Hasta La Ideas

Like a good chunk of the western world, Unclutterer’s offices are closed today and tomorrow. We wish everyone who celebrates Christmas a merry one, and the rest of you we wish a joyful couple days off from work! Don’t forget, you can always jump into the Forums and join the conversation there. We’ll return after the holiday to share more Uncluttering insights.

Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland’s Unclutter Your Life in One Week from Amazon.com today.

As you mark up your new 2011 calendar with conferences and events to attend next year, consider significant 25% savings when registering for Economist Conferences’ The Big Rethink taking place March 3rd. Use discount code “CORE77” to take advantage of the The Big Savings.

March 3rd, 2011
Economist Conferences
The Big Rethink: Competing on Ideas
The Big Rethink, taking place on March 3rd 2011, will focus on the various ways that businesses are generating new ideas to gain competitive advantage. We will explore the drivers of fresh thinking, from imaginative leadership to global trends like changing consumer behaviour, and consider how these can be used in your own organisations. This year’s featured speakers include Rory Sutherland, Zein Abdalla of Pepsico Europe, Jeff Weedman of Procter and Gamble, Cory Doctorow and more.

(more…)

Our selection of imaginative gifts in homage to one of our favorite comediennes

In celebration of the resourceful comedian’s upcoming appearance at the Cool Hunting pop up Monday, 20 December 2011—where she will sign her book “Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People” from 7-9pm—we’ve selected items from our Gift Guide that channel her sensibility. If none of these items get your goat, a flip through “Simple Times” will provide you with plenty of innovative ideas on how to make this joyous (read: stressful) holiday season a bit brighter.

Sedaris draws on nature for many of her ideas, and the Campfire Incense Burner is a clever trinket that serves as a reminder of the outdoors inside. Nothing goes better with incense than a healthy peace pipe, packed with Good Fight and Cool Hunting Smoker’s Blend, a tobacco alternative or herbal enhancement for those times when you need a little smokable something to get more creative.

Show off your artistic prowess with a personalized case made from one of designer Amy Holbrook’s Needlepoint iPod and iPhone Kits, or gift the kit itself to your favorite crafter. A quirky headpiece you think you could probably make on your own, Tom Scott’s Hairy Visor is actually an intricately-knitted accessory that any old-school yarn freak or Sedaris-wannabe would love to adorn.

The Double Rainbow Maker is a gift that would not only brighten up someone’s day, but it reminds us of Sedaris’ continual support of gay rights with its symbolic display of light when attached to any window. One of the most hilarious women in recent history, we think she’d approve of these Pop Culture Pencils boasting funny phrases like “Why Is Alec Baldwin So Cool” and “Why It’s Time For Lost To End.”

Not one to shy away from costume-inspired apparel or bold colors, the Yellow Melissa and Triton Clogh Clog made from recycled/recyclable Melflex is a Sedaris-inspired shoe bound to turn heads. A writer herself, we’re sure she appreciates a good book and David Rakoff’s witty semi-autobiographical tome “Half Empty” would be appreciated by anyone with a refreshingly kooky personality.

While her own kids and pets are reportedly of the imaginary sorts, nothing encourages a child or cat to dream like a cape for the little ones and some catnip for Whiskers. Our faves are this year are the Little Hero Capes, which protect tykes from the elements of the human world as they embark on a creative journey and the Severed Leg Catnip Toy, an offbeat gift that your frisky feline is sure to love.

I keep a ridiculous number of lists: movies I want to see, books I want to read, groceries I need to buy, recipes I want to try, things I have to do, letters I should write, gifts I wish to give, music I want to have my son hear, my lofty someday goals. These lists are handwritten — I tried to keep them digitally but kept writing things down on sticky notes and then sticking the notes to my iPhone. A key component of being organized is knowing yourself, and I’m a handwritten list maker.

At the start of every year, I get a new notebook and copy the lists from the old notebook into the new. I grab a big cup of coffee, light a fire in the fireplace, and curl up under a warm blanket with the notebook and a good pen. I recopy the lists for a few reasons:

1. My notebook gets beaten up during the year and I’m ready for a new notebook every 12 months.
2. The copying process is a tradition I really enjoy.
3. When going through the lists, I can change my preferences, reorder my lists, and eliminate things I did/saw/tried that I forgot to cross off over the course of the year.
4. The old lists become recordings of my life over the past year. Since I don’t keep a diary, this is the closest thing I have.

Obviously, the lists also help to keep me organized.

What traditions do you complete at the end of the year or start of the new year that help to keep you organized? How do you enjoy these traditions? Do you keep lists? Share your new year organizing traditions in the comments.

Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland’s Unclutter Your Life in One Week from Amazon.com today.

If you’re in the Boston area this evening be sure to attend the opening reception of Creative Captial: Designed in Boston at City Hall. The exhibition shares some of the city’s best and brightest recent design contributions:

Boston is a Creative Capital, a culture center for all creative pursuits: visual and performing arts, media, and, especially, design. But what exactly is design? It is where creativity and industry meet. It is a visual planning process. It shapes our world. It is everywhere. Everything around us has been designed: the buildings we live and work in, the landscapes and spaces we move through, and the things we read, watch, and use.

There are thousands of designers in the City of Boston. This exhibit showcases work from a select sampling of these many design practitioners. Some of the things you see may look familiar. Notice the public park where you eat lunch? The lobby you pass through on your way to work? The kitchen tools you use every day? Great design at your service, created in Boston.

There’s still time to register online or purchase tix at the door.

(more…)