Dive into Invitations, Don't Drown in them!

Ask the Organizer
February 25, 2010

My family and I love to engage in the community and take advantage of local culture wherever we go. However, I find that it is hard to manage all of the event schedules and calendars that continue to stream in from theatres, museums, charity organizations on top of the busy school and sports schedule. Can you suggest ways for us to avoid missing events we would want to go to in the sea of paper and e-mails?

Joyce L., Killingworth CT

Joyce, it is wonderful that your family takes advantage of the many opportunities that surround you in the shoreline community and beyond. Luckily there is never a shortage of activities to do in our communities if you know where to look. While it is great to get on mailing lists of museums, charities, theatres, local shops etc., or clip the newspaper schedules of local events, it can get overwhelming to keep track of it all.
The first step is prioritizing your family’s favorite activities. If your family loves outdoor activities and all of the stores that provide equipment and apparel to support those activities, than it makes sense to stay signed up on their mailing lists and know about events, sales and after-hours events that you would realistically attend. However, if you find you are getting an influx of e-mails or mailers from organizations you have no interest in, it is time to simplify. Unsubscribe from their e-mails and mailing list immediately. This influx of useless information is only going to help hide the important schedules and invitations that you really want see.

The second step to organizing your family’s social calendar is to choose a calendar system that is going to help you accurately manage your schedules as a group. Many families choose to have a wall calendar on their fridge or behind a closet door to record school events, practices, and other events of interest. This can be a great way to keep everyone on the same page if it is updated regularly and everyone is recording their individual changes. I often suggest assigning a color to each family member to make each person’s schedule reveal itself more easily. There are many great wall calendars designed specifically for families with multiple kids that provide a section under each day for each family member.

Another great calendar choice, which I am seeing more and more families use is shared electronic calendars. Many e-mail programs such as Gmail or Hotmail allow you to create multiple calendars and share them online. This can be a great way for parents to coordinate carpooling and update events more easily during the work day. One of the other great advantages of the electronic calendar is that it can often be synced with Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) phones to go on the road with you. Another perk is you can put something that occurs weekly, such as soccer practice, in your calendar once and set it to reoccur at the same time each week. You will only have to write it once instead of 52 times on your handwritten calendar.
The third step in gaining control of your family’s social engagements is to pull of the schedules aside as they come in and make quick decisions. If it is something that you are definitely interested in, put it on your calendar immediately with any other corresponding information that you would need and toss the paperwork or e-mail. If it is a maybe, talk with other family members and decide within a week. Otherwise, the paper or e-mail will be another item lost in the shuffle that you will find again two months after the event has passed. If you procrastinate putting it on the calendar it probably means it is something that you or your family is not that excited about attending. The key is to decide and move on so the papers and e-mails don’t overwhelm you or bury other important items.

Kristin Mastromarino is a professional organizer and owner of Livable Solutions Professional Organizing and The Organized Lifestyle retail store in Guilford, CT. (www.theorganizedlifestylestore.com). You can e-mail her your questions at Kristin@livablesolutions.com.

Preserving Memories

Ask the Organizer
February 11, 2010

How do you preserve your family's photographs and old documents and keepsakes? For example, I have my grandmother's birth certificate and naturalization papers and I don't know what to do with them to keep them from deteriorating!
Meredith, Madison, CT

Preserving our memories properly is a major part of organizing many homes. All of us have sentimental items that may not mean that much to an outside observer, but hold a lot of emotion for us. Photographs and paper mementos can both be a treasure and a burden for loved ones. I commend you for looking to preserve these important items properly. It is unfortunate when family treasures are damaged because they were thrown quickly in a cardboard box or shoved in a free space on a shelf in the basement. If you are going to save items, it is important to treat them as the treasures they are, otherwise they will appear to have the same value as all of the items you threw in a box to clear your dining room table quickly before company came.
There are several factors that can contribute to the deterioration of photos and treasured papers. Temperature, humidity and sunlight are all environmental factors that can cause damage. In addition, rapid changes in temperature such as humidity followed by cold weather, often occurring in attics and basements, can cause cracking and ruin the image. Other damaging agents are dirt, dust and oil. Photographs can stick together, curl or get moldy in damp environments. Insects and rodents can also tear away at paperwork. Therefore, attics and basements are not the ideal locations for storing precious documents.
Ideally, they should be stored in place with a consistent temperature of 65-70% and a humidity level of about 50%. Not all homes can maintain such consistent climate control. Safety deposit boxes can be a safe environment for valuable papers and photos if another option is needed.
When packing away photographs, the first rule of thumb is to avoid placing negatives with the photos. In case something happens you will have a better chance of recreating the photos if they are in two different locations.
Another suggestion is to avoid using anything acidic, such as a ball point pen to write on the back of your photos. Acids can break down the photos over time and destroy the image. If a document or photo needs special protection, consider wrapping it in acid free tissue or paper to protect it from environmental elements. Plastic bags, storage containers or non-acid free photo boxes should be avoided when storing valuable pieces. While these are cheap and easy to find at your local drug store or discount store, they will not protect your papers in the long run. Shop for lignin free, acid free, un-buffered paper for photographs and papers. These specialty products can also be used in between pages in photo albums. Use only PVC-free plastics such as Polyester, Mylar, Polypropylene, Polyethelyne and Tyvek.

When you are making the decision to display a valuable paper or photo in your home, consider making a copy and keeping the original in storage. Sunlight can slowly fade the photograph. In addition, glass can sometimes adhere to the photo in the picture frame. To be safe, make a high quality photocopy to further ensure the preservation of the original.
If you follow these simple steps, you will be able to enjoy your mementos for many years to come!
Kristin Mastromarino is a professional organizer and owner of Livable Solutions Professional Organizing and The Organized Lifestyle retail store in Guilford, CT. (www.theorganizedlifestylestore.com). You can e-mail her your questions at Kristin@livablesolutions.com.