Office Max [IN]Place System by Peter Walsh

I was recently invited by Office Max to be a part of a web cast with Peter Walsh, who was debuting his new [IN]Place System. Since I am not the organized person, but I want to be, I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of this. Who wouldn't want to learn from someone involved in TLC's Clean Sweep and Oprah? You can watch the webcast here if you like.

Now my desk is always a mess. I try to keep it organized, but with product reviews and bills and other mail, there really isn't much space. So after watching the webcast, I decided I'd try to implement a new filing system using some of the goodies Office Max sent me from the [IN]Place system.

In fact, just recently as we were doing our taxes, I had to go through piles and piles of mail to find the correct items we needed. So I took the handy dandy file tote, grabbed some clip tabs, and the erasable marker, and went to town. It's only been up about a week, but I've remembered to file things accordingly, so hopefully it will work out.


Let me just say that I love this erasable marker. You can write on the tabs, but then if you decide later you want to change them, or if you are like me and decide your handwriting isn't pretty enough, you can erase it and start over. Genius!

One thing I learned from the broadcast is to color code everything. Then when you are looking for stuff, you can simply pull out that color file, and you have everything you need! Like say I have a file in my tote system that says bills paid. But they won't fit in there anymore, but I need to keep them, so I transfer them to an expanding file. I can make sure to use the same color coding for each system. Then it makes things easier to find.

He also recommends using a calendar to organize all your schedules, and to color code everything. Have one color for work things, have another for doctor's appointment, have one for kids activities, etc. That way everything is in front of you and you don't miss anything. We did this growing up, and it was a great lifesaver. There were five kids, and all of us did different activites. This helped keep my mom sane and kept track of all of our different schedules and appointments. It was also nice if we got home and she wasn't there, we could usually look on the calendar and see exactly where she was at. I've started using a calendar to keep track of when I need to post reviews and it has helped tremendously. Now I don't feel like I will forget one by accident.

If you are like me and looking for ways to get organized, be sure to check out the [IN]Place system at Office Max!