i was going to write about procrastinating

But the anxiety I usually feel the day or so before I leave for a trip kicked in and I stopped procrastinating and started packing. And whoo-boy, I must say, there's nothing better than a comprehensive to-pack list (the bougie step-sister of the "to-do" list).

My list ended up on the back of an envelope, but if I had time I would have used this fancy listin' paper. (It even has velcro on the back so you can stick it to important places.)

And hey, the listin' pleasure doesn't stop at trips. These "to due" lists come in varieties for all sorts of situations.

[To due list, $5 from rhymes with twee]

pretty packing

If you're going to have to throw a bunch of your stuff in cardboard boxes, you might as well make it pretty, right? I mean, you know, we can all use a little pretty now and then...

[Damask pattern packing tape, $7.99 from organize.com]

we love the idea of...

Taking these beautiful silkscreened labels (from remake, $5), writing on them and then applying them to our meticulously organized stuff. But for that to happen we would have to 1)Have meticulously organized stuff and 2) See #1.

Would you or have you used labels like these for your wares? Let us know.

paper organization tips?

Having just moved (and still putting things away--where did all this stuff come from, anyway?) has gotten me thinking about paper organization. Not just the lovely problem of organizing your note cards and your envelopes--organizing the important, boring stuff that everyone has and must keep: tax docs, bank statements, etc etc...

My previous system was keeping individual file folders for different years, but that doesn't seem to work and sometimes I can't find certain years (2003--where are you?). I used to own a fiiling cabinet and that was sorta helpful--albeit a little ugly and boring.

An ideal solution would be a piece of furniture that looked like an old library card catalog, but could actually hold all my papers neatly and beautifully. Does that exist?

What are some of your paper organization solutions? I need some tips, stat.

[ Photo via spierzchala]

polite placemats

Here's the thing: we're never quite right at the kitchen table. Usually we're so entranced with the food in front of us (mmm, carbohydrates...) that we're slobbering, talking with our mouths open and using our salad forks for the main entree.

If we had these awesome placemats from ya'll behave ($30 for a pad of 20) we'd surely get our act together. It details all the proper places for utensils (hint: not in your pants) and provides some polite tippery.

[Via Design*Sponge]

jump roping piggy

All this moving talk has us thinking about new phone/address books. Usually, we write all that important info on little post-its that we keep scattered around various parts of our apartment, but we've realized...that system doesn't really work. A jump roping pig will solve all our problems. $9.75 from Mpatrizio.

small object, big dreams

we don't know which we love more, the small object or dreaming of being organized. seriously, how many people aspire to being more type-a? well, now two of our favorite things come together in these small object crafty organization cards. the cards are printed with spaces to write down the project name, instructions, materials, and due date. also, they fit in a rolodex. how anally awesome would it be to have a rolodex of crafts??? $12 for a pack of 50.

family tree

Diane and I were talking about grandparents and great grandparents and I realized that I didn't know my great grandparents names off the top of my head. I bet if I had this family tree (from The Small Object, $18), I would have known. Can you remember your great grandparents' names off the top of your head? Better yet, do you keep a family tree?

to do list or not to do list

It's T minus 4 days until my moving day. Which of course means TO DO lists. LOTS of 'em. In the spirit of procrastination, here's a bunch of pretty listin' paper to make the tasks easier to write down. Bubble bird note paper, $3.95 from Elles Sarcastic to do list (the check boxes say "Today," "Tomorrow," "Next Week" or "Before I Die") $4.50 from Elles To do pad from Knock Knock, $6.99 Accomplish Pad from Knock Knock, $6.99

feelin' the chemistry

we spotted these new recipe cards on the behind the curtain blog, which is part of 16sparrows, donovan beeson's joint venture. the post was by her partner, kathy, and we fell in love with them immediately. we've always daydreamed about being super-organized kitchen people, and these cards let us build upon that delusion. we love the way they fold up for short instructions or down for more detailed ones (instructions for diane: take stored pots out of stove before pre-heating). and check out the three little check boxes on the bottom that read "just a few moments," "if you have some time," and "dear out a day for this one."

we're suckers for...

Novelty paperclips. Plus, these hearts look like funny shaped butt cheeks to us. Or, they could be profiles of two heads talking to each other... [Heart paperclips from The Spoon Sisters, $9.50 for a box of 30]

neighborhood news

Neighborhood news is our way of bringing you complete coverage of all the stationery news on the 'net, even if we can't do full reviews of absolutely everything. In other words, sometimes we have to go make a sandwich. We can't help it, we love sandwiches. Paper Crave has a couple of lovely items, like these Benjamin Lacombe postcards from la marelle en papier. we think the attraction is the jelly jars. they resemble our favorite jelly brand, bonne maman. As far as we can tell, they're 1.60 euros each. the Crave also pointed us in the direction of these woodland sticky notes from chronicle books. $8.95 for 8 pads, but they're out of stick right now. Quelle dommage! And in case our coverage of the national stationery show was not enough to put you in a photo-coma, design*sponge has a bunch of images, too.

give n take business card case

Genius. Pass out your cards from one side and take in cards on the other. Too bad it only holds 15 cards. But maybe we're the only ones who feel compelled to hand our cards to hundreds of people at a time? [$16 from greener grass design]

mini datebook

We're obsessed in love with millimeter/milligram so of course we have to share this mini datebook we found on Doe-Sf ($17). In addition to the datebook pages, it also has an address book and a space for notes. And the whole thing is a compact 5" x 4."

mini folders

We do love our folders but sometimes we want something a little more wee... (What can we say? We're never satisfied.) These miniature folders from Donovan Beeson ($8) are perfect for recipe cards, receipts, etc. Because, like mom said, it's the little things that matter (C'mon, it's Friday. Say "Awww....").

pretty clippy

If you must organize paper and it must be attached together to form some sort of cohesive unit, then why not make it pretty? Because you know what? Sometimes pretty is all we've got. Bonus: In this case, pretty comes in two forms: lady bugs and birdies. [$8 at the curiosity shoppe]

spiky organization

Sometimes, when we find ourselves surrounded by little pieces of paper (receipts we have to keep, bills we have to pay) , we end up wanting to stab something. How convenient that in this case the stabbing will actually be productive (and less bloody). The spike coin and receipt holder from touch of ginger (£14.95 or almost $30) will organize all those miniature piles of paper into one giant pile of paper. One other thing it'll do for us? Fulfill our waitress in a diner fantasy...we'll tell you about that one another time. [Thanks Apartment Therapy]

waterfall of paper love

The problem with paper (we can't believe we just said "problem" and "paper" in the same sentence) is that it's so easy for it to become disorganized. You put a stack here, a stack there and before you know it, you're being consumed by all the letters, bills, etc that show up in your life. Well, maybe this cascading file tote ($14.99 from the Container store) will help. We'd like to think that one day we'll have a home office. And we'll keep that home office really organized. And this little file tote will hang on the wall and we'll call it our waterfall of paper love. Yup, these are the kinds of fantasies we have... [via Outblush]