When milestones occur, it tends to make people become reflective on the past. This year, C-Line is celebrating its 60th birthday and I guess it makes me reflect on all the innovations the company has produced.

It still boggles my mind to think that the ever-popular, iconic “Hello My Name Is” badge started with C-Line in 1959.  Can you imagine the world today without it? Ok, so maybe you can, but how many seminars, meetings, conventions, etc.  have you been to where you’ve filled out this badge and stuck it to your shirt.  It has made event planning a little easier over the years.

Also, C-Line was the first to introduce  the polypropylene top loading sheet protector to the office products industry. The material and paper loading orientation is now the industry standard. Would sheet protectors be as commonplace today if they were still made out of Mylar® or required all papers to be three-hole punched prior to use? I didn’t think so either.

And as the years have gone on, the company has continued their enhancements to the sheet protector with the introduction of the industry’s first antimicrobial protected sheet protector (2004) and biodegradable sheet protector (2008).

New for the 60th year, C-Line has made their 2009 catalog available electronically through the company website, in addition to continuing to offer a traditional printed catalog. This marks the first-time C-Line has made their entire catalog readily available to website users. You can easily browse and search the entire catalog, as well as print or email pages as needed. I’ll blog more about that later!

Happy 60th Birthday C-Line!

Have a special memory about C-Line? Share it below!

1. Set up a gift exchange. Is there a certain group of people you always exchange gifts with? Instead of giving a present to each person, exchange names (in secret or not) and buy just one present for the person you picked. Usually, this means the price range is a bit higher, but you save money overall because your are not buying multiple presents.
2. Gift giving does not always need to mean extravagance. Just the other day, a friend of mine told me a story about getting his neighbor a special type of sheet protector with black paper she had been searching for. It is inexpensive (about $10 for the box) and maybe not a traditional holiday gift, but I’m sure she loved it even more. Remember, it is not about the cost, but the thought of the gift given.
   
3. Go low-key this year and bake something. There are thousands of easy recipes available that you could use to bake a batch or two for your favorite friends and neighbors. To make your baking creation even more special, package in a holiday tin with a bow. Print out an easy recipe from www.allrecipes.com or www.bettycrocker.com and get baking!
4. Forgo traditional gift giving and donate. Instead of exchanging any gifts with your friends, family, or co-workers, pool together your money and pick a charitable organization or two to donate to. Visit www.charitygiftcertificates.org for a list of over 100 charitable organizations to donate to.

How do you plan to cut back on spending this year? Please share your cost cutting ways in the Comments section below.

I hope these tips help cut back on spending, while still enjoying the gift giving joy of the holiday season. Happy gift giving!

You can even use what you learn to find the perfect mix of sheet protector styles, weights, color and more to keep you organized during your holiday gift shopping.

If you have a question or comment, don’t forget to post it below.

Once I had all my recipes compiled, I placed them all into biodegradable sheet protectors. These holders not only keep all my Thanksgiving Day recipes in one place, but also protect them from the splatters, spills and splashes of ingredients that will no doubt happen in my frenzied kitchen this Wednesday and Thursday.

After the holiday is over, I will take the recipes out and put them back in my files. The holders will then be used to store my holiday cookie recipes. And once the sheet protectors have been used as much as possible, which is not too long with my skills in the kitchen, I can throw them away and know they will not harm the environment.

So what, may you ask, are we eating this Thursday?  Sage butter roasted turkey, clove scented baked ham, old-fashioned stuffing (in and out of the bird), smashed red potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon maple butter, Mom’s green bean casserole, pecan corn bread, creamed spinach, pumpkin soup, apple walnut salad, pumpkin pie, caramel apple turnovers, and individual chocolate lava cakes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

So this week, I want to share with you some tips on how to keep all those paper organized. I once heard that we would become a paperless society, but unfortunately, that does not look to be happening anytime soon. So, what do you do with all those reports, proofs, emails, notes, and memos? Here are some ideas:

1. Start by organizing papers into piles, sorted my job, task, project, etc. so that the papers in each pile or grouping have some sort of connection, whether it be project- or task-oriented or whatever works best for you.
2. Once all papers are sorted into individual piles, go through the piles to make sure you do not have duplicate information. Ever printed out an email and its reply only to discover the reply contained the original email? If so, keep the reply and recycle the original. This will help to cut down on the clutter and allow you to find what you are looking for faster.
3. Organize the remaining papers in each pile in an order that makes the most sense for your purposes, i.e. chronologically, priority, phases, etc. To further help with your organization, try taking each section and color coding it. For instance, put all information that is a top priority in a red Project Folder, to symbolize its urgency.
4. Now, take all those sections that you prioritized and place them into one master folder. Use Write-on Project Folders or Locking Project Folders with Index Tabs. Label each folder in a large, legible writing or printing, so that you know exactly what the contents of that folder it. If you use binders to store your papers, apply the same organization principles, but use Top Load or Side Load Sheet Protectors with a Velcro® Flap. Each sheet protectors can easily hold each section, and are available in colors, for easy color coding.
5. Now, store all folders, binders, etc. on your desk, in your drawers, in a file cabinet, or wherever is the most place for its accessibility. If a task is something you perform on a daily basis, it is probably best to keep in the most accessible location in your office, meaning someplace close to where you sit. You don’t want to have to get up and walk across your office everyday to grab that file.

Hope those tips help! See you next week!

Just the other night I did something daring and colored my hair. Okay, I know, it doesn’t seem like a liberating experience, but I had been dying my hair myself the same shade of “bright black” for about a third of my life. So what swayed me to change? The fact that the cost of my hair color was a part of the “Pretty in Pink” promotion, where participating salons and spas offer select services at a fixed price of $31. These salons and spas also make a pre-set donation to Breast Cancer Network of Strength™ so we can receive the benefit of the discounted services.

Doing my part to raise awareness for causes such as this is so important, which is why I also use Pink Ribbon sheet protectors in all my binders and Pink Ribbon “Hello, My Name Is” badges at events. Not only do I enjoy the look of the pink binding edge, but I know I am doing something to help make a difference in the achievements of breast cancer research. Every time I buy a Pink Ribbon sheet protector or name badge, I feel better knowing that the company I bought from is a sponsor of the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

What’s on my desk right now, helping when I need to staple paper together? A Pink Ribbon Stapler. This thing is so easy to use – just use one finger to staple all your papers! And my purchase of the stapler helped CancerCare.

In addition to my pink office supplies and bold new choice in hair color, I also recently bought new golf clubs – Wilson Hope LX. I wanted a club that felt solid, but since I’m still learning, there really isn’t a difference in my game whether I use an Adams, Nike or TaylorMade club. But the Wilson clubs felt good and their grips are amazing. And a portion of every woman’s Wilson golf product sale will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. So I was able to get myself a rockin’ new set of golf clubs and know that my purchase will help make a difference in someone’s life.

I am so happy with my new hair color (switched to auburn), and feel great that something I would normally do, such as coloring my hair, hitting golf balls at the range, or using sheet protectors, is also benefiting an important cause like breast cancer research.