how to buy really green

How do you know if what you're buying is really green or not? My favorite eco-friendly consumer advocate, Debra Lynn Dadd, has written a new book that answers exactly that question. Really Green covers easy green principles that anyone can learn, to help each of us understand the kinds of things that really DO help health and the environment.

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* What "green" really means
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* The life cycle of green products
* The eighteen basic principles that define what's green
* The five basic types of green products
* All about green packaging
* Various shades of green products
* The cost of green goods
* How to spot misleading "greenwashing"
* How to change your buying habits to be green

Click on this link to find out more and buy the book today!

phone numbers

I had a scary moment last night while standing at a client's front door waiting to be let in for an evening work session. When there was no answer to my repeated knocks, I pulled out my cell phone to call the client's home number (maybe she was upstairs and couldn't hear me knocking? She'd already told me the doorbell didn't work).

I reached back into my bag to pull out my datebook... and realized with a sinking feeling that I'd left it at home on my desk. Luckily I still had my all-purpose notebook with me, into which I usually enter all client info. I easily found her number and dialed it. But the episode gave me pause: What if I had really left home without that phone number?

Many people rely on PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) - those small, hand-held electronic calendars and information databases like Palm and Blackberry - to manage their address books and phone numbers. When combined with mobile telephone and wireless internet functions, they literally allow you to have the world at your fingertips.

For the less-digitally-inclined among us, however, there is still old-fashioned paper. (In fact, it's always a good idea to have paper back-up for those times when the electronics fail. And they WILL fail...)

But how do you realistically (i.e. easily) manage all the phone numbers you need on a day-to-day basis? And how do you ensure that you always HAVE the numbers you need, close at hand?

I ran into a problem a couple of weeks ago when I was delayed at a client's and realized I was going to have to cancel a date I'd planned for later in the evening. My new friend and I had exchanged cell phone numbers, but I hadn't transferred his number to my datebook or cell phone - it was still sitting on my computer, in an e-mail he had sent me. (Luckily he called MY cell phone at the time we were supposed to meet, and I was able to cancel without too much hassle).

I now enter numbers into my cell phone as soon as I get them. I can easily delete them when I no longer need them. My new process is as follows: When I get a phone number (usually from a voice message left on my phone), I write it on a Post-it Note along with the name and other pertinent information.

The Post-it goes into my go-everywhere notebook. I then MAKE TWO COPIES OF THE POST-IT - one for my datebook, and one for my home address book. And I put the number into my cell phone. Odds are I won't loose ALL of those resources all at once. (Knock wood.)

My home address book, by the way, consists of THREE three-ring binders. One contains active personal numbers, a second contains active business numbers, and the third is an archive. Each book has alphabetical tabs, and one page for every contact. It's very low-tech: I just punch holes in a scrap piece of printer paper from my recycling tray (reduce, reuse and recycle!), staple a business card (if I've been given one) to the page, and stick Post-its with contact info onto each page as well. The full page gives me lots of room to make notes if I need to (handy when I'm keeping track of appointments or significant dates).

I haven't had much need for a computerized contact management system yet (although I sense that need is coming). At that point I'll probably add a spreadsheet step to whole the process.

copyright 2007, Michelle Lynne Goodfellow

e-filing for dummies

I came across a product on the Sympatico homepage today that I'd never heard of before: Organize My Electronic Filing Cabinet for Dummies. Right now they're offering the basic package as a free download, and for $29.99 you can upgrade to the professional version.

I don't own this product, nor am I necessarily endorsing it, but I can imagine that it might be helpful for people who are overwhelmed by their electronic files.

It looks like the Dummies program offers a basic template of file categories, into which you can sort all your personal, household, and business electronic files. It also claims to be customizable, which in my eyes is a good thing. I have never met anyone who could get along with a "standard" organizing template.

How can you create something like this for yourself?

Start by browsing through your electronic documents. Write a list of all the document categories you can think of. My list would include the following:

• Alexander technique
• downloaded program updates
• financial
• images
• music
• POC
• Word documents

Within each of these categories I may have several sub-categories, with documents from a variety of applications (Word, Excel, Finale) in each folder. Under "financial," for example, I have separate folders for all my different businesses, a folder for my personal finances, a folder for resumes and CVs, etc.

Under "personal finances" I have more sub-folders, including bank accounts, budgets, correspondence, gifts, income, income tax, and research on big-ticket items I'd like to purchase.

You can see why it's imperative that a filing system be customizable. No two people are the same, and we all have unique organizing needs.

Once you've come up with your own list of the types of documents you store, divide them into broad categories (like my first list), and subdivide them as necessary. You can choose to keep your lists alphabetical, or in any order that makes sense to you.

When I was reorganizing my e-mail folders in Outlook Express this past winter, for example, I tried a few different categorization systems before settling on something that actually corresponded to the way my mind filed all the categories inside my head.

I started with an alphabetical filing system - in fact, I still use that for my online e-mail accounts. I can quickly transfer new e-mails from my inbox, or access old e-mails by finding and clicking on the alphabetically-filed name.

For Outlook Express, however, I wanted something more structured. I spend most of my e-mailing time in OE, and I refer back to old e-mails all the time. I chose several broad categories:

• Alexander technique
• business
• church stuff
• clients
• computer
• e-newsletters
• friends
• POC
• volunteering

Within each folder (which I always keep in the expanded or "open" position) I have an alphabetical list of the different recipients, and I store all their e-mails (and my responses to them) under the recipients' names. Filing new e-mails is quick and easy - I just drag and drop.

The hard part comes when you have to actually transfer files to the new filing system - especially if they're scattered all over your hard drive. Yes, it can be time-consuming to put everything where it belongs. But the end result will be a filing system that works much more efficiently, and hopefully makes your life easier in the long run.

My biggest challenge as far as e-filing goes is choosing good names for my document files in the first place. Back in the days of DOS, it was a lot trickier - nowadays file names can be much longer, and the file extensions (.doc, .jpg, .xls) are tacked on automatically.

Should you file by date or alphabetically, though? Or a combination of both? I need to do a major sort of my own Word files - I have too many documents mis-labelled with the date before the subject (i.e. letter.20070721.mom, rather than letter.mom.20070721). In this case, it's more important for me to have similar files grouped together by subject rather than date.

I can't emphasize enough: Organize your files in a way that makes sense to you. Only you know how your mind works. Only you can decide the best system for your own needs.

is michelle lynne goodfellow perfectly organized?

No.

In fact, on some days, I feel like I've lost a brain cell or thousand. (And I haven't even hit peri-menopause yet. Heaven help me!)

But what makes me a great professional organizer is that I'm really, really good at troubleshooting. My mind loves a puzzle, and I enjoy tracing a problem back to its source - then rectifying it.

(I also adore the drudgery of sorting and purging - especially when it's other people's stuff!)

So how do I keep myself organized during my own day-to-day existence?

I'm pretty low-tech. I have a paper datebook. Small enough to fit in my purse. With a weekly page-spread, so I can see my entire week at once. If I could get away with a monthly spread, I would - but I occasionally have too many activities each day for that.

I write client information (addresses, telephone numbers) on Post-it Notes and stick them right in the datebook on the pertinent week's spread. They usually stay in there forever unless I need them for a later week, or the information ceases to be relevant.

I write clients' billable hours right in the datebook as well, and later transfer them to an Excel spreadsheet.

I keep a separate, small spiral-bound notebook in which to write notes. Anything that needs writing down (including endless To Do lists!) gets put in there. I date every single entry, and I archive the notebooks when I finish them. The one I'm using now goes all the way back to my apartment search last summer.

I also staple stuff - handouts, lists I've made on other paper, business cards, labels and UPC codes from my favorite products, MapQuest printouts, etc. - and stick Post-it Notes in there, too. The notebook is small enough to go in my purse and with me everywhere.

I try to make a point of looking at my datebook and notebook at least once a day. Usually the only times I've really screwed up are when I've relied on my memory and not checked the books first.

I have a place for everything and make a point of putting everything away in its place every day. (This includes e-mails in my Outlook Express program, and files for my other online and computer activities.)

I've travelled a lot in the past year, and I've learned to plan backwards in time from end of any trip or prolonged activity. I got that tip from my ex-boyfriend (a travelling actor and singer - check out his website here). If I'm away for more than an overnight, I write down every activity I will be doing from the end of the trip to its beginning, and making sure to pack everything I need for all those activities.

I prepare healthy food ahead of time in bulk quantities. I'm a vegetarian with some dietary restrictions; when I'm hungry and don't have food prepared it often results in junk food binges. So I always have several days' worth of brown rice, hard-boiled eggs, beans and soups in my fridge or freezer.

Those are pretty much my basics.

copyright 2007, Michelle Lynne Goodfellow

eco-friendly shower curtains

Conventional store-bought shower curtains are made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a petrochemical product that is toxic in its manufacture and use (it outgases a suspected carcinogen and hormone disrupter). It is being phased out of toys and household products in Europe, and hopefully North America will soon follow suit. Because it is relatively inexpensive to make, it's found in a huge variety of items. Read more about the dangers of PVC here.

Alternatives to vinyl shower curtains are available commercially in the form of fabric curtains. Most are also made from petrochemicals, however. Hemp and organic cotton shower curtains are available, but expensive.

I decided to make my own eco-friendly shower curtain out of a large piece of gauzy 100% cotton from my fabric stash. All I had to do was hem it to the appropriate length and add twelve grommets to the top. Because it's so lightweight, it dries quickly and doesn't attract mold. It's easy to wash, and can be dried by re-hanging it while still wet. It looks great in my bathroom, adding to the natural spa effect of white tiles and stainless steel fixtures combined with natural materials such as wood and wicker.

post-it notes

I recently had an initial consultation with a new client who is struggling with the burden of too many tasks to accomplish. As we talked about his situation, he asked how he might begin to organize all his projects so that he can get the "big picture" and prioritize everything more effectively.

I shared with him my favorite brainstorming tool: a pack of Post-it Notes.

I'm very visually oriented (hence my parallel existence as a visual artist), and I like to see everything in front of me when I'm working. If I have a lot of ideas to organize, I sit down with some Post-its and start jotting down ideas - one item per page - then stick them to a large area like a blank wall, a door, or an empty tabletop.

It's easy to move things around as patterns begin to emerge, and after about fifteen or twenty minutes I have a visual chart of the subject I'm brainstorming. I can then transcribe all the Post-it jottings as bullets in a spreadsheet or Word document, and begin formulating my action plan.

My visual orientation also means that I shun PDAs, because I like to see everything all at once. If it's not on the page in front of me, I can't remember it well. If I had room to carry around a desk-blotter-sized "month-at-a-glance" calendar, I would. As it is, I make do with a "week-at-a-glance" day planner, and a monthly wall calendar for tracking my financial life (accounts payable, etc.).

I love Post-It Notes. I keep pads of them everywhere, and jot down "to do" lists whenever I think of something. I can stick the notes in my day planner, include them in my business files, or stick them on highly visible surfaces around my apartment to remind me of things. Thank heaven for 3M...

copyright 2007, Michelle Lynne Goodfellow