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"  I was sitting by the pool with my friend Debbie and we were discussing getting organized and how we both thought that would help us find more peace in our lives. My mission this week is to file away 2008 but still keep it handy for taxes and such, and also make lists of things that I must do and want to accomplish in the first half of 2009. On my quest to increase the peace, I came across these lo-tech, affordable tools. 1. CLIPBOARDS   My friend sharon decorates clipboards with vintage wallpaper that she has scored on Etsy, eBay and at the local flea markets. She arranges the different paper patterns much like she might arrange fabric squares before sewing a funky quilt, and then makes it permanent with several coats of a sealer. Each clipboard is topped with something special from her stash of embellishments such as cool crochet flowers, vintage buttons, ribbon, and yo-yos. Check out Sharon&amp;#039;s Etsy site VintageMosaicGoods or get there through her blog at www.sharonhershkowitz.typepad.com  2. CALENDAR A friend assures me that one calendar should be enough. But I insist that just doesn&amp;#039;t work for me. I manage three calendars plus my Blackberry. I have wall calendars and ones that travel with me.  These 17-month day planners (under $20) from Dot Mine are take along from home to car and back again. These diaires have plenty of writing room and I end up scribbling down thoughts and ideas on sparsely used pages. Lest I waste perfectly good paper....  Love Whomi&amp;#039;s this very cool coloful day planner with 60 sheets per day. (under $20) These are great for jotting down notes to the teacher and sending along to school.  Knock, Knocks &amp;quot;5 days a week&amp;quot; scratch pad/mouse pad is great. ($11) Placed beside my keyboard, i end up scribbling more than my to-do list all over the pages. It&amp;#039;s a catch all for all sorts of thoughts. 4.MAGNET BOARD  This Maude Asbury magnetic board (12 1/2 x 18; $29) is covered in raffia and trimmed in a handsome brown grosgrain ribbon and is hanging over my desk. The 8 little magnets that come with the board are ridiculously strong. i have to literally pry them off the board and apart from eachother. 5. Post-Its  I am a sticky note sucker. They are just so multipurpose - page markers, notices for housekeeper as in &amp;quot;please clean&amp;quot;, little love notes affixed to brown paper bag school lunches, etc. (top left) Brown and pink from Macbeth Collection, Next Steps from Knock, Knock, the bubble and purple latte are from 3M. 5. MISCELLANEOUS WEIRD STUFF  I imagine kids made these simple clothespin organizers in shop class. I use them for keeping business cards handy. Their organizational value far exceeds their usual cost of 50 cents. 6. BOOK  Author and organizational authority Mary Carlomagno culled her experience with Eastern philosophies and yoga and meditation for her latest book &amp;quot;Secrets of Simplicity&amp;quot; from Chronicle Books, November 2008. Designed like a journal, Mary hopes to help readers discover their own unique desires and priorities through learning to live simply. This idea inspires me. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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