This collection consisted of hundreds of photos, and my client wanted to get them organized, researched, and eventually donated to a place where they would be used and appreciated.

Luckily, there was writing on the backs of a fair number of the photos. As for the rest, I researched the patches and insignia on the sleeves of the pictured soldiers to get an idea of the timelines and locations.

After some pretty intensive effort from all parties, the collection is now ordered and in an album. A donation point has been identified with everything ready to go.

Do you have what seems like an overwhelming task sitting in a box somewhere? Why not give me a call and get that weight off of your mind?

Unnecessary expenditures, such as late fees, can really hurt a business’s bottom line these days. A healthy cash flow is even more important since credit remains tough to come by.

For those who keep letting money seep away from them despite the best of intentions, there are a number of ways that a personal assistant or business assistant can help.

Perhaps all you need is one email reminder each week about what’s due and what’s coming up. For the truly sidetracked, outsourcing all accounts payable functions may actually prove cost-effective.

Of course, tasking someone else to stay on hold with the cable or credit card company is an easy one to make. Let your assistant get you a changed rate or another tier of service. Paying a monthly fee for something you don’t use is like paying a full-time employee to surf the internet.

Times are tough. Make sure each cent you spend is out there working hard for you.

Time provides the containers and compartments into which your actions and events must go. For example, you only have so much space on your desk. If you want to put another lamp on it, you’ll have to take something away to make room. The same principle applies to your time. We only have so many hours in our day, and we have to organize accordingly.

Being organized means more than knowing where your possessions are. It also means that you are not late, you are not double-booked, and you are not behind on your responsibilities.

Could you use some help with developing a simplified and and workable system for your life? Why not give Detour Services a call?

Are you ready to face the next twelve months? Detour Services is ready to help. Just let us know if you need to get your finances in order. Or perhaps you want a filing system that actually works. Are you tired of losing your items?

Drop me a note today!

Detour Services can help you prepare for your upcoming appointment with the tax accountant.

The organization of your expenses is a task that is easily outsourced and assigned. A personal assistant will save you hours of sorting and organizing.

The end of the year is hectic for small businesses and for small business owners. There’s a fiscal year to close out and a plan of attack to be made for the next.

Call us today to get this responsibility off your list and off your mind.

If you run a small business, you give out and receive business cards all the time. They go in your pocket. They go in your folder. They end up in a messy pile on your desk.

Here’s a quick and effective way to keep track of them all. When someone hands you a business card, write down the event on it. Do it while this contact is speaking to you. You can even tell him or her what you are doing. This action demonstrates that you are taking their information seriously and that you are interested in working with them in the future. Most likely, they will be impressed.

As you put them in your filing system, whether it be in a rolodex, a card file, or something else entirely, you’ll have a much better chance of remembering this meeting. When you need help in the future, a quick flip through your cards will help you brainstorm. (Note: This is one of the reasons I’m still an advocate for keeping certain types of information in hardcopy format.)

Every so often, as your files get larger, give these business cards to your personal assistant. Ask him or her to go through and take out the cards that are no longer current. Usually, a quick internet search is all that’s needed. New information may be written over the old. No-longer-useful cards can be removed entirely.

This is one of the ways that I deal with all my cards. Do you have any tips for me?

But sometimes, the task is harder than it seems like it should be. Where are those brand new gloves from last year? Perhaps a young one has outgrown those sweaters?

A personal concierge service like Detour Services can help you prepare and get organized. Because of our versatility, we’re able to help in ways that are more complete than other professionals. We can do any or all of the following:

1. Rearrange and organize your closets. Detour Services is a proud member of the National Association of Professional Organizers.
2. Transport the items you wish to donate and return with a receipt.
3. Arrange for the sale of other items online, in a garage sale, or through resale shops.
4. Search online for the best new purchase bargains.
5. Do the buying for you. Wouldn’t it be great to try out clothing in the comfort of your own home?
6. Return unwanted merchandise.

Save yourself the headaches and hassles of this busy time of year. Call Detour Services to see how we can make your life so much easier.

How does a restaurant club work?

On a designated night, you and your friends gather at a chosen restaurant. Your table has been reserved. All your special requests have been communicated and taken care of. There’s nothing left to do except talk, enjoy each other’s company, and figure out if you have a new favorite place to eat.

Restaurant clubs are a great way to stay connected with your social circles. It’s all too easy to lose track of friends and back out on invitations because work is too hectic and you’re just too tired. A regular social event like a restaurant club helps you recharge and keeps you connected.

The problem is—someone has to plan all this. Someone has to pick a restaurant and propose it, keep track of who is coming, make the reservation, and send out the final details.

That’s where a personal assistant can come in. Why not let your assistant keep track of restaurant openings and reviews? Let him or her call ahead with questions. Is there parking? Is it BYOB? Are there vegetarian options?

Once a place is decided, your assistant can handle the rest—from invitations to reservations. You and your friends can just show up and enjoy.

Rather than boxes and boxes of unlabeled and unsorted photos, so many of us are ending up with a computer full of image files with mystery names like Picture 082. Or perhaps you are one step ahead and all these photos are on discs with Summer Vacation 2008 sharpied on them.

This is great! but there is one problem isn’t there? You don’t actually look at anything on the discs ever again.

To deal with this problem, I still get my pictures printed out and placed into albums. I will flip through my albums. I won’t start up a random slide show on my computer.

Instead of wrestling with photo paper, ink, paper cutters, and color printers, I use the online services. You just upload your files, and they mail the set to you when the photos are ready.

I find the online services helpful because:

1. I don’t have to buy, maintain, and store all the photography equipment in my home.
2. I don’t feel guilty that I’m not printing out pictures because everything I need is right there.
3. Since every print costs money, it forces me to really think about which images I want to have represent my experience.
4. Once I go through that decision making process, I know the rest are inferior and can be deleted.

Voila! Less clutter on my desk. Less clutter in my computer. I have physical prints that I actually look at and can share with others. I am not keeping things for which I have no need and will never use.

Of course now, you have to get those prints labeled and into an album. :) I think that’s a topic for another day.

In my experience, Snapfish gives me top-notch quality for the lowest price. Are there other recommendations out there?

You may be surprised that I, as someone who helps organize others, would admit something like this. But to me, organization is not about things or spaces; it’s about procedures.

If my glasses are not on my face, I know they are in one of three places. When I come home, my bags and keys get dropped at the same location each time. My filings tend to sit in one “to file” pile until it gets bothersome enough for me to do it all at once.

I know how my brain categorizes and processes information so I figured out the best ways to store my stuff—which may mean in temporary piles.

My closet used to be subdivided by color. My CDs used to be in alphabetical order. These systems did not work for me. It turns out that I don’t choose clothes by color, and I don’t figure out music via the alphabet.

Trying to work someone else’s system—one that feels foreign to you—will seldom succeed in the long run. As an organizing professional, I try to figure out my clients’ routines and how they process information. Then I can suggest improvements and modifications that feel natural and easy.

If you have trouble staying efficiently organized, please give Detour Services a call. We offer free telephone consultations and a money back guarantee on our services. Try us out and we’ll figure out a system that will work for you.