NAPO Conference 2013 - Cool Organizing Products

I'm back from the NAPO Conference!

Look how the 600+ of us were welcomed when we landed in New Orleans. I thought that was pretty cool--it was right next to the Arrivals and Departures sign.

Landed around 6pm and by the time I got to the Sheraton New Orleans, I was hungry. Hubby and I are members of the Starwood Preferred Guest program so I was able to use points to cover the cost of my room and upgrade me to the Club Floor. On the Club Floor is the Club Lounge. In the Club Lounge there is food--breakfast in the morning and hors d'oeuvres in the evening. The night I landed, alligator meatballs and frog legs were on the menu. I had my doubts but ate them anyway. YUM!

Now I can say I've eaten alligator--can you?

Three days of workshops, panels and lunches kept me very busy. But, year after year one of the most exciting parts of the NAPO Conference is the EXPO. The EXPO is a place for companies that specialize in organizing products and services to 'share their wares' with the Professional Organizer community. 

Since I traveled with one carry-on bag and a purse, I tried my best to not grab every product sample and brochure available to me. Instead, I took pictures of some of the 'cool products' to remind me to look for them in stores and so I could share them with you.

Up first, some cool containers from Rubbermaid...

Dishwasher safe, BPA free, stackable, see-throught lids--perfect for pantries.

Premium Modular Canisters by Rubbermaid

ClosetMaid had a great booth at the EXPO. I learned a lot about their product and shot a quick tip video for them about hangers. Thought this floor organizer was an interesting option for getting shoes and the like off of closet floors...

Floor Organizer by ClosetMaid

SMEAD had a few 'cool' products this year. First, these file folders have tabs that are erasable! Use a Sharpie to write on the extra large tab. Made a mistake? Want to change the name of the file? No problem and no need for a new manila folder!

SMEAD Erasable SuperTab File Folders

Next is the ColorVue Expanding File with SuperTabs--colorful and easy to use! Perfect for color coding. I put my hand in the middle of the 'V' shape and it was very easy to retrieve papers from the pockets.

ColorVue Expanding File with SuperTab by SMEAD

'Tree Free'--I love that name. Whoever thought of it should get a raise, in my opinion. They are made from sugar cane waste fiber. I have no idea what that is but it saves trees so it's OK by me. Super Tabs--another great idea especially for those who have 'large' handwriting or a lot to say on the tab of a folder. 

SuperTab Oversized Tab File Folders by SMEAD

Jill Yesko, of Discover Organizing Inc. had a great idea. Besides being a Professional Organizer, she is the owner of Clearly Noted, a company that offers greeting cards to Professional Organizers and their clients. These cards, 'encourage, motivate, and congratulate your organizing client.'

Her cards are brightly colored, whimsical and offer a bit of bling, too. The part I liked best was that a Professional Organizer has the option of placing a sentence on the inside of the card giving permission to the client to recycle the lovely card at the end of the week. We don't want to make more clutter for our clients!

Kudos to Jill for creating a product that Professional Organizers can use to express their gratitude!

Greeting cards by Clearly Noted

You paint a room in your home. You either label your paint can with a Sharpie, or your label maker. OK--maybe you don't label your paint cans in the hopes you'll remember where you used that color and the year you used it. The people at What's That Paint have made the labeling process a snap with their fill-in-the-blank paint can labels. Despite their simplicity, everyone was ooohing and aaahhhing over them. They also used a paint tray instead of a box to collect business cards for a raffle--loved that creativity! 

What's That Paint fill-in-the-blank paint can labels

This is just a smattering of the products I saw at this year's NAPO Conference EXPO. Absent this year was 3M/Post-it. Good thing I hadn't used up my samples from last year. The people from Brother were also missing--they make amazing label maker products. Maybe they'll be back for next year's conference in Phoenix. The bigger question is--will I be there? If so, I promise to report back on some new and exciting products.

Which of these products would help you get more organized?