Clutter Cutters: Six Ways to Get Organized
dan tynan on Jul 26 2008 at 6:57 am | Filed under: Gadgets, Lists
(A slightly different version of this article originally appeared in the July/August issue of Home magazine.)
Papers, Post it notes, business cards and assorted bric a brac can make your home office a living Museum of Disorganization – and the clutter usually spills over into other rooms of your house. Clean up the mess by going digital and wireless, and using the Net to simplify your life. Here are six ways to do it.
1. BlueLounge Sanctuary
Your cell phone, MP3 player, digital camera, and other pocket gadgets have one thing in common: proprietary chargers that clutter AC outlets (or fill your computer’s USB ports). Clean up the mess with the BlueLounge Sanctuary. This 9-inch square box holds all your digital companions in one place while recharging them; it comes with 12 types of connectors compatible with devices from most major brands. Better yet, the Sanctuary ensures all your favorite gadgets are in the same place whenever you need them. $130; www.bluelounge.com
2. CardScan Personal Scanner
The problem with business cards is you can never find the right one when you need it. They just take up space or get lost. But with CardScan’s Personal Scanner, all my business contacts are on my computer, where I can easily search them. Just feed the cards into the scanner and it imports information directly into the correct fields in Microsoft Outlook or CardScan’s own contact management software. This 4.5-by-3-inch scanner takes up precious little desk space and slips easily into a briefcase so I can take it on business trips. Better yet: when I sign up online for CardScan @Your Service, it will back up an unlimited number of contacts online, which I can access from any Net-connected machine. $160; 800.640.6944, www.cardscan.com
3. Clickfree Automatic Backup
Backing up your data is like flossing your teeth; you know you should do it, but you don’t always get around to it. Clickfree takes the tedium out of backups without cluttering your desk with DVDs or storage tapes. Just plug this 120GB drive into your Windows PC and wait; it will install software on your machine, find all your data files, and make exact copies of them. The next time you connect the drive, it only updates files that have changed since the last backup. You can then use the same drive to back up every PC in your house – your only limitation is how much data the drive can hold. Now about those teeth…. $150; 866-680-0516, www.goclickfree.com
4. Belkin Conceal
Nothing looks more cluttered than that snarl of power cords under your desk and behind your entertainment console. Wrangle them together safely and easily with Belkin’s Conceal, which doubles as a surge protector, keeping your electronics safe from power spikes and brown outs. You can plug in up to 10 three-prong adapters, as well as two coaxial cables, three phone lines, and two Ethernet cables. Then just flip down the lid to make them and their cables disappear. $50; 877 523 5546, www.belkin.com
5. Logitech Squeezebox Duet
Ripping your CDs into MP3s is a fast way to lose those stacks of CDs cluttering the family room. But if you 
want to listen to digital tunes in different rooms, you’ll need a system like Logitech’s Squeezebox Duet. The Squeezebox connects to your home network and your stereo, then streams songs stored on your computer to any room of your house. It will even let you play different songs in different rooms at the same time. Just connect the Duet’s receiver to your wired or 802.11g wireless network and attach it to a stereo receiver or pair of powered speakers. Then select the music you want using the Duet’s handheld remote. Besides MP3s, the Duet supports Rhapsody music subscriptions, Pandora’s free music service, and hundred of Internet radio stations. Add additional receivers to other stereos in your home for multi-room audio. $400 (additional receivers $150 each); 800-231-7717, www.logitech.com
6. Bookswim.com
Think NetFlix for books and you’ll get Bookswim.com. This book rental site offers more than 200,000 titles, from childrens classics like Louis Sachar’s Holes to Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope. You sign up for a monthly plan and get from 2 to 11 books at a time; send them back free of charge whenever you’re through with them. Books don’t accumulate on your already overcrowded shelves, you always have something good to read, and – unlike with the public library — there are no late fees. $15 to $36 per month, depending on plan; www.bookswim.com
Just a great set of gadgets. I really enjoyed it …
Is this the Dan Tynan who went to UC Berkeley in the early 80’s?
It is. Are you the Andy Rose who used to work in the Govt Docs library there at the same time?