For the Love of Lists

Engineering life one step at a time

Pandora Christmas Stations for Every Mood

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Christmas Music
Pandora Christmas Stations for Every Mood
Year after year my dad kicks off Christmas morning with the same playlist, comprised of the best of the holiday classics (according to him): Dolly Parton’s “Hard Candy Christmas“, Bing Crosby’s “Christmas in Killarney“, and the ever-popular “I’m Gettin’ Nuttin’ for Christmas“.  Of course these are interspersed with the usual traditional hits, but these unique picks are what I look forward to every year.  Watching Mom shake her head as Dad sings another verse of “Dominick the Donkey” reminds me that no matter what else changes the rest of the year, I always have these constant traditions to look forward to.

That being said, it’s always nice to change up the mix now and then.  Sometimes you’re looking to settle down with a few relaxing chorale works, while at other times it’s just a “Jingle Bell Rock” kind of day.  If you’re shopping around for some holiday variety this season, here is a list of Pandora options that are sure to get you through to “December the 25th“.

Classic Christmas

Family Christmas

Religious Christmas

Pop & Modern Christmas

Nostalgic Christmas

Decades

Country Christmas

Fun Twists

Ethnic Christmas

If you’re not celebrating Christmas this season, Pandora has a Hanukkah station to enjoy as another option.  And for those who aren’t Pandora fans, Songza is also a great tool to stream Christmas music according to your mood (they have unique playlists such as “A Merry and Bright Christmas Party” and “Teen Pop Christmas”).  So whichever you choose, I hope you’re enjoying the holiday season, and I wish you a Happy Hanukkah and a Merry Christmas!

https://youtu.be/9l8X5WOlD9Y

What are your favorite Christmas songs?  Share below!

The Secret to Simpler Gift Giving

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Gift Giving

Every year holidays and birthdays creep up on us.  No matter how we mark our calendars or set reminders, it seems like the week or two before we’re in a scramble for gift ideas.  These are supposed to be happy occasions and somehow they just end up stressful (Christmas ironically being the worst culprit as we have several people to shop for).  So last year I tested out a new gift plan that has helped me immensely.  Here is my secret to simpler, less stressful, gift giving.

Instead of waiting around until December to plan your gifts (or until the next holiday rears its head), create a notebook specifically for gifts and donations that you can update all year round.  I’m a fan of Evernote and this is a great use for it.  Here are the pages I suggest you include:

  • List of holidays and annual events
  • Recipients pages (one page for each person you typically give gifts to)
  • Generic gift ideas (ex. housewarming, baby showers, thank you gifts)
  • Donation log for charitable gifts
  • Log of past gifts received
  • Personal gift wish list
  • Holiday budget sheet
  • Holiday gift shopping list

Keeping a page for each person you give gifts to is the key here.  Write down items they mention, their interests, favorites, hobbies, or places they say they’d like to go.  Throughout the year if you see an item they’d love or think of a good idea, write it down and save it for the next holiday.  Also make sure to make notes of gifts you know they won’t like (ex. if your cousin returned that sweater you gave them).  When the time comes you’ll have a great starting pool of ideas to choose from.

Here’s a few more tips:

  • Set reminders for two weeks before holidays so you don’t forget to shop
  • Refer to your personal wish list if anyone needs hints for gifts you’d appreciate
  • Save photos of receipts for return information
  • Save photos of receipts for donations for tax purposes
  • Make notes of past gifts given so you don’t use the same idea twice (I’ve been guilt of this one)

The best part about this system is that you can better take advantage of sales throughout the year since you’ll be ahead of the holiday game.  I hope this helps make gift giving a little easier!

 

 

How to Set Up Your Family Mail Center

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Even though email has taken over our lives, we still get a ton of mail.  Between catalogs, magazines, mailers, bills, personal letters, and newsletters our kitchen table used to be full of piles of papers we never felt we had time to sort.  We even had a cooler bin full of papers to burn in the garage.  It was a mess.  So a few months ago we put together our own mail station right next to our front door, and it has made such a difference.  Everything we need to process the mail is essentially in one location (like a kit).  Now the mail has a place to go, to be sorted, and to be taken care of.

Here’s what you’ll need to set up your very own family mail station:

  • Dedicated Space: a side table, specific counter section, shelf, wall zone
  • Disposal Equipment: trash bin, recycling bin, shredder
  • File Organizers: file folders, baskets, standing organizers, wall unit
  • Mail Supplies: stamps, address labels, envelopes, letter opener, pens, stationery
How to Setup Your Family Mail Center
Our mail station with our home management binder, receipt holder, and dry erase pens.

Here’s how to use it to manage your mail:

  • Inbox/Outbox: Baskets or trays are great for handling small piles of mail (just don’t let them get too full!)
  • Disposal: To avoid clutter, get rid of obvious junk mail before it even hits your inbox.  Shred files with any personal info and recycle or trash the rest.
  • Organization: Sort your inbox and dispose of any remaining junk mail.  Then temporarily file the rest for use.  There are a few ways to do this (see my post on organizing emails for an alternative), but here’s what works for us using a 3-section file bin:
    • Important – bills, membership renewals, letters to respond to
    • Hold – appointment reminders, tax forms, schedules
    • Magazines
  • Filing: Periodically review your mail bins to dispose of old papers and put items to save in your home filing system (ex. filing cabinet or similar).  Cycle magazines when your bin is full.  Mark any mailers or catalogs that you don’t need and unsubscribe.
  • Optional Supplies: Depending on your needs, here are a few other suggestions for items to keep close by:
    • Checkbook
    • Blank Greeting Cards
    • Packing Tape
    • Post Office Hours
    • Home Management Binder

I hope this helps you to get control of your mail situation (remember, it’s the first step to your home filing process).  For us it’s been one simple task made so much easier!

The Secret to an Easier Morning: Kitting

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How does your morning typically go?  Likely scenario: you snooze through the alarm (alarms?), scavenge through your dresser drawers for an outfit, root through your makeup bag, and quickly gather up your work supplies and maybe a granola bar before you head out the door.  As much as we’d like to have a calm, organized start to our day we begin with too many decisions and too many items to remember.  Thankfully, I have a solution for this.  It’s called “kitting”.

When assembling a launch vehicle (rocket), there can be hundreds of parts that go into the installation of a single component.  On top of that you’re trying to follow a detailed procedure, monitor safety, check quality, and juggle an array of tools and equipment. That’s a lot of keep track of, especially when you consider that a single missing piece can lead to catastrophic failure.  So, rather than continuously running to grab parts and tools as needed, we create “kits” containing everything we need to complete a single task.  These boxes are checked ahead of time to make sure every part is accounted for, so all we need to do is show up with our procedures and get right to work.

So how does building a rocket relate to your morning rush?  You can create kits of your own to make your day run more efficiently.  Imagine how much more smoothly your morning would go with the following kits:

– A guided checklist detailing outfit items to pick out the night before (articles of clothing, undergarments, jewelry, footwear, etc)
– An outwear kit: scarves, gloves, earmuffs, umbrellas, rainboots, sunscreen
– An “everyday” makeup bin: foundation, concealer, mascara, blush, brushes, etc
– A purse essentials kit: makeup bag(s) containing wallet, keys, chargers, chapstick, tissues for easy switching
– A “grab and go” breakfast kit: ziploc bags containing oatmeal, dried fruits, cereal, nuts, spoon, napkin, bowl

Kitting

The trick to these kits is to not only include the main items (like the oatmeal) but also the supporting items you’d forget in the moment (like the spoon and bowl).  The more complete they are, the less work you have to do to use them.  Here’s how to set one up:

1) Choose an action you’d like to simplify (ex. cleaning the bathrooms)
2) Brainstorm all of the items you use to complete the action.  In our example that could include: glass cleaner, floor cleaner, disinfectant, toilet bowl cleaner, toilet brush, sponges, paper towels, air fresheners, mop, trash bags, toilet paper, clean towels, rubber gloves, and hand soap
3) Identify which items you can store together permanently and which would be impractical to kit (ex. mop, towels).  The latter can be included via a checklist.
4) Find a container to house your kit.  This can be a box, bin, basket, shelf, room section, or a bag.  Make sure it’s big enough to contain all of the items you need but small enough it’s portable if you need it to be.  Locate extra items close by.
5) Build your kit.  Include any checklists you need (instructions and/or reminders of additional items needed).

Here are some ideas for other kits you can create:

– Study kit: pens, pencils, highlighters, white out, paper, snacks, headphones, playlists, professor contact info, textbooks, syllabi
– Craft kit: washi tape, transparent tape, scrapbook paper, scissors, ribbon, markers, loose fabric, layouts
– Home decorating kit: command strips, nails, hammer, level, pencils, stud finder, magic eraser
– Airline travel kit: neck pillow, blanket, eye mask, ear plugs, snacks, headphones, hand sanitizing wipes, chapstick, travel bottle, first aid kit
– Stationery kit: stamps, envelopes (multiple sizes), address labels, address book, notepaper, greeting cards, pens, post office schedule
– De-stress kit: journal/pen, meditation music, bath soaks, aromatherapy oils, sketchpad, emergency chocolate

Be creative and you’ll think of plenty more ways to organize with kits (for further ideas, check out my post on 10 new uses for makeup bags).  The goal is to reduce the amount of time you spend searching for things so you can move through the day smoothly and efficiently.  Good luck, and happy kitting!

How One File Cabinet Can Organize Your Home

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Three months ago we got a file cabinet, and I don’t think I’ve been so excited about a project in a while.  I cleared out an entire day to attack every loose paper in our house, armed with a stack of tabbed folders and a pile of markers.  Now that I have my system in place a multitude of tasks that I used to dread have become as simple as finding the right folder.  Here are some of the reasons I love my file cabinet:

  • It’s easy to reference your files (like reviewing your water usage against last year)
  • Organize your old class notes or your child’s schoolwork
  • Save artwork and greeting cards
  • Every paper has a place (and you can easily distinguish the ones you don’t need)
  • Store loose recipes and magazine articles
  • Save old trip planning resources for future vacations
  • Keep old planner sheets/to-do lists/bucket lists for “someday” tasks
  • Secure manuals, warranties, and major receipts for quick access
  • Organize your loose-leaf notes from old “brain dump” notebooks
  • Folder systems are cheap to implement and modify

How One File Cabinet Can Organize Your Home

When we first realized we had a ton of paper fodder we refused to get rid of (as engineers we like to review old school notes), it took a bit of time to determine the correct system for us.  My friend suggested getting paper file boxes to store in the garage, but those are difficult to access when you’re looking for a specific document.  A few websites suggested going digital, but we don’t have the time yet to convert so it’s not feasible right now.  So we decided that it was worth the cost and space of a file cabinet to keep everything in order.  If you’re thinking this may be the right system for you, be sure to consider the following first:

  • They take up some space (ours is 26.5″ x 15″)
  • They don’t look very pretty (we decorate ours with hardcover books and bookends)
  • Fireproof ones are heavy and expensive (you can always get a small fireproof safe for important documents)
  • They require continuous maintenance or they’ll become a dumping ground (make a yearly date to purge old files)

All of those obstacles are completely overcome by how amazing it is to have a place for every document.  Have I convinced you yet?  I hope so (it’s really a lifesaver for me).  Here’s how to set it up in your own home:

  1. Collect all of your loose papers and notebooks (yes, I mean EVERYTHING).
  2. Go through every sheet and separate them into the following piles: “Keep”, “Toss”, “Shred”.
  3. For your “Keep” pile, separate them into categories (ex. bills, receipts, manuals, kid’s art).  I think you know what to do with the other two piles!
  4. Shop around for a cabinet that will fit your paper pile.  Sometimes you can get a great deal off of Craigslist, but I also suggest looking for sales at Staples, Office Depot, or on Amazon.  Remember that you can always supplement your locking cabinet with a small fireproof safe.
  5. Look at your file categories and outline what sections you’ll need in your filing system.  I’ve included my outline below for reference.
  6. Shop around for organization supplies.  I use blue hanging tab folders from Staples mixed with simple manila folders.  Have some fun with this: if you want to color-code or cover everything in washi tape, go right ahead.  Just make sure you’ve got enough for extra folders as your system grows.
  7. Label your folders and fill in your cabinet.  Make sure you have enough room to move files around as your search, and remember that you’ll be constantly adding as time goes by.
  8. Lastly, designate a “File” bin in your home for any incoming papers that need to make their way into the cabinet.

That’s it!  I’ll admit, it’s a lot of work up front.  But it’s completely worth it, since now I know where to find every scrap of paper and I only have to manage the “File” bin and a yearly paper purge.  Every family will have their own system of reference folders, but if you’re looking for a place to start I’ll share ours with you:

File System
My organized file drawer.

Home File Storage

1. Important Documents (Safe)

1.1   Personal Information (I = Per Individual)
1.1.1   Birth Certificates (I)
1.1.2   Social Security Records (I)
1.1.3   Driver’s Licenses (I
1.1.4   Passports (I)
1.1.5   Draft Registration (I)
1.1.6   Fingerprints (I)
1.1.7   Religious Records (I)
1.1.8   Immunization Records (I)
1.1.9   Voter Registration (I)
1.1.10 Military Service Records (I)

1.2   Household Information
1.2.1   Marriage Certificate
1.2.2  Deeds
1.2.3  Vehicle Titles
1.2.4  Financial Info
1.2.5  Account Passwords/Combinations
1.2.6  Home Item Inventory

1.3   “Always Prepared” Folder
1.3.1   Life Insurance
1.3.2  Wills
1.3.3  Wishes

2. Financial

2.1   Bank Info

2.2   Bills
2.2.1   Rent
2.2.2   Gas
2.2.3   City Utilities
2.2.4   Cable/Internet

2.3   IRA/401(k)/Retirement Info

2.4   Income Tax Info

2.5   Credit Card Info

2.6   Investment Info

2.7   Long-Term Payments

2.8   Charitable Contributions

2.9   Loan Info
2.9.1   Student Loans
2.9.2  Auto Loans
2.9.3  Home Loans

3. Career

3.1   Employment Records

3.2   Education Records
3.2.1   School Records
3.2.2  Transcripts
3.2.3  List of Activities

3.3   Resumes

3.4   Certifications

4. Medical

4.1   Physician Records
4.1.1   Immunization Records
4.1.2  List of Surgeries/Hospitalizations
4.1.3  List of Medications
4.1.4  Medical Records

4.2   Health Insurance

4.3   General Physician

4.4   Cardiologist

4.5   Neurologist

4.6   Dentist

4.7   Optometrist

4.8   Allergist

4.9   Pet Records

4.10 Diet & Exercise Plans

5. Household

5.1   House/Home Info
5.1.1   Mortgage/Leasing Documents
5.1.2   Home Services/Contracts
5.1.3   Home Maintenance Records

5.2   Renter’s/Home Insurance

5.3   Vehicle Documents
5.3.1   Maintenance Records
5.3.2   Car Insurance
5.3.3   Car Registration
5.3.4   Vehicle Title

5.4   Home Management Documents

5.5   Home Item Inventory & Registration

5.6   Household History

6. Activities

6.1   Church

6.2   Volunteering

6.3   Certificates/Awards

6.4   Travel

6.5   Bucket Lists

6.6   Memberships/Organizations

6.7   Newspaper Clippings

I hope this has given you an idea of how to streamline your home documents.  For help organizing your emails as well, please check out my post, How to Clear Your Inbox with Only 3 Folders.  Happy filing!

 

This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means that I receive a bit of compensation if you make a purchase using the product links above.  It’s no extra cost to you, and I would never suggest a product I wouldn’t buy myself.  I hope you enjoy the recommendations!