4 Super-Organized Women Spill Their Secrets By Nicole Sforza

The Kitchen Keeper

Robin Helman
 Art director and mother of two, Irvington, New York 

Artful Order in the Cupboards

Robin’s crisp, curated kitchen features a pullout cabinet with 33 alphabetized spices―from allspice to wasabi―in matching glass jars on tiny tiered shelves. Another cupboard has colorful grains and dried beans and reflects the same modernist design sense. Each container is labeled in lowercase letters, in the same typeface.

 Genesis of the system: “I love to cook, and when I lived in London, I got into spices,” says Robin. “Some were in jars, others in bags. They were begging for uniformity. Now my sister brings me spices from Italy, where she lives. I have extra jars on hand so I can just pop them into place.”

 Payoff: “Looking at these cohesive spots makes me happy. Plus, it’s more fun to cook when you know exactly where to find things.”

 Advice for newbies: “Buy uniform containers, use the same font size for all the labels―I set my label maker on small―and place the labels near the tops of the jars so they’re easy to see all at once.”

 Born labeling: “I was labeling things with my computer long before I had a label maker. Even my label maker has a label on it that says ROBIN.” 

3 Ways to Create Your Own System

Make spices and grains match. Oxo’s stackable containers (shown here; from $8 each, oxo.com) come in 11 sizes, so you can use them for grains, sugar, and cereal. Three-inch-high jars are the perfect size for spices; Oggi makes spice jars ($30 for a set of eight canisters, including four spice jars, macys.com) similar to those Robin uses.

 Hide spices in a deep drawer. Place spices cap-side up and label the tops. Keep favorites in the front row and arrange others alphabetically. To hold the spice jars in place, outfit the drawer with a cut-to-fit cork liner ($20, williams-sonoma.com).

 Display spices on a wall. The 14½-inch-long iron spice rack ($20, containerstore.com) holds about 20 jars and is only three inches deep, so it won’t eat up space. 

 http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/organization-secrets-00000000028133/page3.html

2 Ways to Create Your Own System

For digital images: Color-code your collection by storing discs in vibrant cases (slim jewel cases, $11.50 for 25, staples.com)―blue for parties, green for trips, and so on. Use empty cases positioned vertically and marked by the year as dividers; they’ll extend about a half inch above the others.

 For old-school snapshots: Mail photos to ScanCafe.com and get them back in digitized form. About 1,200 images (from 29 cents a photo) fit on a DVD; CDs hold far fewer. The company touches up images in a climate-controlled facility monitored 24/7 by armed guards. You can track your precious cargo online every step of the way, and the originals are returned when the process is complete. 

5 ways to have more money in your passbook

y Ivanna Aguiling
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DateFirst Posted 22:05:00 10/16/2010

Ditch the credit card; be on the lookout for cash-generating opportunities
IF I HAD saved up the hundreds I spent every day for an appetizing cup of caramel macchiato and a swirl of cinnamon, I would have P240,000 more in my savings.

College life can be quite expensive. Money has to be spent on books, photocopied materials taller than the average Filipina at 5 feet, fashion, cell phone upkeep, computers—the list goes on. Then there’s school stress, which only goads us to gorge on more junk and caffeine.

Recently, The Republican College invited staff of the Bank of the Philippine Islands to conduct a Financial Wellness Program for its college students.

“More than 90 percent of Filipinos at 65 are either broke or died broke,” states Michael C. Ela, author of “7 Common Sense Ways of Becoming a Millionaire When You Retire!.”

So what should one do?

Step 1: Save up—with a goal in mind.

For instance, I would like to have my own car when I start working. Without relying on parents, a down payment for a brand new car can go as low as P100,000. Computing this, it would require saving P125 for 20 days a month, 10 months a year, in 4 years. As soon as you start working, you’ll have your down payment ready for your dream wheels.

That means the macchiato, no matter how tempting the crème brulée might be, would have to be shelved for now.

Step 2: Save before you spend. Make affordable sacrifices. Leisure shopping would have to be put on hold. Home-cooked baon (meal) over fast-food chicken and spaghetti might be more efficient, too.

Aim setting aside 10 percent of your money for savings, as most financially successful people do. The allowance you get might not be enough, so an external source can be of help to augment the savings money.

Step 3: Be on the lookout for moneymaking opportunities. Back in college, with my supportive mom’s prodding, I earned extra by coaching ice-skating throughout the year. Some friends spent their break time doing English tutorials. Be resourceful and turn your skills into gold.

Step 4: Continuously learn about money management. Smarten up all the time. Beware of discounts and credit cards. If a 50-percent off dress is flirting with you, think: “needs versus wants.” Plastic money is not a free pass to the latest iPhone. Dodge that interest-earning swipe.

Step 5: Keep your savings in a safe place. Savings accounts can have a high maintaining balance. New platforms, such as the BPI Direct Savings Account with a P500 maintaining balance and a 1.375-percent interest rate, make handling money easier.

Jaymark Torres, 4th year student at the Republican College, said, “This seminar was very helpful. It’s important for us to start saving for the future, especially for emergency situations.”