Penelope Loves Lists » Penelope’s Favorite Products

Places for Penelope’s Purse : why public restrooms must be designed by men

Meredith — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:00:26 +0000

I went into a McDonald’s the other day (for the sole purpose of going to the bathroom on a road trip) and was annoyed to find that there was no place whatsoever to put my purse while I was in the stall. What do they think we’re going to do with our bags? Put them on the floor? Of a McDonald’s restroom? One shudders.

I ended up managing to do what I needed to do with my bag never touching that floor, but I was so irritated when I left that I forewent a cheeseburger. That’s me taking an intense stand because I love me some McDonald’s cheeseburger. I railed on to my husband for 5 minutes about this afterwards and today, he brought home this handy little item for me:

Over The Door Hooks from The Container Store

So smart! It’s the Over the Door Hook from the Container Store. They come in packs of two so I was able to slip one into my purse and give one to a Penelope friend. Somehow I feel empowered knowing I’m no longer beholden to the designers of bathrooms in restaurants and movie theaters.

This made me remember that my sister-in-law carries The Handbag Hook with her so that she doesn’t have to put her purse on the floor when she’s in a restaurant. Clever.

The Handbag Hook from the Container Store

I’m not usually germ-phobic, but I do care about where I put my purse.

And I’m also weird about shoes. I obsess about what I’ve stepped in while I’m out and about and don’t want to track that into my house. Ick. I get the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

Tell me you feel the same way.

I love a tool that does it all

Meredith — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:00:33 +0000

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?

Assignment: purse de-clutter, or do this now, you’ll be glad you did later

Meredith — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:42:47 +0000

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.

throw away trash and old receipts, etc. that have accumulated
make a pile of things that need to go elsewhere and put them in their places
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.

: Purseket Tool for Organizing your Purse

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.

: Closet Rod Hanging Handbag Organizer

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.

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 Product Review: two simply smart office products

Meredith — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 16:00:43 +0000

Here’s a product that had me wondering “why didn’t someone think of this sooner?” I love the Smead 70211, 12-pocket Tiered Stadium File " target="_blank">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.

Smead 70211, 12-pocket Tiered Stadium File ">

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.

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?

My Panties Match My Vespa. Is that weird?

Meredith — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:00:19 +0000

A little background, mixed with a healthy dose of confession. My husband and I have lots in common, but the mainstay of our marriage, other than our mutual love for our children and Thai food, is our shared obsession with cars. He loves old ones, I love brand-spanking, “new car smell” new ones.

Since we’ve been married (and we’re coming up on our 9th anniversary) we’ve owned more than 20 cars. Yes, I realize that seems excessive, but let me just say we are fiscally responsible, don’t have any credit card debt and are very careful to save for college, retirement, unforeseen expenses, etc. We don’t travel much, I don’t wear expensive jewelry. We just love cars and both get restless when we own them too long.

This would be very bad if just one of us had this problem. That would be a marital issue. With both of us, it’s a hobby!

So, given our love for 4-wheeled transportation, it was a surprise to both of us when we decided that maybe our next shared passion will just have 2 wheels. That’s right, we’re considering a Vespa!

It took me a while to get on board with this idea: the safety issues, the … well.. the safety issues mostly.

And then, this weekend, my husband took me to the Vespa showroom and I was hooked. Yes, the little buggers are cute as all get out, no question.

Here’s the one I want, for example:

Cute, yes? Sure.

But, at the showroom, I found out that, not only can you buy the scooter, but, you can deck yourself out from tip to toe in Vespa gear. And, if you should want (and what Penelope wouldn’t?) you can have every single thing match. Your scooter matches your helmet, which matches your gloves, which matches your Vespa scarf (yes, there is such a thing!) which matches your…panties. {It’s true, my daily compulsiveness extends to my undergarments matching my outfit, which matches the background on my computer.}

So, this Vespa thing was just screaming my name.

Then, the two deciding factors. Number one, at the Vespa showroom, you can buy a perfectly Audrey Hepburn, fitted red raincoat specially made for riding. What’s special? Well, while it’s ever-so-stylish on the outside, its got custom riding pads inside, so you’re super protected while you’re on the road. That’s 10 Kinds of Awesome, right? Here I am modeling this coat.

THEN, they told me that they can paint anything I want on the side of the scooter.

“What? You mean, you could paint “Penelope” on the side of my celadon green Vespa? In the exact font and color from my logo?”

Sold.

I’m going to buy new undergarments now. And then, I should probably go get my motorcycle license, which is required. But, first things first.

Olive Manna from Heaven: a GIVEAWAY of listmaking goodies

Meredith — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:00:06 +0000

There is nothing better than a company doing gorgeous work, run by a smart woman. A great example of one such company is Olive Manna, which is owned and operated by designer genius, Natalie Jost.

I could spend all day cruising around the Olive Manna site, which is filled with cute officey/journaley things you won’t find anywhere else. I adore her patterned canisters (which come in several amazing designs and are perfect for holding pens, etc.) clips and bookmarks.

But what really gets my Penelope heart singing is her whole section on Lists and Logs. My favorite item in that section is her List Lover’s Pack, which brings together five (5!!!) of her best listy products.

The pack includes these items:

The List Lovers Pack from Olive Manna

Gift Log detail shots

I am incredibly excited that Natalie has agreed to giveaway her List Lovers Pack to one lucky Penelope. Even better, the winner will get to choose which of Natalie’s “collections” she wants the pack to appear in.

THERE ARE A FEW WAYS TO ENTER:

1) go to the Olive Manna Shop and look around. Then, come back here and tell us which of her product caught your eye. You’ll then be entered in the contest.

2) Tweet or blog about this post and then leave another comment (or comments – if you did more than one) telling me what you’ve done.

I’ll use a random number generator to select one winner from the qualifying comments on this post.

DEADLINE to enter is Wednesday, March 24th at 9am Pacific Time. The winner will be announced that day.

A Tool for the Penelope on the Go: Cascading File Tote

Meredith — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:15:28 +0000

One of the great things about my job is that I get to work both from my office (where I get to catch up with my sassy co-workers – who happen to be some of my best friends) and from home, where I can get some time to concentrate.

The challenge that results, however, is the carrying of my paperwork back and forth. I always want to have my active files with me. I’m not really a briefcase kind of girl, so I was super excited to stumble across this tool from The Container Store: the Cascading Letter File Tote.

Cascading Letter File Tote from The Container Store

Look at that! At the office, you hang it from a convenient spot and all your files are handy. The clear pocket at the top can hold any thing you want. I’ll have it contain my Monthly Overview list, which keeps me on track for that month’s work. (It’s color coded and gorgeous, might I add.)

When you’re ready to go, you just fold up the tote and you’re off! And (you knew this was coming, didn’t you?) this tool gives you the perfect excuse to buy some cute new file folders, given that it offers a spiffy place to display them.

Might I suggest these?

Letter-Sized File Folders from The Container Store

Because my “active files” change often, I like to be able to quickly change with them without wasting folders. The Erasable File Folder Labels are a the perfect solution.

Erasable File Folder Labels from The Container Store

This system would also work well for someone who works from home all the time and has a small space in which to do that work. While the work is progress, you can have the tote open and be in “action mode” and when the day’s done, you fold it up and tuck it away. Out of sight, out of mind.

Ah, Container Store. Have I told you lately that I love you?