Penelope Loves Lists » Organization P*rn

Penelope Loves the FeelGood List

Meredith — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:00:12 +0000

Isn’t the best part of your To Do list the checking off of the completed items? It is mine. I’ve been known to add things to my To Do list that are already done just for the satisfaction of being able to check them off. Scratches some itch I’ve got.

So, when fellow Penelope Tammy emailed me about the FeelGood List, I was in love! It’s a customized life check list. It’s made just for you! And there are so many things to check off each day. Love.

Here’s what its creator, Up Up Creative, says about it:

“You buy, I email you a form to fill out and send back to me, I make your list, you get the final PDF file to print as many times as you’d like. Forever.”

Read her list closely by clicking on the image. It’s so cool. And it’s so cute.

The FeelGood List from Up Up Creative

I’d love to hear what items you add to your Custom FeelGood List.

Penelope’s Favorite Websites: BNeato

Meredith — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:00:11 +0000

I’m often asked what organizing blogs I read regularly. I gotta say, I don’t have the time to read as many as I’d like, but one I read every single time is BNeato. I love this blog.

BNeato is the brainchild of professional organizer Beth Zeigler, but her blog really isn’t what you’d expect from a professional organizer. It’s better. She writes short posts, but they’re always useful. From Mac Mondays (tips for Mac users – changed my life several times) to tips on cool organization tools and DIY projects, it’s forever interesting.

But by far my favorite feature Beth does is her To Do List Tuesdays. Why didn’t I think of this? Seriously, why? It’s genius.

Every Tuesday, she features somebody’s REAL To Do List. In their own handwriting, with real items on it. It’s total organization p*rn and I’m an addict.

Be sure to pop over to BNeato and subscribe while you’re there. Beth’s a true Penelope and you’ll be glad you decided to keep up with what she’s doing over there.

Focus on: Bob’s Your Uncle

Meredith — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 16:00:40 +0000

Today in our “Focus On” series (wherein I get to put together fun collages with Polyvore and pretend that their useful), we’re taking a look at Bob’s Your Uncle, a “think outside the box” maker of smart office supplies. I’m a huge fan.

I think what I love most about Bob’s Your Uncle products is their mix of clever, tongue-in-cheek styling with rock solid performance. They aren’t just silly for silly’s sake and I appreciate that.

Here are four of my (many) favorite products:

I get asked all the time what notebook I use to keep my To Do Lists – this is it! The Off The Grid Notebook. (The perfect grid paper spiral notebook!)
Punctuation Page Markers. Add a little bit of zotch to your boring ol’ documents.
The Multi-Task Planner Journal: chock full of all kinds of useful items, including grid paper, check box pages for lists and a planner journal.
The 8 Days a Week Mousepad Notepad: keep your weekly schedule right on your desk with this tear-off mousepad notepad. Eight days = Monday – Sunday + Someday. Perfect.

You can check out their online store or buy many of their items at See Jane Work or 8 Days A-Week Planner Pad by Bob's Your Uncle" target="_blank">Amazon.

Penelope’s Favorite Websites: Paper Source for pretty office supplies

Meredith — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:00:46 +0000

I love it when I hear about another great website where you can buy pretty office supplies. My new favorite is called Paper Source and I’m absolutely loving their selection of unique things for your office and home. A big thanks to reader Tacy from HomeMaking Habits for bringing this site to my attention.

Here are just a few of the products form Paper Source that are catching my eye today. Wouldn’t these cuties add a little bit of “pretty” to your office?

Chocolate Kimono File Folder Set

Quotation Dry Erase Board

Chartreuse Dots Magazine Holder

Fabric Thumbtacks in Prairie Flora

Go ahead and hop on over to Paper Source and see what they have to offer. There’s a ton of stuff there, and not just office supplies. There’s even a mug I really have my eye on. (Have I told you that the ONLY thing I collect is mugs?) I can’t wait til they get more back in stock.

Do you have a recommendation for a great website you think other Penelopes should know about? Email me or put it into the comments. If I blog about it, I promise I’ll give you credit. We’re always on the lookout for creative ways to express our neatness, aren’t we?

Peeping Penelope: Home Office Before and After by Centsational Girl

Meredith — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:00:56 +0000

You’re all reading Centsational Girl, right? If not, do. It’s author, Kate, does the most beautiful interior design projects, and does them on the cheap.

Even better? She spills her secrets and gives us each the sense maybe we could do this stuff, too. You know, if we all had impeccable taste and never slept, both of which describe Kate, I think.

A little while ago, Kate posted her own home office design before and after and the result is unspeakably gorgeous. The kicker is that she spent just $995 on the makeover (not including accessories.) What a feat from such a talented woman.

Here’s the office before the makeover.

Centsational Girl's Home Office: Before

And, after. Cue the “Hallelujah Chorus”.

Centsational Girl's Home Office: After

I love the how the natural light works so well with her color choices. But, my favorite item: the blue Mason Jar. What a pretty place to keep your pens.

Centsational Girl's New Desk

Uber-pretty and super organized bookcases make this space perfect.

So now you’ve got two assignments:

1) Click here to see many more images of the makeover, including more “before” photos. Go get inspired to zotch up your own home work space in a thrifty way.

2) While you’re over at the Centsational Girl site, subscribe to Kate’s RSS feed so you can stay up on all the DIY excellence she’s churning out.

Organizing in a pretty pink place: girly office supplies

Meredith — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:15:52 +0000

I’m not so much a pink girl, but lately, mostly because I’ve been reading Making It Lovely, I’ve been drawn to pink more and more.

Today, some cotton candy loveliness for my beloved Penelopes..

Letter-Size Interior File Folders in “Bloom” $4.99 – containerstore.com
Poppy Magnetic Board $7.99 – containerstore.com
Pink Floral Storage Boxes $20 – containerstore.com
Stripe Weekly Planner $25 – sortingwithstyle.com
Self-adhesive Note To-Do www.russellandhazel.com
Casauri Carry All Weekender - seejanework.com
Poppy Mouse and mousepad $35 – sortingwithstyle.com
Choco Dot Pink Pen $15 – sortingwithstyle.com
Small Pink Paris Notebook $13 – sortingwithstyle.com
Webster’s Fashion Color Thesaurus – seejanework.com
Pink Clipboard $22 – sortingwithstyle.com
Jane’s Stapler -seejanework.com

Peeping Penelope: a look at Simplesong’s home office

Meredith — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 19:15:17 +0000

It’s that time again: time for some voyeuristic peeking into a beautiful home office workspace.

This time, the home office belongs to blogger Suann Song from Simplesong, one of my favorite blogs. I found this little gem via another fantastic blog: Ill Seen, Ill Said (is that a great name, or what?) She does a great series called “Where We Blog From”, and I’m fascinated by it.

Take a look at Suann’s office and then be sure to pop over to each of the blogs mentioned above. The Peeping Penelope in you will be glad you did.

I love the natural light and the hardwood floors. I also love the glass-topped desk and the way she angled her shelving unit in the corner.

But I really, really love the chair. I know my Boston Terrier, Cooper, would love to curl up there while I worked. Maybe we could get Suann to tell us where she got it?

The office is simple, and so pretty. She strikes a perfect balance between usefulness and pretty touches. And, she’s a Mac girl. Just sayin’.

I wonder, too, how many of us have “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters somewhere in our offices? I know I do. Makes me feel better. It’s a stiff upper lip kind of thing.

Be sure to hop over to Jane’s post on this office to see more photos and get details.

Thanks for the inspiration, Suann and Jane!

Pottery Barn does Stainless Steel well: organization for office or kitchen

Meredith — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:20:43 +0000

Time for some organization supply p*rn. My favorite.

Normally, stainless steel is a bit, well, cold, for me. It’s best used on kitchen appliances and not much else. I’m more of a “cottage” type of girl, so I like white-painted wood, bright colors and fabric accents. But, leave it to Pottery Barn to come up with a line of stainless steel accessories that are chic, utilitarian and cozy. The pieces to this system (while not cheap) aren’t as spendy as some of their stuff and you can buy only what you need for your space.

I think what appeals to me about it is not just how orderly you can keep things, but how simple and easy they make the pieces. They fit together in a million different ways. Here’s another way you could organize your spices. This doesn’t need a lot of space, which appeals to me and my tiny kitchen:

How ’bout a neat, clean place to put your cookbook while you work in the kitchen:

But it’s not just for the kitchen, you can use it for your office, too:

And, for a visual organization method, they have super simple, open pieces that are only bound by your imagination (and the number of magnets you own):

Ah Pottery Barn, how I wish that I could live in your pages.