A Trip to DUANEreade and A Few Thoughts on Getting Organized in 2012

I am one of those people who tries really, really hard to be organized.

And yet, I am also one of those people who can never find a pen, or paper. And one of those people who always has to spend ten minutes searching for the sheet of paper that has the information about what time the school play is at.

But not this year!

This year, I'm going to be the person who has is totally organized. Or at least sorta organized.

But before I could take on my organizational plans, I had to get a haircut. Badly. So I took the train from scenic New Jersey to Manhattan and got there with enough time to spare that I had time to stop by one the new remodeled DUANEreade store in Herald Square (1350 Broadway, at 35th Street).

The Duane Reade had a great vibe, and I loved this wall of favorite New York things:

I also loved the store directory, not only so I could find my way around the store, but also because it has whole sections for "Apartment Living" and "What I Need." Exactly.



I headed upstairs (yes, it's two floors of shopping fun) to the office supplies section to see what might be there to help me get organized. There was an over-sized PlanAhead Monthly/Weekly Planner Calendar which was perfect for scheduling me, not to mention everyone else in my busy family.

I also got a box of  envelopes, which I'm going to use to keep all of my can't-lose important items, and then my super-organized self is going to tuck those envelopes into the appropriate week in my new fancy Planner.

And do you know what this all means? This means that when the next birthday party comes along - I'll be ready. And the kid's ongoing weekly lessons? The ones where I can never find a pen, or a check? I'll be ready for those, too. Because this afternoon I'm writing the lesson checks for the next few months, and then I'm putting all those checks inside the envelopes ahead of time for the lessons, and it will be one less thing to have to remember all the time.

I'm hoping these little changes will be just the beginning of a less frantic and way more organized year.

Other things making me happy on my visit to Herald Square? That Macy's still had their decorations and windows for the holidays, they are really spectacular.

I felt a little bad my kids weren't with me to enjoy them, too. But, oh well.

I left Herald Square and headed downtown just in time for my haircut with Rod at Soho Organics (192 Sixth Avenue).

Later that night when I got home, I got to work updating my calendar with recurring appointments and other upcoming dates.

It felt good to be organized. And yes, I know it's just a start.

Do you have organizational tips - please share, clearly I need all the help I can get!

For tons more photos of my trip to Duane Reade, check out my Google+ Album.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias, #CBias. The opinions, and the money spent, are my own.

For all the latest and greatest from Duane Reade, follow them on Twitter @DuaneReade and via the hashtag #DReade. You can also like them on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DuaneReade).