This week, we have Lauren Barnes who talks to us about the practical aspects of leveraging technology, specifically artificial intelligence (AI), in organizing and productivity. Lauren shares insights into understanding AI and its role, emphasizing the importance of not only adopting technology but using it effectively in daily workflows.
In this episode we talk about:
The definition of technology and AI
The combination of human judgment and technology
Tips for embracing technology easily and slowly but effectively when trying to get more organized
Lauren Barnes, the founder of Zorya Rose, specializes in empowering women and gender-diverse business owners, and business owners with ADHD, through accessible and user-friendly technology. With a decade in the tech industry and expertise in user experience, she has a unique perspective on optimizing business processes through customized software and digital tools.
The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger! For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!
Today we focus on how to organize gift cards. These small, thin, and often overlooked items tend to disappear in the clutter or hide between furniture pieces. In this episode, we're going to tackle the issue head-on and give you some practical tips to prevent your gift cards from going to waste. We'll also discuss how to give gift cards in a way that ensures their recipient will actually use them. So grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and let's get organized and productive with gift cards!
In this episode we talk about:
Reasons why gift cards get lost easily
How to organize your gift cards
Tips on avoiding gift cards going to waste
Tips on gifting gift cards so they are used
Mentioned in this Episode:
Episode 029: School Papers: The Sneaky Uninvited Guests in Your Home
The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger! For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!
Hey, friends. Welcome to our next episode of Organized and Productive, the podcast. I'm Stephanie, your host. And today, we are talking about an item that tends to get lost but is very valuable, and it gets lost in the clutter or in the in your stuff because it's small enough to get lost and it's thin enough to be hiding between, furniture pieces or your car seat. It's just one of those items that is very it's it's very susceptible to being lost and overlooked because it's not consistently the same for all of the items. And that item, if you've already looked at the title of today's episode, is a gift card. There are many reasons as to why gift cards get lost, but the main one that I have seen from the clients and the people that I work with is because 1, and that this is something that doesn't get talked a lot about, is that they look different depending on the vendor. So, you know, if you go to this 1 store, it might be red.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:01:00]:
If you go to the other one, there might be some graphic on it. In another store, it just looks a little different and has a different shape. They used to all be more of the rectangle style if you had a physical card, and now they just come in all shapes and sizes and they're so cute. But also they're not consistent the same way that maybe cash is. You know, cash is usually at least here in the US. Most of our cash is is green. If you're whatever country you're listening from, your you know what your cash looks like. Right? So you easily will gravitate towards what it looks like and find it when you're looking for it.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:01:36]:
And with gift cards, they're just so different all the time that they can easily be mis, looked when you're looking for them because they're just they they can all look very different. Unless you're looking for a very specific card that is green, that looks like a circle, and then you might be you have better chances of finding it. But outside of that, that's one of the reasons they get overlooked. Another reason why they get lost so easily is because they do fit in between, cracks and behind furniture and in between paper. They're just so thin. They're not just awkward shapes, and they're easily missed that way, but also they can easily flip into something else, and then they just become lost. They be you know, they they get lost in the abyss. And if you're not looking for it, specifically, if you're not on a mission to use that card and then you, you know, it's been gone for a couple of weeks and then months, then it's pretty much lost, you know, and and it just goes into the abyss.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:02:34]:
So that's another reason why it tends to get lost, and it gets refound when you're moving around your furniture, when you're doing a deep clean, when you're decluttering, when you're about to move because you're moving around, all those furniture pieces or your bag, and that's when they get refound again, and then, you know, you you give the expression of, oh my gosh. I forgot that I have this. And, you know, now, yes, you found it, but it may not be worth the same or maybe just so much time has passed that, the value may have gone down. So because of all these reasons I just mentioned, it really kills me. It hurts my heart when we find these valuable I mean, truly valuable gift cards, and they were not used. I mean, it's essentially money. It's it's not essentially, it is money. When somebody gives you a gift card or you purchased a gift card, that is the exchange of money, and it just hurts my heart when we find them and they have not been used or that the, you know, the client or somebody has said, I know that I had a whole lot of them and I never got to use them.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:03:43]:
And then I'm just like, oh my gosh. I I get it. You know, it's you just lost money, and it's hurtful. So that is what this episode is all about, avoiding that hurt and avoiding that pain of losing money in the shape of a gift card. We will touch a little bit about on ecards, but I'm not gonna go too too deep into ecards because it's a little bit different in the way that we organize those, but I will touch upon it so that, at least, you can have some tips on how to organize those if you do receive ecards, instead of gift card, like, the physical gift card kind. Alright. So what I'm gonna do is, in typical fashion of our podcast, I I'd like to give you, like, a table of contents almost because I think it's just easier to navigate some of the episodes. I don't always do this, but I try.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:04:31]:
And this one is no exception, so I'll do a 5 tips of how how to avoid your gift cards going to waste. So I'm gonna give you 5 tips, and then I'm gonna give you about 3 tips on how to gift give these gift cards so that the person that's receiving them will avoid them going into the abyss. So how can you, as a gift giver, avoid that for the person you will be giving it to because I think that is part of the gift giving, trying to get the person to actually use it, use a card. Right? I mean, that's why you're giving it to them. So I'm gonna break it down in that way, and let's go. Welcome to the Organized and Productive podcast with the organized Flamingo. I am your host, Stephanie, a professional organizer and productivity expert. Ready to explore the right organizing and productivity solutions for you.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:05:21]:
Yeah? Well, then let's go. So for our 1st tip on avoiding your gift cards going into way into the waste and the abyss is treat it like money. I mentioned in the introduction, gift cards are money. They are the equivalent of cash because you exchanged cash for this gift card. And the reason that you did not get the cash. Could be many reasons. If you got it as a gift, it could have been, you know, for whatever reason. Maybe your company, you know, that's what they just stuck to 1 vendor and they gave everybody the same gift card or if you got it for a birthday or something and somebody just thought, hey.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:06:02]:
Every time I go to the store, I think of you and, you know, they gave you a gift card because of that. It could have been because they got a discount. Maybe the person giving it to you had this gift card, and they're not using it. And they thought, you know what? This person may like it or they were lazy. Okay. Let's be honest. That is a lot of the the reasons as to why you get gift cards is because gift giver may have found that getting a gift card is just more time efficient. Some people will call it lazy.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:06:29]:
In my experience, I don't I don't see it that way. I just see it as you know what? That is a very efficient way of gift giving, and I understand that it's not always very personal. We won't get into that part of gift giving and gift cards, but I get it. For whatever reason, you got this gift card, but the person, giving it to you or if you bought it yourself, exchange to money, like, real money for this gift card. So treat it that way. Don't forget that this is actual money. So the next couple of tips are going to be centered around that. This is a gift a a a type of gift, like an item that is that is cash.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:07:06]:
That is money. So treat it like money and think of it as, oh my gosh. I just lot I just lost $20. What would you do if you if you knew somebody gave you a $20 bill, US dollar bill, and you couldn't find it. You would go and look for it. You would go and, you know, move all the furniture and try to go look for it. So when you know you got a gift card, make sure that it's in a place that you keep your money, whether it's your day to day wallet, maybe it's a box that you go to whenever you need money, you know, a safe. Wherever you keep your money, that's where I would keep your gift cards because that's what it is.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:07:47]:
It's money. So that's straight off the bat, I just wanna remind you of that, because sometimes you just need that little reminder that this is not just a gift. This is not just like the the gift that somebody's regifting you. This is essentially money that you could be using. So that's tip number 1. Let's head on over to tip number 2. For tip number 2, this is all about getting some kind of way to organize the actual gift cards. Now the difference, like I mentioned earlier, between cash and gift cards is that they come in different shapes and sizes, and they're for different vendors.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:08:18]:
And they're for very specific vendors sometimes. You know, whether it's a store, a very specific store, versus, like, a a regular Mastercard Visa gift card. You know, it could be for a specific merchant, and this is where an organizer comes in. These were really popular more, you know, in the last not, you know, 5, 10 years in the couponing big days even the, like, the last 20 years. Think of those organizers. A lot of people will keep them like a little of a binder, especially if you get a lot of them. Especially true for all of you educators, teachers, people that tend to get gift cards from your communities. So that's if you're wondering, listening to this, like, who who gets gift cards anymore? Or wondering why would you get a binder for a gift card.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:09:03]:
Who is getting so many gift cards? Well, a lot of people do. And a lot of people also have families where they will exchange, gifts, like in gift card ways instead of going out and buying the gifts. So there's a lot of you out there that probably still are receiving receiving gift cards or have them from the the history of gift giving that you've had. So get yourself, like, an organizer, like a credit card organizer, a little mini binder, a little mini wallet that you can keep all of your gift cards nicely organized. I mentioned, egift cards. Egift cards are are tricky because they come in into your inbox, into your email inbox. So your organizer for email or, excuse me, egift cards will look a little different. Most of the time, you will get them via email.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:09:52]:
So put get yourself a folder that's specific in your inbox that says gift cards, egift cards. So every time you get one, immediately put it into that folder. You can also create a rule in most of the email servers, definitely Google, definitely Microsoft Office. Most of the the big email server types, will allow you to do a rule, what's called a rule. So every time there are certain keywords in the title or in the message, they will go into this inbox. And so you can either create a rule that's consistent with what however you you you receive egift cards. Maybe there's a couple keywords. Yeah.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:10:32]:
I would do, like, a egift card. I would do, certain quotes from vendors. Like, they'll say, you just received this. Now, you know, if you're listening, you probably are aware of this already that, there's a lot of scammers out there that send you pretend gift cards so that you will click on a link and then, you know, kinda get you to, like, a bait and switch type of thing. So very be very careful with that. That is why egift cards can be well, all kinds of gift cards can be a little little funny sometimes, but just be careful with that. But you can definitely create a rule so that they go into that. Again, this is especially true if you receive monetary gift cards from your communities.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:11:13]:
Like, if you're an educator, if you are, maybe you're you're somebody that just works with a lot of different people that will give you these tokens of appreciation in the form of egift art. So definitely create a folder for that. Okay. So that get yourself an organizer. That seems to work for a lot of people and this will get you this will lead us into the next tip. So what if you do get yourself an organizer, then you will find this next tip very handy. For our next tip, it's all about keeping track of what how much is the balance of each of the gift cards. And what I've seen work very well is putting either a little sticky note in the front of the gift card or like, tape, like, some like a, removable tape, painters tape or something like that in front of the card and then writing down the balance.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:12:04]:
And then, of course, every time you use it, you write down the balance little by little, and then that way, you know very visually what is left as opposed to having to call or log in to the app every single time if there's a website in the back or calling it in. Now pros and cons to this is, you know, pro easy easy to see. You can quickly look at what you know, how much your balance is, and it's just it's just much easier to keep track of. But, of course, the con is going to be it's a manual. I mean, you have to write it down, bring your pen and paper. And if you're not a pen and paper, oh my gosh, this sounds like a whole lot of work, then you're definitely going to push this habit away. You won't be doing this. Right? And then, of course, it's the if people can see that, you know, susceptible to theft, all that all that that comes with when you're physically putting together monetary items in one place.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:12:59]:
I mean, you have your organizer, and it all says how much is in each card. I mean, that is, like, a red flag for, for, you know, stealing if somebody sees it. But if you're not you if you're you can keep it at home in a safe place, and that way it's more for your internal purposes, that I think it will work. You know? I would not be parading it around, flashing it around. It's the equivalent of carrying, you know, hundreds of hundreds of bill $100 bills in your wallet, and all of a sudden you just get the roll of cash and you just expose it to everybody. I mean, it's probably not the safest thing to do. Same thing here. So I wouldn't be doing that, but I would find a way for you to visually keep track of the balances in what you have that is easily accessible and you can easily see and, you know, just see visually see so that you don't have to create an extra step to find out what you have left, and then that way you know, how much you have left.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:13:55]:
As as part of this org, getting an organizer and clearly writing what is left in each of these gift cards tip. I nowadays, I would suggest, that you also add your gift card to the website if you're like a webs. You're not afraid of, like like, the technology piece, in a lot of the merchants' website, you can just add the gift card to the cart, even even if you're not buying anything, basically, to your account. I'll just name some of the bigger ones like Walmart and Amazon and Target, Starbucks. They all will allow you to add a gift card that somebody gave you and added to your account so that next time you go, next time you check out, next time you order something online, you get it delivered. You can select if you want to add your funds on your account. So that is another way of having an organizer. Some people will do it if they have a especially if you had, like, a a wedding or a baby shower where you got and received a lot of gift cards, then they will have, like, a little folder.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:15:02]:
They'll have their the printouts of the gift cards, and then they will also add it to their account. So it's almost like a double check because, you know, because they they wanna make sure they use it, especially if you wanna accumulate as many of the gift cards as possible for 1 big purchase 1 big purchase. That's where this comes in very handy. Maybe, you know, for graduation. This is very predominant for graduations. Right? You send your graduation invite to all your relatives and your friends, and the gift cards kind of trickle in, not all at once, but maybe in a couple of months. So as you get these gift cards, put them into that account for that merchant and until you reach the goal that you're looking for. So that is another way of adding them to an organizer.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:15:48]:
So it doesn't always have to be old fashioned, like a binder. It can also be a digital version of it if the merchant makes it easy for you to do that, which most of the big retailers do. Okay. So for our next tip, we are talking all about combining your gift cards and selling them. There are apps out there or platforms, I should say, that will buy your gift cards. If you are somebody that has many, multiple gift cards. For whatever reason, gift you know, great again, graduation, celebratory events where you seed in abundance of them or you work in an industry where you receive a lot a lot of them from different merchants that all don't necessarily align with where you go and buy, places that you don't really like or whatever it may be. You do have options to sell them, not sell them back to the merch original merchant, but sell them to a third party merchant.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:16:42]:
I because of when I'm recording this, I I still have not found 1 particular merchant that I absolutely love, but I know many of my clients have used different types of merchants, and I'm happy to discuss those. So if you wanna reach out on Instagram and and, ask for my recommendations, then I will give them to you. And that way, I can give them to you in a little bit more of a up to date basis. So I won't name any right now on the on this podcast, but, basically, your search is going to be centered around online gift card marketplaces. So search for online gift card marketplace or gift card marketplaces or resell gift cards, and then you will come you know, make sure you shop around. Make sure that you, you get maybe some reviews. Test it out with 1 card. Don't just put up all of your cards immediately.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:17:34]:
Make sure that they're reputable because once you put in the number of your card and the PIN number. Then, you know, they they need to check that it's valid, that you're a real person that is giving them a real card with a real value in it as well. So they need to do their verification. But in the meantime, if there is a card if there's a website out there that is impersonating a legitimate online, gift card marketplace and, you know, they try to get your information and you had no idea, then that that would not be good. So I don't wanna this isn't like a scare tactic. This is more of a just be careful and maybe test it out with 1 of your gift cards and then see if it's a reputable company or ask your, your neighbors or your, you know, communities and ask them, hey. Have you ever sold your gift cards. Where where have you sold them to? But those are available to you, and you can just sell them, or exchange them for a merchant that you would use.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:18:28]:
Now this is where I think it's a really good idea to resell them if you have a lot of gift cards, because if you have 1 big purchase that you wanna make at a specific merchant, at a specific, store, then, like, let's say, you know, furniture store, even Amazon or the Targets or the Walmart or the Starbucks or whatever, and it's a big enough item, then reselling all the other $5, $25 gift cards you have received over the last couple of years could potentially be a benefit, in the long run because now you can buy that 1 big piece of item. And, you know, here at The Organized Flamingo, we are all about intentional buying and intentionally intentionally using your stuff with with a purpose, not just keeping it for the sake of it. So purchasing things that you actually will use will become more beneficial then having all these little things that you only use once in a while and are collecting dust. And for our last tip, it actually goes in theme with the last tip, and that is using it to purchase something else, like maybe a favor from a friend. And, actually, it's a favor because you would be exchanging it in a bartering system. So if you have the type of community or friends and family or, you know, Facebook or the neighborhood type of groups where you can put that out there and say, hey. I have this, and I need this. Can we exchange or message somebody or tell them what you're looking for and say, hey.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:19:54]:
I have a gift card, an abundance of gift cards to this one place that I, you know, I received. I no longer need. I don't use it. By any chance, would you want them in exchange for this? So don't be afraid to ask. You never know. I do think that it's all in the way that you ask. You know, don't come in all weird and and spammy. Like, if you've never met this person and you're just cold emailing them or messaging them on Facebook or Instagram and all of a sudden saying this.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:20:22]:
It just might seem a little weird and fishy. So, you know, maybe this is more of a tip for in person relationships or people that you, you know, you you know each other and you trust each other more than just randomly messaging somebody. But then again, you never know. You never know until you ask. So, but I would like to add this as a tip so that if you are coming across many, many of those gift cards that you don't use, then this could be a good way to exchange them for something else. Okay. So I'm gonna leave you off with about 3 tips on how and they're very quick, the way, and 3 tips on if you're the gift giver. So how to gift gift gift cards, well, say that 10 times, in a more thoughtful way so that they're actually being used.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:21:09]:
Right? So the person who you're giving it to doesn't lose them as easily. Maybe, know and actually put something to you. So that's what these tips are coming in for, but also a reminder that depending on your on your country and state in states, there are rules and laws that, have been put in place for gift cards. So please make sure to do a search, read through the fine print, and may and see what, you know, what kind of gift card you're getting, what are the fees, and when they expire. Here in the US, you have 5 years to use them, and then, I believe you know, actually, I don't even wanna go into detail with it because it depends on when you're listening to this pod to this episode. But, basically, we all have states and country laws that are very specific to gift cards, so look those up as well. Okay. So the 3 quick tips are ask the person, the gift the person you're buying this gift card for, where do they shop? You know? That I I feel like sometimes that's obvious, but maybe not.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:22:12]:
And if you're in a rush or it was a last minute decision to gift gift this person a gift card, that's okay. You know? I would rather somebody ask me what where I shop or what I like versus just giving me a gift card that they found, you know, in the bottom of their drawer. Not that there's anything wrong with that, honestly. I'm very appreciative of any gift that people that anybody gives me because I know that that is their hard earned money or they thought about thought about it, and even if they didn't think about it, they obviously gave it to me, you know. And, anyway, whatever. That's that's a different discussion. But the point here is is that, if you're trying to be more intentional, ask the person. You know, go ahead and ask them.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:22:53]:
Where do you shop? What do you like? Tip number 2. Write a note that is with the gift card. It either a note or maybe print out a picture of what you think that they would like or what the gift card is intended for. So let's say that somebody is a painter and you wanted to buy them paints, but you had no idea what kind of paints they liked. So instead you went to the local art shop and get and you're giving them a a gift card. So in the note, say that. Hey. I didn't know what to get you quite frankly, and I think it's better that you pick your own gift.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:23:26]:
Like, what kind of paint? Because everybody, you know, has specific taste. So please accept this as, you know, a token of my appreciation, gratitude, celebratory moment, and go ahead and pick something that you like. Or hey. I didn't know what size you were, but this is the shirt I wanna get you. If you wanna go ahead and buy it, you know, just here's a gift card, but this is the this is the shirt I wanna get you. So something more personable. And then the last is write the instructions on how to do or how to how to access the gift card or how to exchange the gift card or how to redeem the gift card because not all merchants are the same, not all vendors are the same. So especially if this is for somebody who is not tech savvy.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:24:10]:
Write them the instructions. Say, hey. This is what this the gift card is for this or for this place. Go to this website. You'll do this, this, and this. Even if you think it's obvious, even if you think that the back of the card should be enough or that they should do it themselves, I I am of the mindset that if you can help somebody use their gift in and optimize what you're giving them, that is just so much better. So, right directions and make it easy for them to redeem and use. And then if you can, make sure that you read the instruct you know, well, the instructions first, but also anything about the fees.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:24:49]:
Like, anything that might be important to note and to tell the person about. So, hey. You have 5 years to use this. This expires in 2020, you know, 50. So that way they know and it's apparent and it's not just another little gift card that they're going to put, you know, in their drawer, and it's gonna get lost. At least they know that where they can redeem it and how long they have. So write those things down and make it easy for them. Okay, so that is it for our episode this week.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:25:16]:
Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Right? We're gonna go in and get all of our gift cards that you know are in your drawers. Go dig them up, put them in a binder, put them in an organizer, load them up and use them, and make sure you get the most value out of them because it's cash that's just laying around. So head on over, start decluttering those. And if you are so inclined, share your experience with us. Let me know if you found some new gift cards you didn't know you had and you're putting them to use. Share it with us over on social media. We'd love to cheer you on.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:25:48]:
Until next time, happy organizing. If you enjoy today's episode, I would love it if you leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It helps with letting people know that we're here. For full show notes and resources, head on over to the organized flamingo.com/podcast. Happy organizing.
This week, we get into three categories that we see most organizing projects falling into. These categories, the Simple, Functional and Personalized type of projects, will help you estimate how long a project will take. Whether it's a simple, functional, or personalized project, we'll explore the mistakes people often make in each category and provide tips on how to be successful in each type of project. This way, you can avoid the frustration that comes with starting a project and never finishing it.
In this episode we talk about:
Tips to avoid leaving your clutter half-done
How to plan out your organizing project
mistakes people make with their organizing projects
Mentioned in this Episode:
Episode 006: Should You Do It Yourself or Outsource It?
The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger! For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!
Review full show notes and resources at https://theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast
This week, we dive into the topic of clutter. What exactly is clutter and why is it such a big deal? We take you on a journey to define clutter and how it can vary from person to person. We explore the impact clutter can have on our mental and physical health, and even discover how clutter and creativity can intertwine. So sit back, relax, and let's unpack this concept of clutter together. This episode will challenge your perception of clutter and help you understand its significance in our lives.
In this episode we talk about:
What is clutter?Why is clutter a big deal?The relationship between clutter and creativity
Mentioned in this Episode:
Ep. 17 Living With An Unorganized Partner: How to Avoid Frustration
The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger! For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!
Review full show notes and resources at https://theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast
Do you dread opening up your email because it’s a messy digital pile of messages? On today’s episode, we have five essential features that can help you stay on top of our emails and prevent overwhelm, especially during times when we're away on vacation or taking a well-deserved break. We are sharing and how to create efficient email habits that will save time, increase productivity, and ensure that important messages don't slip through
In this episode we talk about:
Tips on how to avoid being bombarded with email messages
Underutilized email features challenges and how to avoid them
Getting your email inbox under control
Mentioned in this Episode:
Episode 031: Ctrl+Alt+Declutter: Taming the Digital Chaos
The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger! For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!
Review full show notes and resources at https://theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast
Let’s dive into the ever-growing problem of digital clutter. We all know how it feels to have our devices filled with files, photos, and apps that we hardly use, leading to a frustrating and overwhelming digital space. But fear not! We've got you covered with three game-changing tips to tame the digital chaos.
In this episode we talk about:
What is Digital Clutter and Chaos?
Some of the reasons behind digital clutter
The consequences of digital clutter
Digital Decluttering Tips so you don’t get overwhelmed
Mentioned in this Episode:
Episode 002: Digital Space vs. Physical Space Organizing
The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger! For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!
Welcome friends to another episode of the organized and productive Podcast. Today we are going down the digital organizing realm. So as you know, we talked both about physical organizing, but also digital organizing, and sometimes they're the same. And sometimes they're very different. And we actually have an entire episode that is devoted to the difference between digital organizing and physical organizing, and also how it's starting to overlap because in today's age, there's just so much overlap between physical things and digital things. But today's episode, we are specifically talking about digital clutter, and taming that digital chaos that is starting to accumulate. So let's get started. And let's head into the digital organizing realm. Welcome to the organized and productive podcast with organized Flamingo. I'm your host, Stephanie, a professional organizer and productivity expert, ready to explore the right organizing and productivity solutions for you. Yeah, well, then let's go.
So to get started, let's define what digital clutter is. And what it means here at the organized Flamingo. So we define digital clutter, as digital assets and things that are collected in abundance in your digital space. And digital space can be your digital apps on your phone, on your iPad, and other devices like those. Or it can also mean your conventional digital files that most of us are accustomed to like your maybe your Excel files, or doc files, pictures on your computer, desktop. And it can also mean on any whatever it is that you're accumulating in a digital world in the digital world or digital places. And because nowadays, we're starting to live like an even like video games. And other there's other ways that you can collect data. And you can store data in different digital assets, we just now call it digital in your digital space. And it can be at any of these places. So that is what digital clutter is when it just becomes when it's an abundance where it's just too much. And you're not even going back to it you're not removing those digital assets, because they're just accumulating the same way it would accumulate in your physical space. Part of this definition is also when it becomes so overwhelming that you no longer want to address it or you start to forget where things are. And actually, in essence, that really is what happens when when it comes to hoarding. And where it becomes too much clutter, not just like your average, you know, mess. This is when we're talking about where there's just so much that you actually it's either hindering your lifestyle, or you're always forgetting where things are, which is hindering your lifestyle. And that's when it becomes a problem.
And we'll talk a little bit more about hoarding and digital hoarding in another episode. But essentially, that's what it is. And so we're trying to avoid you get into that place with this episode. So I'm going to give you some tips on how to contain the digital clutter and the digital chaos that can start to become overwhelming. Let's talk about some of the reasons why digital clutter happens. And similar to physical things, it's, you know, it's the fear of losing the items. So you don't delete them, right? Like this is files, pictures. And this also includes downloads, maybe you downloaded like a you know, movie or song. And so now all of those files are starting to accumulate, and you don't want to delete them or remove them from your, from your devices because you fear that you may lose them forever. So similar to physical things. There's also the histology, same as physical things, right? Where maybe somebody sent you a note an email, as this is very predominant in emails where you don't want to delete the email that somebody sent you that it was very special. Or maybe they sent you a picture via email. And so now you are you saved the email, you save the pictures, and now you have like you have a double and maybe even triple if you download it in different devices. So there's a nostalgia feeling as well. And then the last is, again, similar to the physical clutter is that you feel like everything is valuable. You feel like if that everything that is coming your way that you're acquiring the information you're acquiring and saving is all very important. And so you don't want to delete it or remove it from your space because you think you know what the what if like, what if I need it later, or you are equally giving all items, the same amount of value points. And so now nothing is more important to keep or less important to keep. And so when you keep everything, and it just starts to accumulate.
So what happens when that becomes a problem? So you're not letting it go, right? You're not deleting it, you're not removing it from these items. So the consequences of digital clutter is that it decreases the device performance. So that's one, I talked about this in previous digital spaces, episodes, which I will link in the show notes. But I talked about this where we now have much easier access to bigger storage, digital storage, which is great, you know, you got the iCloud or cloud based type of storage, you've got much bigger storage solutions and disks. And maybe I'm dating myself when I say disks, but the storage that you can just plug it into your computers and whatnot. And so we have accessibility to that, and it's much more affordable. So then we think that we have an abundance or maybe never ending storage solutions in our computer in our devices. And that is not true, they all still have a max capacity. And so when you reach that in, you know, when you reach that, then your device starts to maybe go a little bit slower, it just really decreases the performance of your device. So that is one of the downsides of not cluttering your digital files. The other is the reduced productivity. Now, reduced productivity means in this case that you don't know where your files are. Now, I will say that we have gotten much better. We're like programmers and software developers and whatever, you know, whatnot, they've gotten much better with giving us easy search capability so that when you're looking for something, you can just quickly go into the search and look for a keyword or a tag or something that will identify it easily for you. So that's great. So I don't mean that type of productivity, I just mean, when you don't even know that you have some of this external storage, that you're not even accessing anymore. And maybe there was a file that was there, and now you're duplicating it, maybe there now there's like 10 different versions of it, because you forgot you even had that storage, you don't even log into it, you don't even connect it.
So that's what I mean about the reduced productivity. And then of course, you've got the emotional side, which is the increased stress that really affects your your body when you don't declutter, and this goes where your physical items to, but this is for your digital items, when you don't declutter you, I'm sure many of you will start your computer or you open up your phone, and then now you're just overwhelmed. And it's really stressful. When you see so many options, you know, you don't even know what what apps to go into what websites you're supposed to access for what it becomes really stressful. So, that is another reason why we definitely want to stay on top of our digital assets and things and just Declutter. Okay, so now that we've talked about what digital chaos and what digital clutter is, and why it's so important to tackle this subject and talk about it, let's talk about what we can do to make it better. So I've got some tips for you here that I think will get you started with starting to declutter this space, especially if you're not used to doing like a routine checkup in your digital space, this episode is gonna be great for you. For those of you who are, you know, you have a schedule every quarter every month, every week, you go in and delete, and you're so great about it, this episode will still help you give you some reminders as to you know, what is what are some things for you to check in on that maybe you have not thought of so this is a great episode just in general on how to avoid getting information overwhelm how to avoid the digital clutter, that is starting to happen very quickly in today's age. Okay, so tip number one is all about the just in case mindset, okay, so how to avoid or how to address the just in case mindset.
And this is all about the what if I need it for later. This is very predominant for all of you creators, who create a lot of video, maybe audio, and you keep these files, maybe for B footage. And this is very predominant in those industries. But this really is just for everyone, everyday users as well, whenever you get stuck in the well, what if I need it? Finish the sentence? What if what, just in case what? Finish the sentence and go back into your memory bank and see if that's actually ever happened? This exercise helps us finish fully the thought process and the fear that is behind why you don't remove things from your space. An example of this would be if I have an abundance of pictures, and I there's just way too many. Right? And here I am trying to declutter, and when I finally ready to declutter, I look at the pictures and I think Oh, but I know there's 10 of the same picture. But what if this picture what if I can crop this picture and I needed this really good moment from that person? Because this other Picture, everybody looks good. But in this one, this person looks great. What if I need a really good picture from this one person, so then I'll need this one too. But then this one has a really nice background, whereas this one didn't have the greatest color, but they're all similar. And so you continue to perpetuate this whole storyline, right?
So here is the, for me, that moment would be, what if I delete this, if I delete this, and I might regret not having a really good picture of this person? Okay, great, I finished the sentence. And now what, what's going to happen, if I don't have that picture, that really good picture of that person, I probably have 20, others of that same person saved somewhere else. So if that's the case, then I need to go find that one. And if that is the one that that person looks really good in, I'm just going to crop it. And that becomes that person's, you know, that person's like, good picture that I am now saving, but the rest can go. So finish the sentence, and have a solution for the sentence for the fear that you have. Sometimes when we finish the sentence, it's really out of I don't even know why, you know, I would the reason I'm keeping this is because I'm not sure. And that will start to help you be realistic about why it is that you're keeping things. The second tip that I would have is if you do have an abundant like a lot when I say abundance, I just mean like too much, too many, and it's starting to overwhelm you, or it's starting to like do some maybe on your computer and your device, it's starting to give you some errors, then go ahead and put it all into one external hard drive. And I actually talked about this in previous episodes as well. But this is the concept where you put everything in one place, and then declutter from there.
Because sometimes when they're in different folders, similar to physical things, when there are different places you don't even know what you have, you may actually have five different things that the same thing you know, you don't even realize it. So putting it all into one folder, one place is a really good starting point for you to then be able to sort by name by date by file type. This is where the digital decluttering, where you have a leg up from if from physical organizing, because nobody, you have to actually physically sort the things you know the physical things or hire someone like us like an organizer to do it for you. But in the digital world, there is really awesome tools that help you or the self that help you sort it immediately by different types by kind by size by date. So when you put all of your files into one place, maybe you know you have, you no longer need a certain type of file because they're corrupt. Maybe they're no that app or that software, you don't even have it anymore. So why keep it so you can sort by file type, delete all those and that gives you immediate decluttering access and accessibility. The third tip that I will give you is all about doing the one in one out. So something comes in a file comes in delete another one. And that is a really good way to just be to be able to maintain and have boundaries within your organization organizing spaces, this is really, this is really predominant and very helpful when it comes to your phone and devices and apps. So let's say you know, this is like a really good boundary section.
Like if you have 10 photo apps, and you know, maybe that's your boundary like I cannot have more than 10 If that is your profession, or that is what you like to do. Same thing with gaming's or games or email like you know, not to have more than a certain amount of type of apps, or maybe file so every time so for me, for instance, whenever I create when I download new files, you know, when you go into your computer and and downloads into the download folder, every time I bring one in, I go into my old download, you know the older ones and see what I can delete, that helps me stay on top of my files and making sure that I'm not creating or downloading more than what I am removing. I'm going to leave you with those three tips for now. But I will continue to series with digital clutter and giving you tips that will help you sustain that long term because our digital world is changing so fast. And now with the introduction of artificial intelligence, AI and just all of these other platforms that will help you manage and do things much quicker. I want to make sure that I give you the best and most current tips, organizing tips and decluttering tips. So what I'm going to do is this whole episode will this will actually be a series of episodes right where I just kind of come in every so often and talk about how to maintain your digital spaces so that they don't become overwhelming because as I have said before, out of sight is not always out of mind. And sometimes what you don't see is actually what's really affecting you Outside you know in your feelings in your in your way of life. So I'm going to make sure that we address sometimes the things that we don't often think about in one of those is our digital space. Signing off for now. I will be back with this series and until next week, happy organizing.
Thank you for listening to the organized and productive podcast with the organized Flamingo. If you enjoyed today's episode, I would love it if you'd leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It helps with letting people know that we're here. For full show notes and resources head on over to the organized flamingo.com/podcast Happy organizing.
In today's digital age, our lives are increasingly intertwined with the online world. We use the internet for work, entertainment, and socializing, but with all this connectivity comes the need for good digital hygiene. In this episode, our guest Kate Hufnagel discusses what digital hygiene is and why it's important, as well as practical tips for decluttering your digital spaces and maintaining good digital habits.
The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger! For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!
Stephanie Let me ask you a question is out of sight truly out of mind. Sometimes in our world, we tend to hide things under the rug, or we put them in a closet or we put them away, we shut the door, and then we just pretend like it's not there. And then we address it when we need to when we have to, or when we re open that door. Well, in the digital space and world, it is 10 times worse, how we hide things, or we create things, and then we log out and never come back to it again, that is happening a lot more. So. For today's episode, I thought I would invite a very special guest, Kate Hufnagel, who is aka, the digital Wrangler, to talk about practicing good digital hygiene. As a professional organizer and productivity expert, I focus on both digital organizing and in person organizing. And I think for a long time, we have focused so much on the in person organizing, or the tangible things organizing, so things closet spaces, hoarding, all of those that are more tangible items. But we forget that the digital world can be just as overwhelming. And because the digital world and like the files and the photos and all that, that is almost out of sight, because we don't see it in our space. It's hidden in our computers, and our phones. And so we don't tend to think about it as much until we do until we have to go look for something or we get hacked, or something happens, where we need something immediately, and then we can't find it. So I thought it was perfect for Kate to come in and talk about this about what is decluttering. And having good hygiene in the digital space. And how can people, you the listener, ensure that your personal data is secure and protected. So I am really excited about this conversation. I know that it sounds like we're focusing a lot more on the digital side. But I promise you we are going back and forth right now. Because I do think that with so much of our time and energy being spent in the digital world, we do need to make that a priority as well as our in person, our items that we hold in our space. So both our in person space and our digital space are equally important. So right now we are placing a little bit of the focus on the digital space. But we will continue to go back and forth with these conversations. So I hope you enjoy this conversation with our friend Kate Hufnagel. Welcome to the organized and productive Podcast with your organized Flamingo. I am your host, Stephanie, a professional organizer and productivity expert, ready to explore the right organizing and productivity solutions for you. Yeah, well then let's go. Hello, Kate, it's so good to have you on. I'm so so excited for a conversation for everybody on the podcast. So I know Kate and we've met, we've known each other now for a little while, and through the digital world of social media, but primarily through naipo, which is the National Association of productivity and organizing professionals. And we just clicked like, I just feel like we just totally clicked. And it says she's also based in Colorado the way that I am. But we really clicked because for so many reasons. But this, which is what we're about to talk about the digital organizing pieces, is how I like he really fell in love with you. Because you you you simplify very complex systems that people don't realize are very important. They're part of our everyday life. And we should be aware about how that's part of our organizing ecosystem, if you will, like you should pay attention to them and stuff like that. So, so I'm excited for this conversation. Let's go ahead and start talking about this. Okay, so first, we're just gonna start with what is digital decluttering? And what is digital hygiene? Oh, wonderful. Stephanie,
Kate thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited for our conversation today. So in my world, you know, I essentially define digital clutter as the disorganization of data files and your devices. And in today's world, right? We have so much data, so many files, we have multiple devices, right? That can look like so many different things. It could be you're running out of storage on your phone, or you can't find an app on your phone. You've got an overflowing email system, and you can't find like that one email, whether it's from the school or a client, or you can't figure out what is the correct password for an account. And maybe it looks like you're paying money month after month for something that's digital that maybe you're not even using. So digital clutter can manifest and look like so many different things depending on the individual.
Stephanie So then the hygiene of those sad things is what?
Kate Okay, so just like, I don't know, we brush our teeth, we take out the trash, right? We have to, or at least I encourage people to come up with a digital hygiene practices that makes sense for them. So for instance, maybe it is deleting photos or videos from your camera roll, right? Because you have six of those same or same ones or similar ones, right? Maybe you're unsubscribing, from emails, and even preventing that clutter from even showing up in your inbox. Maybe when it comes to electronic files, it's taking just a little time to come up with that consistent naming convention, convention, and folder structures to in essence, make your life easier moving forward. So depending on like your challenge that you're having with your digital space, or your digital devices, digital hygiene can look like many different things.
Stephanie So somebody is listening. They're like, okay, I get it. All right, I understand how this is in this in the sight of someone that's listening, how asking you this question, how do I know if I'm not practicing good digital hygiene? Because let me just tell you, as you named all these things, I'm thinking, Oh, that's not me. Oh, wait, that is me? Or is it me? Oh, wait. So how does somebody know if they're not practicing good hygiene?
Kate Well, some of the common indicators, and again, I really want to emphasize that like the digital world for everyone is so unique if we just take a sidestep, right? There's over 2 million apps in Apple's App Store and Google's App Store. And so if you think about that, right, every one of our devices, especially our phones, are going to be different, right? Stephanie, my phone is going to have different apps, then then your phone, the way that you organize your phone is different than my phone. So the indicators of how you might need to do some digital hygiene could potentially be well, I can't find that app. I know, I downloaded it last month, where where is it on my screen? Right? It could be that you're missing important appointments, whether they're a personal appointment, or a work meeting, or a school related event. It could be if you are a business owner, and you want to send a personalized email to your distribution list. It could be that it shows up in your clients email as Hello, Colorado instead of Hello, Stephanie. Right. So there's so many different indicators. And some of them are more obvious than others.
Stephanie Yeah, I can, I can already see the wheels turning because sometimes you think you don't even think that that's, you know, that thing is a place where you put your name into it, or that you connected it. And now you're in the ecosystem of that digital platform. And you don't even know it. So yeah. So then how can people ensure that they're, that they're practicing good hygiene? Like what are some things like quick things that they can do like a quick check in with themselves? Like, okay, you just mentioned, okay, these are some of the indicators. Okay, I am following some of those things. I am that person. So what, what's next, like, Okay, you're doing some of these things. Now, what
Kate I would say that I would encourage the person individual, to really kind of take a look in the mirror and have some self awareness or some self reflection, because it does come down to the individual, right? We all use our devices differently. We have different personalities, and the way that my brain works, Stephanie is going to be different than your brain. So I would ask an individual, okay, what's most important to you? Right? Do you want to be able to find appointments with ease? Do you want to be able to save photos or videos of your kids or grandkids without running out of storage? Do you want to be able to find that past the correct password without having to look at multiple places are having to reset passwords? So I really encourage people to think about what is kind of like driving them bonkers the most. And then starting there.
Stephanie Oh, that Yeah. Yeah. Like the aha moment. Like where? What's your trigger? What's annoying you? What's the pebble in your shoe? Yeah, exactly. So you mentioned you mentioned password. So let's talk about that for a second. And protecting yourself like what are you The potential dangers of, of poor hygiene, and also how can they ensure that they're protected like their data's protected, and that, you know, their ecosystem of their digital spaces are protected. So let's talk about that the protection the security of the digital world and ensuring that those are, you know, cleaned up, and hopefully not a danger to you in your in your
Kate systems? Oh, excellent question. And we could like have an episode just dedicated to this topic. So first and foremost, you want to keep your devices updated. Right? I know, sometimes it's annoying. As you know, when you get that notification from your phone, it's like, oh, you need to have an update. Because sometimes that means, like, oh, my gosh, I have to go like 1015 minutes without my phone while it's updating. So number one, you want to make sure that you are using utilizing the latest technology and the latest like operating system for your device. The second thing that I'm going to recommend is and I know we're getting close to Earth Day. But when it comes to passwords, this is not the time or place to recycle or reuse your passwords. It is absolutely vital to use unique passwords. Now, I realize that comes with a complexity and an inconvenience. And I'm more than happy to touch on that in a moment. But let's talk about what happens if you actually reuse and recycle your passwords. So the bad guys out there know that is our human nature to reuse passwords. So if they are successful in hacking into one of your accounts, they're going to use that password and try it on like other popular accounts. Right. So I don't want people to say lose access to their social media accounts. I don't want someone say tapping into their Amazon or their Walmart account and ordering things because your credit card is saved with your profile. Or worse, you could be a victim of identity theft. So using unique passwords is just as important as keeping your devices updated. Another great thing to do to protect yourself is actually reviewing the storage on your devices frequently. Because if you are keeping some free space available, that just helps your device run faster, smoother and safer. So those are my three tips on how you can protect yourself. Those are
Stephanie great, actionable and easy to follow, at least for to get you started. I know that there's way more to this topic. But it can because because the internet and the interwebs into the you know, the digital spaces can don't feel like they're there. They're there. But they're not there, you don't see them. They're in such a small device, such a small operating system, but you don't see all the stuff that's going on behind the scenes. So you forget how many, how many things are happening and how many people and intruders and how much you can be at risk if you don't do those things that to start off to do the things that you just mentioned, since we're talking about poor digital hygiene and the things you don't want to do. What are other bad habits or, you know, common bad digital habits that people may not be aware of that they're doing? Or creating? Oh, that you said passwords. You mentioned that one like doing a repetitive, very common password. What are some others.
Kate So some of the other ones, I've got a lot of clients who like to hold on to their digital photos, and they then push all of those photos to their cloud account. Now, in my opinion, a lot of photos that are then being pushed to the cloud, kind of have a definite lifespan, right? If I'm sending a meme to my bestie. Or if I'm taking a photo of a shopping list, or my or, you know, my husband's at Home Depot, and I'm going down to the basement, I'm taking a picture of the filter size for the furnace so he can get the right size. I don't need to be holding on to things like that. So I try to encourage people to develop a practice where they're reviewing their photos on a pretty frequent basis, and deleting the ones that no longer have meaning to them any more. Right? They're important in that moment. But that doesn't mean they're going to be important next week, next month or even next year. Another bad habit is you know, paying for for apps or digital subscriptions that you're not even really using. Right that's, I mean, that's really unfortunate. That's like throwing away food right? I mean, that's called To you financially, and then it's also taking up space on your device. So if you're not using it, free up the storage space and save yourself a couple of bucks. So those are some other bad habits. Stephanie and I
Stephanie are good. I'm sure you have a whole list of them that we could go on forever. But yeah, and those are so such, I think that they're so such easy things to remember. If so, when somebody reminds you, or somebody tells you, you know, okay, so speaking of apps, or other tools to help you with digital hygiene, or is there anything out there that you would want people to know about? What is coming up like some some of those tips that people may not be aware of, for instance, like, you can select multiple pictures at once and delete them all. So things that are like quick tips that you think could help people declutter faster, because I do think that that's part of the stumbling block for some people, that it just takes too much time to figure out. So what's something that they could do quickly to just kind of start to start the process of letting go and decluttering? And protecting themselves?
Kate Did your question is so timely, because I just finished recording this morning, a video for my YouTube channel on how to review the storage utilization on your phone, there is so much information in that one feature. And so I really encourage people to take a look at their storage utilization. My preference, or my recommendation is to do is to do that say like, once a season, right, so the first day of spring, the first day of fall, just take a minute or two and look at how look at the storage you're utilizing on your phone, you might be surprised to see that those gifts and memes and stickers that you're sending your bestie are taking up as much storage space as they are. Additionally, it is possible. Like I know my family, we've got actually we have multiple group texts between my my family, my blood family and my in laws. But we're constantly sending photos and videos, especially of the younger generation. And oftentimes, I will save those videos to my camera roll. But they're still in my text message. So that means I've actually have saved those videos, which are very large files into locations. So there's really no need, at least in my opinion, to be storing those large files into different locations. Another great tip is to consider using a password manager. password managers are really cool, because since I suggested using a unique password, I mean, how do we keep track of all of these unique passwords, I myself have over 400. Now I realize I'm a little unusual, right, because I'm also a business owner. So I have all of those passwords that an everyday individual won't have. But still a password manager can help ensure you're using not only unique passwords, but strong passwords. And they're in the business of protecting your data. And they're using the latest encryption technology. So it's rest assured that you have that that information is securely stored.
Stephanie Yeah, and just like this, probably our disclaimer, because we both can't see us right now on podcast, but we're both on video as well. And we're both like looking at each other, like just use caution as well with the apps that you are storing it in of course, just because this this episode will long, you know be hopefully long lasting, but you don't because there's been some companies that have been compromised, just go ahead and do your research before you buy the subscription to said protection, password protection manager, Storage Manager and just make sure that they have a good reputation ask around because you know, they're they're also susceptible to to these breaches. So just disclaimer there. Yeah.
Kate Thank you for that reminder. Stephanie, yes, please be a well informed consumer and do your research.
Stephanie Yeah. Okay. So, because we these episodes are, you know, short, quick, actionable. We're trying to keep this short for all of you, listeners. But let me tell you, Kate, we'll be back because we have I mean, the text message decluttering your text messages is a conversation on its own. But she has amazing videos, tutorials, quick tips that you can go follow on all of our social media platforms. Kate, can you tell us a little bit about where people can find you? And then I still have a couple more questions for you. But since we're in the subject of all of these other questions that may come up for our listeners, where can people find you so that they can get some of these tips from you that they may need?
Kate Well, thank you, Stephanie, that I would say that The best place to find me is my website, the digital wrangler.com. Okay, from there, you can link to all of my social channels. But on my website, I do have a free ebook that you can download. That includes tips on how basically how to wrangle your phone. So I would encourage you to go there. Also on my website, I've got a section on resources and include some books and apps all related to the digital world.
Stephanie Love it, love it. Okay, super smart. Okay, so let's talk about what is something that you want listeners to know about digital organizing, and avoiding those bad digital hygiene? Like how can people be smart about their digital spaces protect themselves and not get overwhelmed with all these things that they're accumulating?
Kate Oh, that's just a good question. Because like, there's a million different answers. I think it's important that we're having this conversation, right, because digital clutter, digital hygiene, digital organizing is not something that is really talked about, yet it is very much a real thing. And people struggle with this every day. So if there's one tip that I could provide, that is to figure out and identify one digital hygiene practice that you may want to incorporate in your life, whether that is setting a timer for 60 seconds, and seeing how many photos you can delete off of your phone. Or whether that is putting a reminder in your calendar, every quarter to look at your storage utilization. Just start small and build from there.
Stephanie Start building those habits because this is here to stay like it is part of our our world. I mean, our phone or computer everything. Yeah. Okay. The last one. This is a question we like to ask all our guests. And I'm always curious, what is our guests, your favorite magazine that you you like to read that you enjoy for pleasure or for business?
Kate Well, I like to thumb through magazines during like downtime. So for me, it's definitely a pleasure kind of item. And one of my favorite magazines is food and wine. In my household. We love our food. I love my wine. But I've got a lot of dietary restrictions. So I use that magazine to kind of inspire me and then I'll adapt some recipes there to accommodate the needs in my household.
Stephanie Oh, I love that. Okay, part B of this question. Are you do you read them digitally? Or do you have a physical magazine?
Kate Oh, I'm old school.
Stephanie Yeah, there's for sure some things that you just need to flip the page and hold it feel it? Absolutely. Agreed. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Kate, for your time for your tips. Everybody. You know where to follow her. We will also have our information on the show notes. And until next time, happy organizing. Thank you for listening to the organized and productive podcast with the organized Flamingo. If you enjoyed today's episode, I would love it if you'd leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It helps with letting people know that we're here. For full show notes and resources head on over to the organized flamingo.com/podcast Happy organizing
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Read More
Necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.
We do not use cookies of this type.
Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.
We do not use cookies of this type.
Analytics cookies help website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information anonymously.
We do not use cookies of this type.
Preference cookies enable a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in.
We do not use cookies of this type.
Unclassified cookies are cookies that we are in the process of classifying, together with the providers of individual cookies.
We do not use cookies of this type.
Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient. The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site. For all other types of cookies we need your permission. This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages.
