource) may be an appealing option.

Leather

When I seek solutions for clients, I always opt for the highest quality low-cost option. You can always upgrade later.

However, if you prefer something that makes a real aesthetic statement, it’s hard to imagine anything with more quietly ritzy “ta da” power than the Levenger Bomber Jacket Desktop File Holder with Lid. At full cost, it’s $219.50, but is currently on sale for $153.65.

It’s not pictured, but there’s a coordinating lid. There’s also an interior slip pocket to store small items and an exterior pocket. (I’d be inclined to tuck a paper calendar in the exterior pocket with just the current month hanging out.)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Aesthetics only matter if the look of a desktop file box will encourage you to file away those loose pieces of paper. I’d like to discourage you from spending outside your budget in hopes that spending more will change your behavior; it won’t.

Just as with a tickler file, if you’re using a desktop file box to get a handle on completing your tasks, you still need to build a behavioral system to organize what you must get done. For more thoughts on that, I recommend my book, Tickle Yourself Organized.

Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and I may get a small remuneration (at no additional cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking through to the resulting pages. The opinions, as always, are my own. (Seriously, who else would claim them?)

See Your Way Clear: Organize With Transparent Sticky Notes

Posted on: September 16th, 2024 by Julie Bestry | 10 Comments

Longtime Paper Doll readers know that I’ve had a complex relationship with sticky notes. On the one hand, in the very first month of this blog, all the way back in 2007, I railed against writing things on random pieces of loose paper in Stay Far From Floozies: Avoiding the Loose Paper Trap.

On the other hand, over the years I’ve broadened my approach. It’s not the sticky notes, per se, personified by 3M’s Post-it® Notes, that left me chagrined, but the act of writing things you want to remember on any visible piece of paper, without rhyme, reason, or organizational process. To that end, I’ve shared a wide variety of pro-sticky note posts, including:

Organizing With Post-it® Notes: Revenge of the Floozies — Three years after coining the expression “floozies” for loose paper and casting aspersions on sticky notes, I praised the ways you could effectively use sticky notes to keep yourself organized in the office, in dorm rooms and when studying, financially, and when planning projects.
Sticky to the Extreme: Organizing Information in Extreme Situations with Post-it® Extreme Notes — These super-powered stickies handle the extreme conditions of heat, cold, humidity while preserving powerful delivery of the message.
Paper Doll Adds a Pop of Color with Bright & Sunny Office Supplies offered up a colorful review of the Post-it’s ten different themed families of note hues for brightening your work day.
Paper Doll Shares 3 Quirky & Cool New Office Supplies looked at the niftiness of lined sticky notes (and devices for neatly making bullets and lines on them)
Emerson, Angelou, Ted Lasso, Tashlich & Zen Monks: Letting Go for a Fresh Start was ostensibly about new perspectives and giving yourself a new beginning, but it also introduced 3M’s super-nifty Super Sticky Big Notes, 11″ x 11″ and 15″ x 15″ sticky notes.

Paper Doll Helps You Find Your Ideal Analog Habit Tracker — They may look like they’re just tiny scraps of paper, but both traditional sticky notes and specialty items (mini-lists, planners, and habit-trackers) in the Noted by Post-it® line offer cheery solutions for keeping your life organized. We looked at an expanded view of some of the Noted products in In Search of Lost Time: Productivity, Proust, and the Culture of Availability.

So, let me be perfectly clear: stickies have have a place in organizing — as long as they’re used intentionally, mindfully, and not randomly.

With all this in mind, today’s Paper Doll post explores another intriguing sticky note option reminiscent of the novelty we discussed back in 2012 when I looked a different transparent office supply solution, in Paper Doll Rolls the Highlight Reel: Removable Highlighter Tape.

BENEFITS AND USES OF TRANSPARENT STICKY NOTES

When it comes to organizing thoughts and information, I want the benefits of transparent sticky notes to crystal clear.

In case you’ve never seen a transparent sticky note, think of it as combining the functions of tracing paper and sticky notes.

Transparent sticky notes — which, to be fair, I generally more translucent or slightly “frosted” than entirely transparent — offer several benefits that distinguish them from traditional opaque ones, especially for organizing and annotating. Additionally, the notes (though not the writing) are waterproof and are generally more durable than traditional sticky notes.

Having trouble envisioning how they work? Take a peek:

Academic Uses

Transparent sticky notes are ideal for students at all levels, but particularly in high school and college, especially when studying texts where annotations are helpful or even necessary but the page or document must not be permanently altered.

Transparent sticky notes allow students to scribble questions, ideas, connections, and thoughts directly over content. The notes can be applied, easily removed or repositioned, and (if carefully stored) applied again later.

Overlay Text or Drawings Without Obscuring What’s Beneath

Transparent sticky notes allow you to place and affix notes directly over text or diagrams without covering the printed content.

This is particularly useful for annotating books and textbooks, source documents, or presentations where you want to preserve visibility of the original material.

Science textbooks often include complex illustrations of plants, processes, or anatomical design. Students can learn a few elements at a time, add explanatory text to the overlaid sticky notes, remove the note to test themselves, and create new ones for different elements.

Highlight and Emphasize Information

By placing a transparent sticky note over a portion of text or an image, you can use a highlighter or writing implement to highlight, annotate, or draw attention to specific details without making permanent marks on the original material.

You can use a highlighter directly on a clear transparent sticky note; tinted translucent notes let you both color code concepts or categories and serve the same accenting purpose as a traditional highlighter.

Teachers can write comments pointing to specific areas of a student’s work while not damaging the masterwork, and tutors can add explanatory guidance to notes and then remove them when coaching students to remember what was on them.

Students using printed textbooks can highlight or annotate content, remove and re-affix the notes for studying and self-testing, and then re-sell the practically pristine textbook to the college bookstore after the final exam! (Yes, I know college students primarily use digital textbooks now, but they still read many novels and auxiliary books and use workbooks in traditional formats.)

Copy content to paste into notes

Remember how I said that transparent sticky notes work like a combination of a traditional sticky note and tracing paper? Trace directly from your text book and then affix what you’ve traced into your handwritten notes.

The hand-brain connection means that students will remember the material much better from the experience of hand-tracing than they might if they only photocopied an illustration or chart.

Organizational Uses

This is an organizing blog, after all, so we should look at the organizing advantages.

Layer for Enhanced Organization

You can layer transparent sticky notes on top of one another or over documents without losing sight of the information underneath. This can be useful in complex planning, when you want to group ideas visually without obscuring the main content.

Again, students can use layering for studying illustrations or maps, adding their notes and layering different types of content on top of the original material, with layer upon layer adding more nuance and detailed information. (I’m reminded of my 9th grade Social Studies class where, when faced with a blank mimeographed map of Africa, we had to learn (and later fill in on subsequent weeks), the country names, then the capitals, then the colonial influences, and the top exported product. I could have really used transparent notes, but regular Post-it® Notes hadn’t made it to our school supplies yet!)

Reorganize Ideas Easily

One of the great benefits of traditional sticky notes is that you can move them around, but again, transparent/translucent sticky notes augment that benefit. They allow for more flexible, real-time organization of thoughts, whether they’re used on a document or handout, the page of a textbook or workbook, or even on a large-format item like a map, poster, or whiteboard.

Improve Every Stage of a Project

When you work (or study) in a creative field, your work often has many iterations. Having an overlay for things that aren’t (yet) perfect gives you flexibility to be creative without fear of losing a creative draft or burst of genius.

Clear the Way for Creative Work

Transparent sticky notes can help for artists, designers, and creators who need to annotate their thoughts without hiding underlying sketches or design elements. Create temporary markups and adjustments without altering the original work.

Musicians might create an overlay with the conductor’s suggestions written on an angle, above or below the measures, bars, and notes.

Collaborate and Brainstorm

In collaborative environments — picture a Mad Men-style creative team or a garage band figuring out how different instruments and vocals might come together — transparent sticky notes enable participants to add thoughts or ideas on top of shared content, whether on a design, blueprint, or lyric sheet.

The ability to make changes without altering the original fosters more flexible brainstorming sessions without fear of losing track of the original document or a sequence or flow of ideas.

Who else might use transparent sticky notes?

The unique properties make transparent sticky notes a versatile option in various context. In addition to traditional students and teachers in an academic setting, who else might use these notes?

Authors — Most authors now edit galley copies of their books digitally, directly in PDF files. However, editing that way isn’t always comfortable. Writers might choose to make notes (on clean copies of their galleys or even printed drafts) and then highlight changes on transparent stickies.
Memoirists — Reading your own handwritten journals to help document the history of your thoughts and actions? You probably don’t want your 2024 handwritten notes directly on the pages of your circa-1981 Snoopy diary, but overlaying transparent sticky notes helps the you in the present engage with the you of the past.
Researchers — When faced with a variety of primary sources that can’t be doodled upon (or when you don’t have access to a copy machine but would prefer to handwrite your notes layered over a document), a transparent note can help you make a deeper connection between your thoughts and the original work than taking notes on a computer or pad of paper.
Book reviewers — Whether you review books professionally or just for Amazon or Goodreads, it’s helpful to have your contemporaneous thoughts while reading and your highlighted quotes at the ready. If you find marking up books to be almost sacrilegious, transparent stickies are a great option.
Cooks — Some people take recipes in cookbooks as gospel; others like to “doctor” things up. If you were experimenting as you went, you might not want each changed variable to be written onto the original recipe, but you’d still want to track the changes you made until (or even after) you achieved delicious perfection. TheKitchn blog post This Mind-Blowing BookTok Trend Will Change the Way You Use Your Cookbooks is a bit hyperbolic but does show the use case in action.
Attorneys — Boilerplate contracts are in computers, and paralegals make the revisions digitally as instructed. But most lawyers can be seen reviewing photocopies of contracts and mocking them up with revisions. Transparent sticky notes would let them see the original contract language, highlight relevant passages, and make revisions; similarly, they might use transparent notes to help them accent points in transcribed depositions and testimony they want to refer to in court.
Spiritual adherents — Whether you participate in some kind of formal Bible study or just like reading holy texts from any of a variety of comparative religions, you probably don’t want to scribble your thoughts in the (or any) “Good Book.” Use transparent sticky notes to highlight and annotate questions, feelings, or motivational elements.
Crafters — Whether you’re trying to map colors for a needlepoint project or adjust the measurements on a pattern, writing directly on the instructions or designs can get messy, especially if you need to revise your notes. A transparent overlay lets you adjust without the mess.

How might you use a transparent or translucent sticky note?

CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY TRANSPARENT STICKY NOTES

While transparent sticky notes offer many benefits, they do have some downsides to consider.

Potential for Residue

Some brands of transparent sticky notes might leave a slight residue, especially if left on delicate surfaces for an extended period. (Bibles and textbooks from before the1950s tend to have pages that are as thin as tissue paper.)

Obviously, this varies depending on the quality of the adhesive used, and higher-end (and honestly, brand-name) versions will typically avoid this problem. If the book or document you’re using is delicate, test it on a back page, like in the glossary or index.

Adhesive Strength

Transparent sticky notes may not be adhere as strongly as traditional opaque sticky notes, particularly on rougher surfaces. Unlike the recycled paper of traditional sticky notes, the slightly slick material used to make transparent sticky notes makes the notes more durable but the adhesive may be less durable. This means they might peel off more easily, especially on surfaces that aren’t perfectly smooth or when the notes are repositioned (or applied, removed, and re-applied) multiple times. Again, test them.

Writing Challenges

Depending on the material, certain pens and markers may not write as well on transparent sticky notes. This can limit their functionality (compared to traditional paper-based sticky notes) if you (like Paper Doll) prefer one specific type of pen. Again, brand-name versions are likely to allow a greater variety of pen use; Post-it® shows multiple examples of workable writing implements.

Less Absorbent Surface

Unlike paper sticky notes, which easily absorb ink, transparent sticky notes are usually made from plasticky or filmy material, like stiff, glossy tracing paper. This can cause ink to smear or take longer to dry.

Most of the TikTok videos I found on the topic are in agreement that mechanical pencils, ball-point pens, and markers work best, and that water-based highlighters and pens are the least effective. If you use markers or gel pens, especially if you also intend to highlight what you’ve written, be sure to let the ink dry thoroughly before touching or highlighting.

Limited Color Options

While some transparent sticky notes come in pastels and neons, they usually lack the range of vibrant colors available with opaque sticky notes, especially the myriad Post-it® colors. This can limit your ability to color-code effectively when organizing ideas. You can easily find colorful options, but perhaps not your preferred color schemes.

Glare and Reflection

Due to their transparent nature, this kind of sticky note may glare under certain lighting conditions, making them more difficult to read or see clearly in brighter environments or on glossy surfaces.

Cost

Transparent sticky notes, whether brand name Post-it® versions or generic, tend to be slightly more expensive than their opaque counterparts, so if you’re on a budget or need a lot of them, the cost could be a drawback.

If you’re using these sticky notes for creative, academic, or professional purposes where clear visibility is key, these downsides may be manageable. However, for heavy-duty or everyday use, traditional sticky notes are usually going to be more practical.

VARIETIES OF TRANSPARENT STICKY NOTES

According to the website, Post-it® Transparent Notes come in 7 varieties, all with 36 notes per pad (though I was able to find an additional 10-pack of the clear version at Staples.com for a whopping $26.46)!

original transparent (clear) pad ($7.29 at Staples.com or $5.35 at OfficeSupply.com)
a two-pack with one original clear pad and one blue pad
a three-pack assortment (pink, orange, and green) pads ($12.59 at Quill)
a five-pack assortment (purple, orange, pink, blue, and green)

an eight-pack with four clear pads and one pad each of orange, pink, blue, and green
an eight-pack with two pads each in blue, pink, green, and orange ($14.99 at Amazon)

a twelve-pack pad with a dozen transparent (clear) pads ($19.99 at Amazon)

All measure 2 7/8″ x 2 7/8″. Note, this is slightly smaller than traditional Post-it® Notes, which are generally 3-inch squares.

In terms of shopping, I should caution that it’s difficult to find all versions manufactured by 3M, though Staples, Amazon, and Walmart each seem to dependably have at least two versions in stock at any given time.

3M also references online availability at Quill, OfficeSupply.com, Maxwell’s, and Strobel’s Supply, though the latter two only carry 24-packs, priced in the hundreds of dollars.

ALTERNATIVE BRANDS OF TRANSPARENT STICKY NOTES

While Post-it® brand is clearly the gold standard for sticky notes, they are definitely not the only game in town, though it’s unlikely you’ll be able to locate many non-3M branded transparent sticky notes in person unless you are shopping at quirky or high-end specialty stationery/office supply stores in larger cities.

Office Depot has its own brand of translucent sticky notes, about $3 for a pack of 50 notes, in clear, as well as yellow, orange, pink, and an assorted pack of 12 pads in all colors for $14.39.

If you’re happening by The Container Store, they also have a proprietary brand, $4.99 for a stack of 36 clear notes.

However, a quick search of Google or Amazon will yield a bounty of options, and if you put “transparent sticky note” into the search at TikTok, you’ll find a number of offers.

Be prepared to have patience. I got excited about the prospect of lined, transparent sticky notes. However, when I went to Stationery Pal‘s website and actually searched for “transparent sticky notes lined,” I was rewarded with some lovely pastel transparent sticky notes, but none were lined. When I tried the same search string but in a different order, I finally got what I was seeking.

In addition to their 2″ x 3″ and 3″ x 3″ pastel-colored “shimmering” translucent sticky notes priced ridiculously low (like $.60 to $1.40 for 50-note pads), they do have blue, green, orange, and pink neon-colored lined, translucent sticky notes. For example, the neon pink, translucent sticky note pads are 3″ square, lined, and $.60/50-note pad, plus shipping.

(I’ve yet to figure out how TikTok Shop advertisers and companies like Temu and Shein can afford to price their products so low. Caveat emptor.)

In general, my inclination is to shop online with Amazon, as I’m generally happy with their customer service. A quick Googling of “transparent sticky notes” yields more than 100 pages of offerings, from plain, clear, 3″-square sticky notes from known brands like Redi-Tag with four 50-note pads for $4.99 to the puzzlingly unpronounceable Brsbock‘s four 50-note 4″ x 6″ transparent sticky notes for $9.99.

Another “unknown” brand on Amazon, Gueevin, offers “extra large jumbo” 8 1/2″ x 11″ translucent sticky note sheets, 100 for $15.99.

Colorful options — if you are openminded about the colors you want — are widely available. I’m transfixed by the LinQuick’s pastel transparent notes. They’re billed as “Candy Color”; a twelve-pack of six assorted colors, 50-notes per pad, costs $7.99.

When I first began researching this topic, I was delighted to find an online store called Rose Colored Daze had a collection of Neon Tabbed translucent sticky notes in three difference sizes, ranging from $4.50to $14.50 for ten-note stacks. Imagine a combination of a sticky note, tracing paper, and indexing tabs!

Sadly, all versions are currently sold out, though they do have a number of other varieties of 50-note pads of translucent sticky notes:

Personally, I find round sticky notes to be inefficient; wouldn’t you want to maximize your surface area? Still, if you have a desire for a round, translucent sticky note, Amazon has oodles, such as these Sabary 1.75″ circular notes, which come in five different color schemes for $6.49 for 500 notes.

So, there’s no need to obscure your ideas — transparent sticky notes will let your thoughts shine through and make the concepts you’re trying to learn less opaque. (So endeth this “clearly” punny post.)

The person who invented transparent sticky notes > pic.twitter.com/hlcDD4gaVy

— The Madwoman in the Classroom (@heymrsbond) July 16, 2022

Paper Doll Shares How To Select a Shredder, Shred Responsibly, and Save

Posted on: April 8th, 2024 by Julie Bestry | 14 Comments

Much of the following post originally appeared in 2021 and has been updated for 2024 with current product links and shredding discounts.

Klop. KaKLOP! Klunkety klunkety. KaKLOP! Grrrrrr uggggggg. KaKLOP!

No, unlike the officer at U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), I haven’t let a tiny human take over my keyboard. The above is a close approximation of the sound my shredder made last weekend when, after two decades of faithful service and about halfway through shredding documents no longer necessary for tax time, it gave up the ghost.

At first, I thought I might have just fed one too many staples into the grinding teeth of my little document destruction devil. But, when I lifted the shredder from the bin and turned it over, nothing was stuck in the teeth. However, as I shifted the up-ended shredder motor from my left hand to my right, I could hear something sliding back and forth within. Ruh-roh!

Far more curious than mechanically inclined, I took a screwdriver to the whole housing unit, wondering if I might be able to just stick something back in place. (Yeah, go ahead and laugh.) Sadly, I found that a large octagonal metal washer (for want of a better description) had broken completely in half. The wheels on this bus were NOT going to go round and round any longer. I had to buy a new shredder.

DIY SHREDDER ESSENTIALS

Although I haven’t had to purchase a shredder in a long time, this is not my first shredding rodeo. Many of my clients find themselves either buying a first or replacement shredder as part of our work when we’re organizing and purging paper. So at least I knew what I needed to consider.

I hate to be crude, but size matters: the size of your shredder unit, the size of your “shreds,” and the size of the pile (or capacity) you can shred at one time.

Shredder Unit Size

There are three general sizes/types of shredder units: mini, medium, and heavy-duty.

Don’t buy a mini.

Yes, I know, regular readers of this blog recognize that I rarely invoke absolutes; the world is far more grey than black-and-white. However, unless you are buying a shredder for a child, I want to discourage you from buying a mini, or desktop, shredder.

I admit, most “desktop” shredders are not hand-cranked and adorable like the one above. Indeed, most are more like the Aurora AS420C Desktop Style Cross-Cut Shredder below, in that it looks spiffy. But looks can be deceiving.

Often, I find that clients purchase desktop mini-shredders hoping that the small profile and easy desktop access will incline them toward keeping up with their shredding. However, the opposite is true.

Tiny shredders like the Aurora above only take four sheets at a time (vs. 8 or 12 for a more serviceable shredder), fed through its 4-1/2-inch “throat,” or feeder slot. As most mail is 8 1/2-inches wide, anything not already folded into halves or thirds will need to be folded before fed.

If you’ve got a multi-page credit card or utility bill (AmEx bills are usually a ridiculous number of pages, for example), you’ll have to separate the bill and feed just a few pages at a time. And the entire shredder can only accommodate 40 sheets, meaning you’ll have to repeatedly empty the basket. You’ll likely dread the prospect and avoid the task.

You may not ever need to power-shred, but mini- or desktop shredders just aren’t designed for the kind of paper that the average household, and especially the home-based office or actual office, needs to destroy. I‘ve said it before: A mini-shredder is a lot like an Easy-Bake® Oven. Yes, it can do what it promises, but would you cook Thanksgiving dinner without a full-sized oven?

Paper Doll Shares How To Select a Shredder, Shred Responsibly, and Save Share on X

For typical home use, and for one-person offices, a medium-sized shredder should suffice. It should be able to handle four to six gallons of shredded paper (or about 150 to 400 sheets).

If you work in a large office, particularly one that deals with medical paperwork (covered by HIPAA regulations) or client financial information, you will want a shredder designed for large-capacity, heavy-duty shredding, one with an eight-gallon or larger basket/bin and the ability to shred for much longer without the red-light-of-doom. (You’ll also be looking at a shredder that costs many hundreds of dollars, rather than one in the $30-$150 range.)

Shred Size and Shape

There are generally three types of shred sizes produced by consumer shredders. (Industrial shredders can pulverize paper into a fine dust, but that might be going overboard for destroying old bank statements.) These are known as strip-cut, cross-cut, and micro-cut.

Shockingly, I have another absolute for you: don’t buy the old-style strip-cut shredders; they’re rarely sold anymore, but even if you see a good deal at a garage sale, pass it by. Strip-cut shredders offer poor identity theft protection if someone really wants to get their hands on your data.

You will want a cross-cut or micro-cut shredder. A cross-cut shredder reduces your paper to 1-inch to 1-1/2-inch squiggly strips; such shredders are considered secure or “medium-security” and are rated P4 or P3 security levels, respectively. On average, a cross-cut shredder shreds paper into 200 pieces (for a P3-rated shredder) or 400 pieces (for a P4-rated shredder). At home or in a one-person office, a cross-cut shredder will suffice.

A micro-cut shredder chops paper into tiny fragments; micro-cut shredders are rated P5, P6, or P7 (the latter is also called nano-cut, and recommended for government and classified documents) in terms of security levels, shredding papers into 2000, 6000, or 12,000 pieces, respectively.

For an office that deals with HIPAA compliance, financial data, or spycraft, consider a micro-cut shredder. However, this is going to be over overkill (in terms of both function and cost) for use in a home office. (I mean, unless you’re a work-from-home spy, in which case…cool, dude!)

Capacity

There are three aspects to consider when looking at the capacity of a shredder:

1) How many sheets of paper can you feed at one time?

Most shredders you’ll be looking at for home use will be listed as handling 5-10 sheets at a time; for an office, a capacity of 10-18 sheets can be fed at one time. (There’s some cross-over in the home and office categories.) Bear in mind that at the home level, staples and thicker paper can reduce the number of sheets that can be safely fed at one time.

Heavy-duty shredders designed for office use can accommodate anywhere from 13 to 38 sheets at a time, with those at the higher level being much pricier. (That said, remember that shredders are office equipment and can be tax deductible for business use.)

While shredders are generally rated by the number of sheets shredded simultaneously, Paper Doll believes many manufacturers are a bit too optimistic in self-reporting. Just aim for the highest capacity shredder in your budget range.

2) How long can you shred before the shredder conks out? (This is called the shredder’s duty cycle.)

Ever get the red-light-of-doom while you’re shredding? This is the “Do not pass GO, do not collect $200!” message that means your shredder needs to cool down. Promotional materials usually claim that smaller shredders for home use can operate for two-to-three minutes continuously before needing a 20-to-30 minute break.

That doesn’t seem like very much time, but recognize that if you’ve got your shredder set to “on” rather than “automatic,” the shredder is only operating while you are pushing papers through. So, skip the automatic setting, take a few seconds between each multi-page pile of papers, and you’ll be OK for getting a bit more use.

Shredding companies have started listed their duty cycles on promotional material, but official capacity and real-world usage can be at odds, so do read the reviews.

3) What else can your shredder accommodate besides paper?

Any shredder you acquire should be able to handle stapled papers and (expired) credit cards. (Seriously, when you get your new credit card, make sure you put it somewhere away from the shredder and double-check the expiration date on the one you’re about to shred. I’ve heard from too many clients that they’ve oopsied this.)

Most should also be able to shred CDs and DVDs, but if you have a lot of data on disk, be sure to check that your intended purchase can accommodate what you need to shred.

Other Considerations

Aesthetics — Unlike cell phones and other modern electronic devices, nobody seems to have given any thought to whether a shredder is attractive (to the eye or to the ear). I have yet to see a useful shredder in designer colors, and you’re pretty much limited to combinations of black and silver.

Obviously, design shouldn’t be your main concern, but you are likely to avoid using an ugly shredder or one that screeches. (Remember The Great Mesozoic Law Office Purge of 2015? When we cleaned out my father’s law office, he had an ancient, “yellowing” beige shredder. It was capital-U ugly, but Paper Mommy needed a shredder and was convinced she’d make use of it. Yeah. No.)

With regard to sound, whenever possible, test a friend’s shredder or ask a sales associate to help you test a floor model. The noise a shredder makes won’t exactly be pleasant, but some have more vibration or grinding than others. In another “you get what you pay for” instance, high capacity shredders make a smoother, less grind-y noise.

Ease of Use — The main concerns are an adequate-width feeder and an easy-to-empty basket or bin. The nicest shredders have a removable bin that slides out like a drawer or tips out like a laundry chute, but these tend to be more expensive than the budget versions, where the shredding mechanism lifts up and off to reveal a metal or rubber receptacle.

Avoid the low-rent shredders that only provide a mechanism to set atop a trash can; these are usually ill-fitting, poorly balanced, and lead to a flurry of shreds on your carpet, which furry animals and tiny humans will spread far and wide.

Special features — Some shredders, particularly those designed for a communal workspace, market special features at a higher price. For example, Fellowes markets a “100% Jam-Proof” micro-cut shredder upwards of $3100! And shockingly, it doesn’t even come with the hunky office worker pictured below!

Others promote energy savings and quiet operations. As always, consider how often you’ll be using your shredder to determine how much extra you are willing to pay for special features.

At the lower end of the scale, you may want to consider the basket or bin into which you shred. The bin for my old shredder, the one that bit the dust, was made of metal mesh, which meant that a lot of the shredding dust poured into the air if I didn’t use a bag, but when I used a bag, I couldn’t tell when it was almost full.

Further, most shredders are designed so that the shredding unit/lid won’t fit properly into the bin if you’ve lined it with a bag, and if they do, most grocery-style plastic bags are smaller than the bin, so you’re not able to use your full capacity.

The front window in my cute new shredder

My new purchase warns not to use a bag; however, the base is made of a solid plastic (much like a trashcan) so there’s no shred dust plume, and has a nice window to give me a sense of when I’m about to reach maximum capacity. At that point, I must carefully lift up the shredding unit, tilt and flip it quickly to avoid spreading bits of shreds everywhere, and then I can upend the whole bin into the trash.

I prefer the shredders with tilt-out and slide-out receptacles, but there’s always a trade-off. I’m frugal and don’t have a lot of demands, aside from my shredder not making the “Klop. KaKLOP! Klunkety klunkety. KaKLOP! Grrrrrr uggggggg. KaKLOP!” sound more often than every few decades.

I purchased the Amazon Basics 8-sheet shredder because it was on sale last week, running five dollars less than it is right now, and because it was a Best Seller (probably because it’s so inexpensive).

[Editor’s note: I have now lived with this shredder for three years and have zero complaints about function. But yes, it would be cool to have a purple shredder.]

Because you need to live and work with it, it’s important to pick a shredder with the features you need and want.

Still not sure what you want? Fellowes offers a very cool interactive Shredder Selector tool to help you choose among a variety of features, including shredder capacity, feeder type, number of users, volume of shredding, maximum run time, security level, shredder safety, and even a few extras.

PROFESSIONAL SHREDDING SERVICES

You already know how important it is to shred the papers that you no longer need for tax, legal, or proof-of-ownership purposes; merely tossing them in the trash could make you a quick victim of identity theft. But you also know that once your shred pile is as tall as the youngest of your tax-deductible dependents, your home-rated shredder is likely to wimp out before you get through your seasonal pile shredding.

If you lack the time, space, shredding power, or intestinal fortitude to conquer your backlog of shredding, you have a variety of options for getting professional help. A number of companies are available nationwide to help with document destruction, including:

You are likely to have local and regional shredding companies at your disposal as well.

If you need help finding shredding services in your area, turn to the International Secure Information Governance & Management Association^TM (i-SIGMA^®) (formerly the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID)).

Search the iSIGMA portal for an interactive map of NAID AAA-certified shredding companies nearest to you. Enter your zip code and the system will provide you with a map and list of document destruction services in your area. You can also narrow your search to filter for different kinds of destruction certifications.

Note: Most shredding services offer a combination of drop-off and secure pick-up services; if your office or organization requires regularly scheduled shredding, you can arrange for periodic pickups.

Many retail locations also have relationships with document destruction services. In these situations, you generally self-serve your papers into a slot in a large, locked container that looks much like the garbage and recycling cans you wheel to the street on trash day; the shredding companies usually do pickups every week–to–two weeks and either shred paper in a specialized truck in the store’s parking lot, or trade out an empty bin and take the full one to their physical operations.

Getting your shredding done in the same parking lot where you pick up your groceries or get your office supplies is convenient (and less labor than shredding piles of paper for yourself), but the cost is likely to be a little more than you’d pay if dealing directly with a document destruction service. Prices typically range from a dollar per pound (when discounted), upward.

Check with your local retail locations to see if, how, and at what price they offer shredding services. Start with:

Office Depot/Office Max

Staples

UPS Store

FedEx Office

Note, some locations (such as FedEx Office) will shred paper but will not shred CDs, DVDs, credit cards, non-paper ID cards, 3-ring binders, file folders, or laminated items. If you have multiple non-paper items to shred, call ahead to your local retailers to verify what they will shred.

Before you head out, be sure to check the retailers’ sites for discounts, or use your favorite search engine to search “[store name] shredding coupon 2024” to see what discounts are currently available.

Office Depot tends to change discount offerings each month. Right now, Office Depot is offering 5 pounds of in-store shredding for free and 20% off any one-time shredding pick-up service. Both offers expire April 27, 2024. To get the actual scannable coupons barcodes, scroll to the bottom of the Office Depot shredding page and present the coupons on your device at time of sale.

(And sigh, no, I don’t think the fella in the above picture is include in Office Depot’s serivce.)

Staples doesn’t appear to be offering any consumer-based shredding discounts right now, but you can be a hero at your office if you point out Staples’ Iron Mountain 10% off discounts fro one-time shredding of 1 to 21 full-sized bins.

FREE SHREDDING EVENTS

Throughout the year, various government agencies, banks and credit unions, community groups, senior centers, houses of worship, universities partner, and AARP partner with shredding companies for free events billed as shredathons and shred days. In particular, watch for Better Business Bureau-affiliated shredding events associated with tax time and Secure Your ID Day. (Dates vary by region.)

Document destruction companies (like Iron Mountain, Shred-It, Pro-Shred, and Shred Nations) bring their giant paper-chomping trucks to specified parking lots so you can get your papers securely shredded on-site.

Tax time is the perfect opportunity to clear out your file folders, your desk drawers, your purses, wallets, and pockets, and to shred all those random receipts and documents that you don’t need to support your tax returns, keep you legal, or prove ownership of your stuff.

Of course, if you don’t know what you need to keep vs. what you should shred, Paper Doll has you covered with Do I Have To Keep This Piece of Paper?

Whether you shred at home or work, use a service, or attend a shredding event, plan time in your schedule to shred. Declutter, protect your identity, and save time and money!

Paper Doll Shares 3 Quirky & Cool New Office Supplies

Posted on: March 18th, 2024 by Julie Bestry | 16 Comments

Being organized and productive is about systems and skills. Too often, we’re tempted to believe that the ideal box or tub or app is the key to getting us where we want to be in our journey toward success. That’s actually a big fib that our perfectionist brains tell us, pushing us to procrastinate and not get started until everything is ideal.

That doesn’t mean that products can’t be useful and motivate us to embrace our systems or practice our skills. Sometimes, what we need to up our game is something that’s unusual or comes out of left field.

Last week, I encountered this colorful doggie.

Understandably, what caught my attention was the cotton candy, tie-dye pink-and-purpleness of this little fella. It was only later that I looked carefully at the harness and saw that this is a cardiac alert dog, a service dog at work. (One of the badges on the harness notes that he is “Not a Magical Unicorn.”)

A worker-bee (or, in this case, worker dog) is useful, but there’s no reason it can’t also be quirky or different. To that end, today’s post looks at a few of the intriguing products I’ve seen recently that perform their tasks as designed but are also just a little bit unusual, enough to pump up our interest.

I’m not suggesting you have to purchase them. Rather, I’d like to encourage you to think about what features (color, form, style) appeal to you so that when you’re faced with tools and options in your life, you’ll stop to think whether you’re dazzled by the aesthetics, full stop, or whether it’s something you will actually use.

STICKY NOTE TO-DO LIST STENCIL

As with most of the quirky products I’ve found recently, this originally came to my attention via TikTok. A company called FTBT 3D Prints (short for Fix This Build That LLC) created the Sticky Note To-Do List Stencil for those who want to turn their blank, unlined sticky notes into checklists.

I appreciate the inclination. I start every day with a sticky note following my 1-2-3 approach to productivity. I have one big task (usually something I’ve been avoiding), two medium tasks, and three small tasks — all aside from things I would do everyday anyway, like checking and replying to email.

These help me focus on getting the most important and urgent work done. It doesn’t mean I won’t accomplish other tasks, just that I absolutely will complete the tasks I’ve set as essential.

The Alternatives

You may be wondering, why can’t someone just draw their own lines and/or check boxes/circles? Well, they absolutely can; indeed, that’s what I do every day on my sticky notes! Yay, me!

But there are some people who are more inspired by aesthetics than others, who want (to the point of needing) things to look good in order to feel right. I dislike the idea of feeling like everything has to be “perfect” in order to get started. However, if you are frozen in amber, inertia blocking any action, because things aren’t pretty, I am not going to spend eons trying to break through that obstacle with you. Another approach is needed. Sometimes, just getting started and making progress is necessary before you can fix the things that usually block you.

You might be thinking, OK, then why not buy the sticky notes that already have lines on them? You could definitely do that, too. There are a wide variety of generic sticky notes with lines, and a sub-set of those have check boxes (though, for some reason, many are rectangular rather than the traditional square), like these Gazelle sticky notes for $14.99 for a package of 400 notes.

However, there are two potential obstacles. First, while I’m a big believer that many generic versions of organizing tools are fine, there are certain brand names that just work better than others, and Post-it! Notes have a much higher quality adhesive than generic sticky notes. Because of that, I’d really advise against purchasing random lined sticky notes in bulk.

Right, you may be thinking, but when people want this solution, can’t they just buy Post-it®-branded lined to-do lists notes? Well, 3M does make a wide variety of plain lined Post-it! Notes. Well, they can.

But shockingly, they haven’t created a widely available line of Post-it® Notes with check boxes or radio buttons. (Ahem, 3M, this is your cue, folks! Get on this!)

There’s a far-less-easily found line of Noted by Post-it® products — you can sometimes locate individual products in Target or Staples — which include odd-sized products, like this Noted by Post-it®, Blue To-Do List Notes measuring 2.9″ x 5.7″. One package of 100 notes runs about $5. (Unfortunately, 3M almost never provides clear images on their site of their more niche products.)

Given this, I am cautiously optimistic about recommending consideration of the Sticky Note To-Do List Stencil.

The Stencil

Each square stencil, suitable for any standard 3″ x 3″ sticky note, is manufactured from polyactic acid (PLA) filament, an eco-friendly plastic alternative made out of renewable resources.

The stencils come in ten colors: Ink Black, Radiant Red, Citrus Orange, Sunny Yellow, Emerald Green, Sky Blue, Royal Blue, Plush Purple, Pretty Pink, and Daylight White. You can also pick the “Mystery Color,” and the company will choose for you.

Any one stencil direct from the store is regularly $8 each, but they are currently on sale for $5, both from FTBT’s site and on TikTok.

You can also purchase bundles of 5 stencils in two different color schemes, Light (Sky Blue, Royal Blue, Plush Purple, Pretty Pink, and Daylight White) or Dark (Ink Black, Radiant Red, Citrus Orange, Sunny Yellow, and Emerald Green) for $29, or a Deluxe Bundle of all ten for $49. (Unless you’re homeschooling or have oodles of tiny humans, perhaps start with just one stencil, eh?)

Every stencil stencil has 10 lines, and you have the option of using the circular checkbox/radio button in anticipation of marking off completed tasks.

Additionally, while none of the company’s platforms have shown what the reverse of the stencil looks like, it appears that it must be somewhat hollow, as they recommend, “…when you’re not making a new list just flip over the stencil and use it to hold your stack of sticky notes so you’ll always have it at the ready.”

If you like the idea of using a stencil but aren’t sold on a circular check box (likely because boxes really do need to have straight edges), a few Etsy shops, including PrintPalaceXYZ and Vindion, have similar versions with square check boxes, in a similar price range.

MEMO WALLET

A few weeks ago, in Celebrate the Global Day of Unplugging, we talked extensively about the problems of always being connected. We reviewed the dangers of modern connectivity; in particular, we looked at the distractions, dangers to physical health, and the increased stress associated with constantly being plugged in.

The problem is that across these first few decades of the 21st-century, we’ve lost the ability to capture thoughts on-the-go unless we have tiny computers in our pockets. People used to carry notebooks, Harriet the Spy-style to capture flashes of genius. Then, in the late 20th-century but before smartphones, there were Blackberries, PalmPilots, and other personal digital assistants (PDAs), to which people also quickly got addicted.

Indeed, twenty years ago, in 2004, Merlin Mann (founder of 43 Folders and coiner of the expression “Inbox Zero”) promoted the concept of the Hipster PDA, an alligator-clipped stack of index cards.

Initially a joke, Mann’s Introducing The Hipster PDA looked at a way to turn our collective backs on the expensive, theft-prone, and quickly addictive technology.

Hipster PDA — CC BY-SA 2.0

The fact that it blended seamlessly with the themes and processes of David Allen’s Getting Things Done was also appealing. People invented templates (and, I’m guessing, stencils), and debated the best types of index cards (lined? graphed? dotted? traditional white or colored?) and enclosures (alligator clips or rubber bands?).

Two decades later, Nyckle Sijtsma of New Things Lab, a Dutch design studio, came up with a spin on the Hipster PDA, a way to detach from technology when out and about and still have the ability to brainstorm, create, write, and remember important things.

Simply put, MEMO Wallet is a distraction-free combination of a wallet and a miniature whiteboard. New Things Lab began MEMO Wallet with a Kickstarter and a goal of 4800 Euro; the effort was so popular that it hit €66,487 of backing in one month!

Made from high-quality, precision-grade aluminum 6063 alloy, the MEMO Wallet employs RFID-blocking technology to prevent against card-skimming and has space for securely holding up to six cards, three per side. It measures 4.25″ x 2.91″ x .43″ (108mm x 74mm x 11mm).

The MEMO Wallet has wear-resistant rubber elements to tightly grip cards and prevent unintentional slippage. When you’re ready, just slide your thumb upward against the vertical oval to access your cards.

MEMO Wallet unfolds to reveal a 6-inch (diagonal) pocket whiteboard with a built-in, fine-point dry-erase pen with eraser. The aluminum whiteboard was created with a special heat-curing whiteboard paint to ensure that you can write smoothly on the surface without it squeaking. The pen clicks into place, nesting in the black outer edges of the whiteboard area, so you don’t need an elastic loop. (One MEMO Pen comes with the wallet; additional pens are sold separately in four-packs lasting 18-24 months, depending on usage.)

See the MEMO Wallet in action in just eleven seconds:

MEMO Wallet comes in four colors: Charcoal Black, Slate Grey, Gilded Rose, and a limited edition Revision Red.

Use the whiteboard for anything you’d put in a notebook — To-Do lists, notes, drawings, flow-charts — with confidence that when you fold everything back up, your scribbling will be protected.

Obviously, a whiteboard lacks the (greater) permanence of using a notebook. It’s not going to sync over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth with your devices (since the goal is not to carry any) or with anything back at the office, so it requires intentionality.

Ostensibly, when you return to your home or workspace, you would rewrite anything that was still actionable or snap a photo of what’s on your whiteboard to upload it to Evernote or OneNote to enable optical character recognition for search at a later date.

The appeal is that you can disconnect from technology while reconnecting with your creativity. Without the incessant beeps and buzzes of texts, email, and app notifications, you can use the whiteboard to achieve mental clarity and focus for organizing your creative thoughts.

The MEMO Wallet won the 2024 iF Design Award.

One wallet is $69; two are $118; three wallets cost $169. If you purchase two or three MEMO Wallets, shipping is free. You can purchase it directly from New Things Lab.

NIIMBOT B21 THERMAL LABEL PRINTER

As a professional organizer, I love talking about the importance of labeling. What you name something helps you remember where to put it, where to find it later, and generally how to think about it in relationship to other things, both categorically and sequentially.

My favorite label maker is the Brother PT-65, which isn’t even made any more. I’ve had it 22 years, since just before I began my professional organizing business.

It takes six AA batteries, and although I use it almost every day that I’m with clients, I probably only have to replace the batteries every few years. It’s a workhorse.

Over the years, I’ve tested other label makers from Brother, Dymo, Martha Stewart, and a variety of other manufacturers. Most have their merits and drawbacks, and while I have a few back-ups I’ve received as gifts over the years, I’m sticking with my PT-65 for as long as it will stick with me.

That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate variations. In September, in Paper Doll Explores New & Nifty Office and School Supplies, I wrote about the PrintRGo thermal pocket printer, which sadly doesn’t appear to be the market right now.

A number of readers contacted me after that post, telling me that they bought the printer and were delighted by it, so I’m happy to see that many other similar miniature thermal label printers have remained on the market, including the Printago, which I’d also mentioned.

The latest thermal printer that caught my eye (and yes, I first saw it on TikTok, but don’t tell my congressman) is the Niimbot B21. it’s designed to look like mid-20th-century typewriter. The teeny printer comes in green, red, black, and creamy white. (While the other colors are probably more mid-century accurate, the red one is so cool!)

The Niimbot B21 smart label printer is ink-free, printing on BPA-free thermal paper, and supports multiple width labels (40mm x 20mm, 50mm x 30mm, 50mm x 40mm, and 50mm x 50mm). The Niimbot B21 can auto-identify which label paper has been inserted.

The labels are waterproof, tear-, oil- and abrasion-resistant, and allegedly have strong adhesion but are easy to peel and remove. Each Niimbot B21 comes with one package of 50x30mm labels (230 labels per roll).

It supports a wide variety of design customization, including: 19 fonts, more than 1500 icons, 100+ graphic frames for around the text, and 16 languages, and it can print 203 dpi images. Use it to print a variety of labels for your household or workplace, including labels with product specifications, addresses, prices, ingredients, etc.

You create the labels in the app. They can include text, icons/emoji, pictures, QR codes, and bar codes. You can also have labels with simple multi-row tables. Once the label looks as you like, print it from the app to the B21 printer.

The Niimbot prints labels at 2.4 inches (60 mm) per second, and can work four hours continuously after 1 1/2 hours of charging. The Niimbot B21 is designed to be quick to set up:

Download the free Niimbot App at the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app’s function include scanning, image recognition, and batch printing, serial number are offered
Turn on your device’s Bluetooth (if it’s not already on).
Click on “Unconnected” in the Niimbot App to pair and connect to your device.

The Niimbot B21 thermal label printer is $59.39 on Amazon (for all colors) or $69.99 direct from the Niimbot store. See it in action.

While none of these items are must-haves, they might make your time at your desk (or away from it) a little more fun. What do you think? Would you buy any of these?

Recapping Paper Doll’s 2023 Posts — Which Were Your Favorites?

Posted on: December 25th, 2023 by Julie Bestry | 5 Comments

With one week left in 2023, have you taken time yet to review your year?

For the December Productivity and Organizing Blog Carnival, Janet Barclay asked us to identify our best blog posts of 2023, and I had a tough time.

“Best” is subjective, and Janet let us have free reign as to which post fit. Some bloggers chose their most popular posts in terms of readership; others, the ones that garnered the most comments. Some of my blogging colleagues picked their most personal posts, while others selected what they felt would have the most impact on people’s lives.

The problem is that picking just one means leaving the others behind, and I wrote forty-two posts this year! Eventually, I narrowed the selection to half a dozen posts, and then turned to colleagues and friends who were almost evenly split, bringing me no closer to a solution. In the end, I picked Paper Doll On Understanding and Conquering Procrastination because it served as the foundation for so many other posts, but also because I’d been lucky enough to find some great visuals, like this one from Poorly Drawn Lines:

so much to do pic.twitter.com/fiSm7Y2Erg

— poorly drawn lines (@PDLComics) December 21, 2022

Beauty, like clutter, is in the eye of the beholder. To that end, here’s a recap of everything we’ve discussed in 2023, with a few updates and tweaks along the way. My personal favorites are in bold, but I’d love to know which ones resonated the most with you during the year!

ORGANIZE YOUR INSPIRATION

After uploading last week’s post, Toss Old Socks, Pack Away 2023, and Adjust Your Attitude for 2024, I got to thinking about all the different ways we can take our word, phrase, or song of the year and keep it in the forefront of our minds.

I’d reviewed the traditional methods (vision boards, posted signs, turning the song into your wakeup alarm), but felt like there needed to be something that stayed with you, independent of your location. Only being reminded of your goal to be a leader when you’re standing in front of your fridge doesn’t really help you in your 1-to-1 meetings at work. (I mean, unless you’re the Queen of the Condiments or King of the Crisper Drawer.)

Only being reminded of your goal to be a leader when you're standing in front of your fridge doesn't really help you in your 1-to-1 meetings at work. (I mean, unless you're the Queen of the Condiments or King of the Crisper Drawer.) Share on X

Serendipitously, within minutes of thinking about this, an ad came across one of my social media pages. (Normally, I ignore ads, but this one had me thinking maybe “serendipity” would be a good theme word for some year!) The ad was for Conscious Ink, an online temporary tattoo retailer specifically for creating body art to help you mindfully connect with your themes and messages to yourself, disrupt negative self-talk, and promote the healthy habits you’re trying to embrace!

As Conscious Ink’s About page explains, if you want to keep something top of the mind, why not try something that keeps it “top of the body?” Whether body art is your thing or you haven’t experimented since your Minnie Mouse temporary tattoo at summer camp <mumble mumble> years ago, this is a neat trick!

There’s even research as to how a temporary tattoo can support permanent emotional and cognitive transformation and improve mindfulness and focus on things that uplift one’s higher self. And that’s the point of a theme word, phrase, or song, to keep you focused on what you want rather than what you allow to drag you down! Manifest what you want your life to be.

Conscious Ink’s temporary tattoos use non-toxic, cosmetic-grade, FDA-certified, vegan inks. Each one lasts 3-7 days, depending on where you apply it, your skin type and activity level, and (I suspect) how many life-affirming, stress-reducing bubble baths you take. Categories include mindset, health and wellness, spiritual/nature, relationships, parenting, celebratory, and those related to social causes. Prices seem to hover at around $10 for a three-pack and $25 for a 10-pack. There’s even a Good Karma Guarantee to make sure you’re satisfied.

Whether you go with Conscious Ink (which is designed for this uplifting purpose) or seek an alternative or custom-designed temporary tattoo (through vendors like Momentary Ink or independent Etsy shops), it only makes sense if you place it somewhere you can see it often.

After all, if you place a temporary tattoo reminder to stand up for yourself on your tushy, it probably won’t remind you of much. For most of us of a certain age, putting it at our wrists, covered (when we prefer) by our cuffs, will give us the most serene “om” for our buck.

If you place a temporary tattoo reminder to stand up for yourself on your tushy, it probably won't remind you of much. Share on X

Along the same lines as my advice on adjusting your attitude for 2024, you may want to consult Gretchen Rubin’s Tips for Your “24 for 2024” List. Rubin and her sister/podcast co-host always have an inspring Happier Trifecta: a year-numbered theme, along with with a challenge and a list.

PRODUCTIVITY AND TIME MANAGEMENT

This was a big year for productivity discussion. I’m a firm believer that keeping your space and resources organized is key to being productive. However, it’s hard to keep the world around you organized when outside influences prevent you from being efficient (doing things well) and effective (doing the right things).

We continue to see the value of body doubling, whether through friendly hang-outs, co-working (virtually or in person), or professional organizing services, whether you want to conquer garden-variety procrastination or get special support for ADHD.

Partnering for Success

Paper Doll Sees Double: Body Doubling for Productivity (I almost submitted this post to the carnival. Accountability and motivation for the win!)

Paper Doll Shares 8 Virtual Co-Working Sites to AmpUp Your Productivity

If you’d like to explore the body doubling or co-working experience, friend-of-the-blog Deb Lee of D. Allison Lee is offering a no-cost, two-hour Action Day event on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

This event is designed for her clients and subscribers, but after a cheery holiday conversation, Deb said it was OK to let my readers know about the opportunity.

Deb describes an Action Day as “personal training for your productivity muscles!”

An Action Day (especially as Deb runs them) is a stellar way to narrow your focus and start taking action on your goals. (And what better time than at the start of the new year?) You’ll get to connect with others who are also working on goals and habits with the support of Deb, a productivity coach I admire and adore.

Just bring your top two or three priorities, and you can conquer anything, like:

organize your workspace
write your book outline
clean up your digital files
test a new productivity app
send out client proposals
anything!

You’ll videoconference with a small, select group via Zoom. Share your goal and tasks, work for the bulk of the two hours, and then take time to debrief and share your successes!

Moving Yourself Forward

Getting anything done involves figuring out what you have to do, knowing what’s kept you from getting started, making it easy for you to begin, and celebrating even the smallest wins. These next three posts were where the magic happened this year!

Paper Doll On Understanding and Conquering Procrastination (This is the post I submitted to the Productivity & Organizing Carnival.)

Frogs, Tomatoes, and Bees: Time Techniques to Get Things Done

Use the Rule of 3 to Improve Your Productivity

Dealing with the Pokey Times

If you’re overwhelmed by all you’ve got going on during late December and early January, you can skip onward. However, if your workplace closes down during the holidays, or your professional and personal lives just feel like they’re kind of in a slump right now, you may find some inspiration in two pieces I wrote for the summer slowdown.

The weather outside may be frightful (unless you’re reading from Australia), but if you are looking for ideas to pump you up when everyone is in a post-shopping/meal/travel haze, these posts may stir your motivation:

Organize Your Summer So It Doesn’t Disappear So Quickly

Use Your Heart, Head, and Hands to Organize During the Slow Times

Try To Do It All (And Knowing When to Step Away)

Maybe you did your annual review and found that you’re feeling burned out. If so, you are not alone. It’s easy for your groove to turn into a rut, and for all of your drive to accomplish come crashing down because you never take your foot off the gas all year!

If you missed these posts earlier need a second shot at embracing the importance of variety, small breaks, and actual vacations, here’s your chance to read some of my absolute favorite posts of the year:

Paper Doll Says: Don’t Get Stuck in a Rut — Take Big Leaps (Be sure to watch the diving board video!)

Was baby Paper Doll burned out? In a rut? Just pooped?

Take a Break — How Breaks Improve Health and Productivity

Take a Break for Productivity — The International Perspective (This is the post that introduced the Swedish convivial snack break, fika!)

If you had any doubts about what I said about the importance of taking breaks in your day to refresh your body, your brain, or your spirit, a new report just a few weeks ago confirms that we need that late afternoon break if we don’t want our productivity to turn to mush! And the more we push ourselves beyond work hours, the greater our decrease in productivity!

If you’re desperately in need of a full break, but are suffering from decision fatigue and don’t have the energy to begin planning a whole vacation, there are options to make it easier for you. In the BBC’s piece, Why 2024 May Be the Year of Surprise Travel, you may find some rousing options.

Need a little inspiration to spend your holiday gift money on experiences rather than tzotchkes? Check out Time Out’s 24 Best Things to Do in the World in 2024 to envision where you could take long breaks to refresh yourself. Those vintage trains in Italy are calling to me, but perhaps you’d prefer the immersive “Dream Circus” in Sydney, Australia, or Montréal en Lumière’s 25th anniversary?

(Never mind, I know. Everyone wants to go on the Taylor Swift cruise from Miami to the Bahamas. Just come back with good stories instead of memento clutter, OK?)

TOOLS AND IDEAS FOR GREATER PRODUCTIVITY

Sometimes, rereading my own posts reminds me how many nifty things there are to share with you, and how many are still to be discovered.

Paper Doll Helps You Find Your Ideal Analog Habit Tracker — So many people have requested a follow-up covering digital habit trackers, so watch for that in 2024.

Paper Doll Presents 4 Stellar Organizing & Productivity Resources

Paper Doll Shares Presidential Wisdom on Productivity — From the Eisenhower Matrix to Jefferson’s design for the swivel chair, from limiting wardrobe options to understanding the difference between being busy and being productive, we’ve had presidents who have known how to get more (of the right things) done. With an election year in 2024, I’d love a debate question on the candidate’s best tips for staying organized and productive!

Surprising Productivity Advice & the 2023 Task Management & Time Blocking Summit

Highlights from the 2023 Task Management & Time Blocking Summit

3 Simple But Powerful Productivity Resources — Right in Your Browser Tab — The offering that got the most attention this year was definitely Goblin.Tools. I’m sure that as we head into 2024 and beyond, I’ll be sharing more resources that make use of artificial intelligence.

Let’s just remember that we always need to give precedence to our own intelligence, in the same way we can’t follow GPS to the letter if it directs us to drive in to a lake. In fact, like all organizing and productivity guidance, remember what I said way back in 2020 in The Truth About Celebrity Organizers, Magic Wands, and the Reality of Professional Organizing: there is no magic wand.

AI and other solutions, tangible or digital, and even professional organizers, can make things easier, but the only way to get the life you want is to embrace making positive behavioral changes.

RESOURCES FOR ORGANIZING YOUR WORK AND TRAVEL SPACE

Privacy in Your Home Office: From Reality to Fantasy — It’s interesting to see that privacy, and not just in home offices but in communal workspaces, has become a priority again. Check out this recent New York Times piece, As Offices Workers Make Their Return, So Does the Lowly Cubicle.

Paper Doll Refreshes Your Paper Organizing Solutions

Paper Doll Organizes Temporary Papers and Explores Third Spaces — Do you have systems for dealing with your “temporary papers,” the ones that you don’t need to file away but aren’t triggering an immediate action?

Paper Doll Organizes Your Space, Money, and Well-Being While Traveling

Paper Doll is Clearly Organized — Translucent Tools for Getting it Together

Paper Doll Explores New & Nifty Office and School Supplies

Organize Your Desktop with Your Perfect Desk Pad

No matter where I go in 2024, be assured that I will be keeping my eyes open for solutions for keeping your paper and work supplies organized.

My Thanksgiving weekend shopping trips brought me a variety of intriguing options. At Kohl’s, I saw 30 Watt‘s Face Plant, a way to keep your eyeglasses handy while refreshing the air around you (and keeping you perky) with greenery. The 5.5″ x 6″ x 5.25″ ceramic planter holds a plant, gives you a place to rest your glasses (so you won’t misplace them under piles of paper on your desk), and is dry erase marker-friendly! (It’s currently on sale for under $14.)

A stop at IKEA in Atlanta was so productive for organizing tools that you’ll be seeing posts with nifty names like Övning (for tidying a child’s desk accessories and creating privacy), Kugsfors (wall-mounted shelves with tablet stands for keeping books and iPads visible while working), Bekant (sit/stand desks) and more.

ORGANIZING YOUR FINANCIAL & LEGAL LIFE

Not everything in the organizing and productivity world is fun to look at, and that’s especially true of all the financial and legal documents that help you sleep soundly at night. Still, Paper Doll kept you aware of how to understand and protect your money, your identity, and your legacy.

Speaking of which, if you haven’t created your Apple Legacy Contact and your Google Inactive Account Manager, why the heck not? Use the power of body doubling up above, grab a partner, and get your digital life in order!

Lost & Found: Recover Unclaimed Money, Property, and Savings Bonds

Paper Doll’s Ultimate Guide to Legally Changing Your Name

Paper Doll Explains Digital Social Legacy Account Management

How to Create Your Apple & Google Legacy Contacts

Paper Doll Explains Your Health Insurance Explanation of Benefits

DEALING WITH EMERGENCIES AND STRESSFUL SITUATIONS

Sometimes, I write a post I wish I’d been able to read earlier (like the one on preventing and recovering from a car theft). Other times, like when a friend had a health emergency, or when Paper Mommy had her fall in November, I’m glad the posts already exist. If you missed these the first time around, please be sure to read, share, and bookmark them; think of them as an insurance policy, and let’s hope you won’t need them.

How to Organize Support for Patients and Families in Need

Organize to Prevent (or Recover From) a Car Theft

Paper Doll Organizes You To Prepare for an Emergency

GRAB BACK OF INTERVIEWS, UPDATES, AND PHILOSOPHY

Paper Doll Interviews Motivational Wordsmith Kara Cutruzzula

You already know how beloved my friend Kara Cutruzzula‘s Brass Ring Daily newsletter and Do It Today podcast are at Paper Doll HQ.

After having read and enjoyed Kara’s Do It For Yourself — A Motivational Journal and her follow-up, Do It Today — A Motivational Journal (Start Before Your Ready), I had no doubt that I’d be jumping on her third when it was released in September.

If you haven’t already picked up Do It Or Don’t — A Boundary-Creating Journal, use that Amazon money you almost certainly got this holiday season!

One of the Paper Doll themes for 2024 will focus on setting (and maintaining) better boundaries to accomplish more of what’s meaningful, and I’ve got multi-color tape flags sticking out of Kara’s book from all the chapters to share her bounty with you.

What’s in a Name? “Addressing” Organizing and Productivity

Paper Doll Suggests What to Watch to Get More Organized and Productive — As we head into the new year, I’ll be keeping my eyes open for podcasts, webinars, and TV shows to help you keep your space organized, your time productive, your finances orderly, and your life joyous. Readers have been sending in YouTube and TikTok videos that inspire them, so please feel free to share programming that you’d like to see profiled on Paper Doll‘s pages.

Paper Doll on How to Celebrate Organizing and Productivity with Friends

Paper Doll and Friends Cross an Ocean for Fine Productivity Conversations

From in-person get togethers with frolleagues (what my accountability partner Dr. Melissa Gratias calls those special folks who are both friends and colleagues) to Friday night professional organizer Zooms, accountability calls, and Mastermind group collaborations, this has been a great year for staying connected and sharing the benefits of those conversations with you.

I also loved guesting on so many fun podcasts related to organizing, productivity, technology, and more. If there’s someone you’d like to hear me debate or banter with, let me know!

SEASONAL POSTS

Spooky Clutter: Fears that Keep You from Getting Organized

Paper Doll’s Thanksgiving Week Organizing and Productivity Buffet

Paper Doll De-Stresses Your December

Paper Doll on Clutter-Free Gifts and How to Make Gift Cards Make Sense

Are you stressed out because you haven’t gotten someone a gift yet? Maybe a good start would be to help an overwhelmed special someone take my advice about going on a travel break. Consider gift certificates for something like Get Your Guide, with opportunities to get guided tours of locally-vetted, expertly-curated sporting, nature, cultural, and food experiences. With 118,000 experiences in 150 countries, pick a multiple of $50 or set your own amount, and your recipient can pick the domestic or international travel experience that fits best.

If you know your recipient will be traveling by rail, consider a gift card for Amtrak or ViaRail in North America. Eurail doesn’t sell gift cards, but you can pay for a pass, or buy a gift card for a rail pass for more than a dozen specific European train lines. And if you’d like to help someone organize vacation serenity and secure a bundle of travel attractions for a given city, try TurboPass in Europe or City Pass and The Sightseeing Pass in North America.

HERE’S TO A MORE ORGANIZED AND PRODUCTIVE 2024

Whether you’ll be spending the next few days reading, traveling, or doing your annual review, I hope this last week of 2023 is a happy and healthy one.

To send you off for a cozy week, I’d like to share a Whamagaddon– and Mariah–free, retro 100-minute holiday playlist from the late 1930s through the early 1960s. It’s somehow easier to dismantle the tree and write thank-you notes to Guy Lombardo. (My favorite clocks in at 52:42 with “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?”)

Please let me know your favorite Paper Doll posts from this year, and I’ll meet you back here in 2024!

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Archive for ‘Office Supplies’ Category

Paper Doll Explores the Best of Desktop File Boxes

THE BENEFITS OF DESKTOP FILE BOXES

Small Footprint for Maximized Space Efficiency

Ease of Accessibility

Improved Organization

Customizable

Portability

Visual Clarity

Versatility

USE CASES FOR DESKTOP FILE BOXES

A BEVY OF DESKTOP FILE BOX SOLUTION STYLES

Metal Mesh

Metallic

Fabric-covered

Wood

Leather

FINAL THOUGHTS

Paper Doll Post:

Like this:

See Your Way Clear: Organize With Transparent Sticky Notes

Academic Uses

Organizational Uses

Improve Every Stage of a Project

Who else might use transparent sticky notes?

CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY TRANSPARENT STICKY NOTES

Potential for Residue

Adhesive Strength

Writing Challenges

Less Absorbent Surface

Limited Color Options

Glare and Reflection

Cost

VARIETIES OF TRANSPARENT STICKY NOTES

ALTERNATIVE BRANDS OF TRANSPARENT STICKY NOTES

Paper Doll Post:

Like this:

Paper Doll Shares How To Select a Shredder, Shred Responsibly, and Save

DIY SHREDDER ESSENTIALS

Shredder Unit Size

Shred Size and Shape

Capacity

Other Considerations

PROFESSIONAL SHREDDING SERVICES

FREE SHREDDING EVENTS

Paper Doll Post:

Like this:

Paper Doll Shares 3 Quirky & Cool New Office Supplies

STICKY NOTE TO-DO LIST STENCIL

The Alternatives

The Stencil

MEMO WALLET

NIIMBOT B21 THERMAL LABEL PRINTER

Paper Doll Post:

Like this:

Recapping Paper Doll’s 2023 Posts — Which Were Your Favorites?

ORGANIZE YOUR INSPIRATION

PRODUCTIVITY AND TIME MANAGEMENT

Partnering for Success

Moving Yourself Forward

Dealing with the Pokey Times

Try To Do It All (And Knowing When to Step Away)

TOOLS AND IDEAS FOR GREATER PRODUCTIVITY

RESOURCES FOR ORGANIZING YOUR WORK AND TRAVEL SPACE

ORGANIZING YOUR FINANCIAL & LEGAL LIFE

DEALING WITH EMERGENCIES AND STRESSFUL SITUATIONS

GRAB BACK OF INTERVIEWS, UPDATES, AND PHILOSOPHY

SEASONAL POSTS

HERE’S TO A MORE ORGANIZED AND PRODUCTIVE 2024

Paper Doll Post:

Like this: