Peter Walsh Launches [IN]Place At OfficeMax

As I've mentioned before, our house is just over 700 square feet. And that includes our front porch! We're quite cramped in here, and clutter seems to grow faster than my pregnant belly. It's a nonstop battle, trying to keep up with toys, books, mail, and laundry. So when I was offered a chance to learn organizing tips from Peter Walsh, and sample his new product line at OfficeMax, I was all over it!

Peter Walsh is a well-known organization expert and best-selling author. He makes regular appearances on TLC's Clean Sweep and The Oprah Winfrey Show. If you've ever seen Peter Walsh on TV you know he approaches clutter and organization with a dash of therapy. He gets to the core issues surrounding a person's clutter, and helps them see how clutter can be holding them back from the life they want to live. He's really unique in that approach, where he prompts you to tackle your inner clutter while acknowledging your outer clutter.

OfficeMax teamed up with Peter to launch a new line of home and office products called [IN]Place. I was given a preview of the line and invited to an exclusive webinar featuring Peter Walsh and OfficeMax’s Julie Krueger. During the webinar, Peter talked about the importance of focusing on quality of life versus quantity of stuff. This is SO true. In my opinion, many of us get bogged down by our stuff. We have so much stuff, and we spend so much time taking care of our stuff, that we often are left feeling disappointed and let down. We don't have the time we want to devote to other things, because we're so busy with our stuff! Really examining what we hold on to and how we manage those items in our home and life can be eye-opening. Make sure your precious time is spent on things that bring you joy!

Since the webinar was focused on the launch of [IN]Place, Peter spent a lot of time discussing paper clutter. He says you've lost the battle the minute your flat surfaces are covered in paper. Oh dear. If that's true, I lost the battle a long time ago! How about you? We have one small counter top and one teeny weeny desk in our house, and all our loose paper accumulates in those places. Many nights I have to shovel all the paper clutter off the counter just so I can prepare dinner. And where does it end up? On the desk, where I can deal with it later. Yet Peter says there is no later!! We get in to trouble when we put off our paper clutter, because it just grows and grows and becomes even more of a problem. If you implement a good organizational system for your paper, you won't have to put it off until later. A good system will work with you, making it easier for you to quickly handle your papers and move on to more enjoyable things.

That's what the [IN]Place line is designed to do; it's visible, flexible, portable, and reusable so it can accommodate you (instead of forcing you to accommodate to it!). As you can see below, the products are made of lightweight plastic instead of paper. This allows you to see what's inside without having to move the files (visible). Also, there are no notched out tabs for file folder labels. They don't exist in the [IN]Place line! Instead, each folder has a space where you can stick a Post-It note, creating color-coded labels that you can easily move and change as needed! (flexible and reusable). All items in the [IN]Place line are designed to work together, so the files will fit in any of the portable file totes or document wallets. (portable). Some of the features I especially love? The folders can be written on with a special erasable marker, then simply erased as needed. There's even clip tabs that can be utilized this way, making your system completely flexible. Also, the file folders have a notch cut out on the corner, for clipped documents. You can open and close the file without having to remove the clip. Everything stays in place!
I'm not one to get excited about office supplies, but I have to tell you...I really like the [IN]Place line. I remember when I was in the professional world, dealing with my office paperwork was a huge, time-consuming task. I did a lot of short-term case work, and I was always flipping file folders over to reuse them, or changing out folder tabs as projects changed. Eventually the folders and tabs would run out of blank surfaces and get tossed.....which is so wasteful, looking back! But don't think these products will only find use in the office place. How about a home-based business? Or paperwork for homeschooling? What about simple household organization and bills? My husband and I have really enjoyed using the [IN]Place products to corral my blog paperwork and his school papers and my coupon clutter.

The [IN]Place line is available now at your local OfficeMax. You can find out more about the OfficeMax/Peter Walsh collaboration on the OfficeMax/Peter Walsh website. What do you think of this line? Can you picture yourself using these items? Let me know in the comment section!