Prepare a list of important phone numbers and contact details at a prominent place in your home. In case of emergency you will not waste any time in searching. Typical information for such a sheet is:

  • Emergency services (police, ambulance, fire station)
  • Your doctor
  • Family members & close friends
  • Your insurance broker
  • Your bank & credit card companies
  • Your children’s school

It will only take a few minutes to prepare that list but it can save precious seconds the day you might need it.

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I always was fascinated  by the transformation women undergo when putting on their make-up before going out. I also found it amusing to watch the multitude of cosmetic items, tools and accessories. A few interviews with female friends and the study of magazines and other blogs on the Internet gave me the impression that the organization of women’s cosmetics would give an interesting article on my blog - and here it is.


1) Clean up


Before talking on how to organize your your cosmetics it probably makes a lot of sense to go through the inventory. Examine the products sincerely replying to the following 5 questions for each single item. Go through the cosmetics in your bathroom and don’t forget the other locations as your bags, etc.:



  • Does it still look good?

  • Does it have a smell?

  • Do you still like it?

  • Did you use it during the last three months?

  • Are you likely to use it within the next four weeks?

Be very hard on yourself and dispose any item that did not fulfill one or more of the above criteria. If you threw away too much, it does not matter - you will soon enjoy buying something new. Clean all items you want to keep and some will look like new once make-up powder has been removed.


2) Cosmetics for daily and for special purpose


In the next step you group cosmetics into those used avery day and those for special occasions such as dates or parties. Keep the ones you use every day at very at the most convenient place in your bathroom and these are the only ones you should carry with you. The other ones can be kept at less convenient places where you pick them up only when required for these special occasions. Since most variety often is with the cosmetics for special occasions you can significantly reduce the clutter in your bathroom and bags. Depending on how much you keep it is a good idea to group your cosmetics by application area such as lips, eyes, face…


3) Accessory


Go through the same steps for your cosmetic’s related accessory such as brushes, etc. In general I recommend buying high quality accessory. You enjoy using them and they also last for longer so that you spend less over time.


4) Maintain


Make a list of all items you regularly need. When you go shopping this list will help you to buy the right items and it will also remind you that you already have a lot of stuff. This might reduce to impulse to spontaneously buy similar items. On the other hand the list helps you to identify spots where you might want to look for new or additional items.


5) Travel


When you buy cosmetics ask to get samples of your day to day cosmetics too. You can use them when you travel and this helps reducing your luggage.


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Jan

10

1) Label your keys
Put tags on each key and label them. Choose labels you can use on both sides. The front side then can be used to inform on the purpose (e.g. Front Gate) of the key whereas you can put a telephone number on the back side in case someone finds a lost key.
2) Create duplicates
Make sure that you a keep a few duplicate keys. You can then also store some important keys at a neighbor’s or your parent’s place. Be very careful when hiding a key outside of your house. Professional thiefs are trained to find these place “no one would guess”.
3) Use colored keys
Keys with color
Keys sometimes look and feel similar. If you use different colors on the keys you save a few seconds each time you search for a key since your eye identifies a color much faster.
4) Keep spare keys in one place
Store all you spare keys in once central place at home or at work. Ideally you buy a key store in a stationery shop where you can properly hang them. This reduces the time to find the right key.
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The economic downturn reduces a lot of people’s incomes. Lower incomones force us to use money carefully and to set priorities of our spending. On the other side the cost reductions should not stop us from achieving our goals. The following process shall help you to free up money from activities with lower priority so that you can keep those activities which advance the achievement of your goals.

Take your bank statements for the last three months and list the payments for activities in three columns.

The first column is related to cost of living such as rent, insurances, etc. Check how much of your income they represent and think of ways to reduce some of these items (change of provider, renegotiation, etc.). The second column is used for spending that is related to goals of lower priority. The third column is for the payments for activities related to your goals for life. Sum up the total of each column.

It becomes obvious that you probably have potential to shift funds to high priority activities or to reduce overall spending without touching these and cutting in the low priority payments. The current economic downturn is a good opportunity to start this exercise but I highly recommend doing it once or twice a year. In good times you might increase your savings or spend even more on the achievement of your goals for life.

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Dec

13

With Christmas approaching shops get very full. This can make the shopping experience very unpleasant. There is almost nothing you cannot buy online these days, so that you should buy as much as you can online. This saves you significant time instead of standing in traffic jams, searching for a parking lot, queueing at the cashier, etc.

You can spend this time with your beloved or to think of some creative ideas. If you need the inspiration from walking the shops you can also use some mail order catalogues or magazines to get some ideas.

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Christmas is approaching and preparations should already be on their way in order to avoid stress on the last days before the big family gathering. Getting the presents for your beloved is a big topic every year. And can be great fun but it also can be stressful. I therefore was interested in learning some best practices from you.

So I’d like to hear from you:

How do you save time buying and preparing Christmas presents?

It can be anything , from choosing the presents, to purchasing or wrapping them.

I’d love to hear from all of you! Share in the comments.

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Dec

06

Every household has a multitude of more or less regular  tasks for cleaning and maintenance and many people approach this in a random way. I recommend preparing a house cleaning and maintenance plan, which includes all regular tasks on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual base.

The best tools for administrating these tasks is a checklist. You can use gubb.net to maintain these checklists with a column for daily, weekly etc. If you life together with your family you can also assign a responsible person to each task and hang the checklist or plan at a central place. 

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Did you ever thing about how much time you spend cleaning your home throughout your entire life? Although this routine work represents a major part of our life’s, we behave like amateurs without thinking on how to streamline this often boring and unpleasant tasks. A lot of recommendations from professionals in the cleaning industry can also be used at home:

1) Don’t switch the TV on:

The TV distracts you and the danger of making a small break from time to time to watch some interesting part is high. Putting some dynamic music with a dynamic beat might rather motivate you in moving fast.

2) Tidy up first:

Don’t try tidying up and cleaning up the same time. These are two very different tasks that require different equipment and routines. You also cannot make a good cleaning job if there is clutter around. Before you clean you therefore have to tidy up first. If you have small kids you can use this to teach them that  if they do not tidy up their room does not get cleaned.

3) Use professional clothes:

Professionals in the cleaning industry use professional clothes with a lot of pockets. This allows you to carry a lot of equipment you need with you and reduces the distances you walk around. Putting on your “cleaning uniform” also helps getting the right mind-set to focus on cleaning without looking for distractions.

4) Get the right equipment:

Using the right equipment can significantly improve the results as well as the effort when cleaning stains, etc. Go to a good DIY or cleaning specialty store and find a competent sales representative to explain the best tools to you. Replace bushes and sponges. Ideally you write an expiry date on it with a water resistant pen.

5) Create a cleaning routine:

If you follow a routine you will get better and faster over time. Define an order of the tasks to be done and create checklist. You then complete the items from the top to the bottom and strike out each item when completed. Write down the time you started with the first task and calculate the duration when you finished the last item on your checklist. If you record the duration you can start competing with yourself to reduce it over time.

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Even the most organized person sometimes just throws away things in a corner. Don’t feel guilty but accept that a certain amount of chaos is normal. One of the best ways to keep keep chaos under control is to allow certain chaos corner in your home, such as:

  • A basket somewhere in the living room with magazines, newspapers, games, etc.
  • A chair of a sofa to collect bags or clothes
  • A drawer for stuff
  • A box with objects related to hobbies or other interests

It is important that you only allow chaos at these places. Otherwise clutter will slowly but surely spread from there into other areas of your home. Once per week it might also be a good idea to have a look at the chaos zones and to give them a quick brush up.

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A good morning routine can already save a lot of time in the beginning of the day so that you start with calm and positive feelings. A good start is the basis for a powerful and dynamic day to get a lot of things done.

1) What you can prepare in the evening before:

  • Lay the table in the evening and already prepare everything which is not compromising on the freshness of your food.
  • Choose and prepare your wardrobe in advance and also check the weather forecast.
  • Prepare documents you will need for the day and put them at a convenient place.

2) Getting up early:

Get up at the same time every day. You body will get used to it and it is going to become easy since your internal clock will adjust.

3) Breakfast:

Have a breakfast! All medical study shows that it is important to fuel your body in the morning so that you have sufficient energy for the rest of the day. Take something that gives you power but which is light enough to keep you spinning.

4) Kids:

Even small children can actively contribute to the morning routine. Depending on their age they can help preparing breakfast and also put on their clothes on their own.

5) First work or fitness session:

I know many people who do a first work session early in the morning before going to office. Especially in global businesses where emails come in 24 hours a day, an early bird routine cleaning up your inbox is very useful. After the first cleaning of the mailbox you plan your day also taking into consideration items that came in via email over night. Other people go running early in the morning and report this as a great energizer for the day.

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