Very few things make my heart skip a beat faster than a new online retailer of pretty office supplies. Maybe a shirtless David Beckham. No…I’m actually more excited by this new find.

Have you seen Girl of All Work? Penelopes, you must.

Their site isn’t huge, yet. It’s focused and well-curated. It’s no See Jane Work – yet – but it’s got tremendous potential.

I love every item they’re offering. The designs are exquisitely cute and the prices are reasonable compared with similar retailers.

Here’s a glance at what went into my shopping cart at Girl of All Work today:

Classic Tiles Page Flags

Peel and Stick Tabs

More Peel and Stick Tabs

Birdie Notebook with both lined and blank pages

A Teapot Journal for jotting down recipe ideas

My only two suggestions for the awesome people at Girl of All Work? More and larger images, especially showing the inside of notebooks, tablets and pads and more inventory. I know they’ll get there soon. They’ve got so much potential here.

Have you found any great new online retailers lately to help you find pretty office products? Let us know!

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1. Peeping Penelope: Home Office Before and After by Centsational Girl
2. Here’s a bird I’ve got to have: pretty ways to store your paperclips
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I love the line of products offered by Knock Knock Products. They’re so useful and witty, just like Penelopes. Their tagline is “we put the fun in functional.” Isn’t that perfect?

So imagine my happiness when the great folks at Knock Knock asked me to do a giveaway for all of you. Score!

Here’s what we have to offer in this fantastic giveaway package. One super lucky winner will receive ALL these items:

• The To Do Pad
• The All Out Of Pad
• What To Eat Fridge Notepad
• The Personal Library Kit
• Things To Do Pocket Notes

I’m most excited that my absolute favorite Knock Knock product is part of the gift pack. It’s the What To Eat Fridge Notepad. I use it for menu planning every week and find it indispensable. My family loves that they can easily glance at the pad and know exactly what we’ll be having that week. I like that it keeps things super organized and has cute little boxes to check. Hey, I get my kicks where I can!

One thing of note, I use the right side of the What To Eat Pad as my shopping list for the following week, rather than for the things they assign to those spaces. But I figure they’ll be ok with my creativity.

To enter the giveaway:

1) leave a comment here telling me which Knock Knock product knocks your socks off
2) leave a comment saying that you’ve tweeted this post
3) or, you can do both and double your chance to win.

All comments must be in by Sunday, January 16th, 2010 at midnight. A winner will be selected randomly and announced soon after on the blog and via email.

Good luck!

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1. Announcement: Big Ideas Notebook Giveaway winner
2. Olive Manna from Heaven: a GIVEAWAY of listmaking goodies
3. Big Ideas Notebook: a new favorite and our first GIVEAWAY

I’m a scarf girl.

Maybe it’s because I hate coats (we rarely need them in the SF Bay Area), maybe it’s because I’m a knitter, but either way, scarves are my favorite accessory.

I’d struggled, though, with a nice way to keep my scarves organized. Seemed like any way I did it they either got lost in my closet or felt so cramped that I couldn’t really see all my scarves. I’d forget about some of them entirely.

And then, one day, while idly perusing the aisles in my local Container Store, I found the perfect solution: the Classico Chrome Accessory Rack.

These suckers are cheap for how large and sturdy they are. At just $2.99, I decided to spring for two.

I came home and put them to work, hanging these chrome s-hooks on two hooks installed on my closet wall (though they could also easily go on the regular hanger rod). They’re a perfect fit and they are super easily accessible. Now I can get dressed, grab my Scarf o’ the Day and get myself on the road.

Three cheers to small things that give me a happy, little Penelope moment every single morning.

Have you found a solution to a (relatively) small organizing problem that brings you happiness each day? Share, share!

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One question I get all the time is how I handle my kids artwork.

Confession: I wish I were more sentimental about my kids artwork, I really do. They work so hard on it and, when they’re little, they’re so cute when they stick out their tongues as they concentrate on that perfect dinosaur drawing.

But, when they’re in that “artwork phase”, and that phase lasts for years, there’s just so darn much of it that piles up. The Penelope in me wouldn’t let me keep all of it, or, even, much of it, but I always ALWAYS felt guilty about throwing anything they made away.

Here are a few tips to keep both the Mommy and Penelope sides of you happy:

Create an Art “Gallery”:

With these cute artwork hangers from The Land of Nod, you can create a rotating “gallery” of your little Monet’s drawings. If you put it low enough on the wall of their rooms, the little ones can even learn to change out the artwork themselves. The art gets its time in the “The Gallery” and then gets recycled as new art takes its place. No guilt, you’ve done your part for the art.

Artwork Banner from The Land of Nod

An easy DIY of this item would be just to hang some yarn and use either cute clips available at Michael’s or Target or just painted and decorated clothespins. Would take just a bit more work, but accomplish the same thing.

You could also deem your refrigerator “The Gallery” and treat the whole family to the Artwork of the Moment.

Create a “Best Of” Album or File:

For those true masterpieces, create either a “Best Of” photo album or an expandable file, with pockets labeled for each of the kids. Or, each child could get an expandable file of her own, with each pocket labeled for a year of her life.

This way, those truly special items can be saved for posterity. Just make sure to “containerize” this (we’ve all read Organizing from the Inside Out and know about containerizing, right?) and not let the “Best Of” items grow larger than the space allotted.

Scan the Art and Have A Book Created for You:

Another tip comes from a Penelope named Michelle, who reminds us that you can scan the artwork and save it on your computer. When you’re ready, have it all made into a photo album by a website like Snapfish.com.

Create a Book of Your Child's Artwork

With any of these options, you’ll give your kids the attention their creativity deserves, and do it both stylishly and without a lot of stuff piling up. Perfect.

I’m sure the Penelope community has many more tips for how to control our kids artwork. What works best for you?

Related posts:

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2. Inspired by: a Pretty way to organize your gift ideas
3. How to keep your kids’ toys from overtaking your home

Today, a guest post from a super clever Penelope, Jennifer. I love her ideas for expanding the use of office supplies into the kitchen.

Two of the things I can’t live without in my kitchen originally came from the office supply store: a Sharpie and binder clips.

I keep the Sharpie in my silverware drawer (not in a random kitchen junk drawer!) so I can easily pull it out and write the date on jars that I open. Spaghetti sauce, that interesting but slightly odd salsa we tried, half-used cream cheese now stranded without a bagel in the house–the sort of thing which can sometimes sit there for a while. Having the date on there just makes it easier for me to see at a glance if a jar might still be viable or needs to be cleared out.

I use binder clips instead of those silly, giant clips to keep bags closed. I used to use clothespins, but I hate when they flip apart and I have to maneuver them back together. Nope, binder clips. They don’t take up much space either inside a cereal box or in their container on my windowsill–plus they’re super strong, never fall apart and they’re inexpensive.

Thanks, Jennifer. I love these ideas. In fact, my chip clips have been mysteriously disappearing. Now I’m just going to grab a binder clip and use that, instead of making a trip to Target for replacements.

What about you? What clever things are you using in places or in ways they weren’t originally intended? Unique and useful ideas could very well end up as guest posts here on Penelope, so let us hear from you!

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I happened upon the Post-It Flag Pen/Highlighters during one of my “shopping for the kids’ school supplies” trips to Office Depot.  (Any excuse to fawn over office supplies, right?)

I love these little guys! As the name so aptly suggests, they are a pen, that’s also a highlighter that also includes Post-It flags on the cap.

And the cheerful, slightly 80’s design makes me giggle.

Post-It Flag Pen/Highlighters

My favorite uses for these All-in-One Wonders:

1) My day job is in publishing, so when we’re in “proofing mode” these pens are life-savers. Being able to quickly jot a note, highlight a line of text and flag that page for our editor is such an efficient, time-saving way to work.

2) For Penelope Loves Lists, I’m often reading books that I want to review later for the blog. I can make sure not to miss any unmissable nuggets with this tool.

No question that we ALL can find uses for this kind of pen, right?

Three cheers for the 3M company! They’ve brought us so many useful things – Post-Its, Scotch Tape, I could go on. Don’t you just bet 90% of their workforce is full-fledged Penelope?

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2. Penelope Product Review: two simply smart office products
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This a re-post from an item originally published in January. Several people (like, a lot of people) emailed me at the time asking that I post this assignment a couple times a year as they found it useful. So, here goes…

Today’s assignment is super quick but makes a huge difference as you go through your week.

Take just 5 minutes right now and go through your purse or bag.

1. throw away trash and old receipts, etc. that have accumulated
2. make a pile of things that need to go elsewhere and put them in their places
3. make sure that every single item you carry around with you is something you really need. Ask yourself, have I needed this in the last year? If not, put it elsewhere.

See? Don’t you feel better? Lighter, more organized? Yes, you do.

Penelope Tip: get a brightly colored wallet. I know we’ve heard this before, but it really does help. Mine’s red and I can always find it in the dark center pocket of my purse.

I think the secret to this is really keeping your purse filled with just what you need, which really isn’t a lot. But, if you find you just can’t be minimal, consider using a Purseket, which can keep your purse’s contents more organized.

Now, for some fun. If you love purses and bags, and need some help keeping the ones you’re not using in check, Jeri over at Jeri’s Organizing & De-cluttering News has written a great post. She includes several products that will help keep your bags organized in your home.

Related posts:

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3. Assignment: Pre-Christmas de-cluttering, or: do this now, you’ll be glad you did later

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.

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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:

1. 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!)
2. Punctuation Page Markers. Add a little bit of zotch to your boring ol’ documents.
3. 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.
4. 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 Amazon.

Related posts:

1. A Really Juicy Giveaway of Knock Knock Organization Products
2. Organizing in a pretty pink place: girly office supplies
3. New obsession: Girl of All Work

Here’s a product that had me wondering “why didn’t someone think of this sooner?” I love the Smead Tiered Stadium File for its simple genius. They took a page out of good sports venue design and created an expandable file that is tiered, rather than flat. It’s thinner than most like products, so it uses a smaller footprint on my desk. And i feel like I can see what’s in the file folders much more easily.

Even with its more streamlined size, there’s still plenty of organizing oomph here: 12 expandable pockets, large enough to hold up to 800-900 sheets of paper. It’s made of a tough Tyvek material, so it’s got staying power, and it’s navy blue color works with most color schemes.

While it can be used with or without folders, I like the ease and look of using their SuperTab folders with it so I can just grab the paperwork on a particular project and head out for a meeting. I used just 2 colors of the folders (Penelope’s khaki green and glass blue, of course!) for a more restful feel for my eyes.

Speaking of those SuperTab Folders, they’re pretty smart, too. They have extra large space for labels, which means I can either do labels in a nice, large font, or, more likely for me, include more info about what’s inside. {I like to do two lines of information: a header and then sub-title with details like the meeting date or the specifics of the topic.}

One last bonus here: I have to admit that I like Smead’s website, too:  It asks you a few questions about your needs and your work style (I love that part) and then recommends solutions. Would it be embarrassing to tell you that sometimes I just make up various “organizational needs” just to see what the Smead folks are going to suggest to me? Probably.

Important note regarding this review: as with all product reviews I do on Penelope Loves Lists, the product featured here was sent to me for testing but I did not receive any further compensation for the review (though, in this case, that was offered). Also as a matter of policy, what I say in my review is absolutely true. I will never recommend a product that I don’t honestly think is useful to you. That would just be dumb, wouldn’t it?

For more info on my overall review and advertising policy, click here.

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2. Organizing in a pretty pink place: girly office supplies
3. Good question: how to organize your knitting