Using Spreadsheets to Organize

Organization. It's what gets my blood pumping. It's what gets my heart racing.

Ok, I exaggerate, but not by much. 

I love organizing stuff. If something can be organized, it will be organized. (Disclaimer: this does NOT mean I'm not messy...) One of the best ways you can use excel spreadsheets is to organize ideas, thoughts, or items. 

In my previous posts about spreadsheets, I've discussed Using Spreadsheets to List and Using Spreadsheets to Schedule. Now we all know, that these tasks can also be completed using a word document, and a virtual planner, respectively. But the absolute BEST way to ORGANIZE is by using Spreadsheets. 

Essentially, a spreadsheet is a pre-made table that you can merge and un-merge cells as needed. Additionally, you can change or update it indefinitely, color coordinate, or add bolder lines for categories or sections. 

Organizing for Planning Purposes. This is sort of a mix between organizing and scheduling. I use the spreadsheet shown below to help me stay on track at work. Each month I update our website based on specific safety topics. At the beginning of each month, I simply refer to my spreadsheet and determine what needs to be changed, updated, or deleted on the website. It makes this task very simple. Using Spreadsheets to Organize takes more time on the front end, but saves you time in the long run. 

Another example of Organizing for Planning Purposes is when you are in need of "filling up slots." (Sorry, I'm not very good at thinking today.... Let me just give you an example, and it will make more sense). When we were planning our wedding, we spent a lot of time picking out the specific songs we wanted played at specific times. To make it even more complicated, we both have pretty strong ideas about what "good music" sounds like. So, we decided that our music picks would be equal. This specific spreadsheet was on Google Drive so that we both had access whenever we needed it and could add songs as they came to us.

You will notice that this spreadsheet is a more common format of "the table" as opposed to "the matrix" style (shown in the spreadsheet above).

Organizing for Knowledge Purposes. One way I use spreadsheets is to gather information from different sources online and keep it all together in one document. These types of spreadsheets are perfect for a quick reference for a topic that you are extrememly interested in. 

A good example of Organizing for Knowledge Purposes is this spreadsheet that lists all of the Books of the Bible. Of course, I could look up all of these facts in my Bible concordance, or Google, as I need them. But instead, now its all in one place for me.

This type of spreadsheet is great if you are really into facts, or if you are interested to know how things are categorized. A normal person probably wouldn't make a spreadsheet just to have random information on it that you could look up anyway, but I say, why not cut out the middle man all together and create your own reference. #SpreadsheetsAreFun

Organizing for Trending Purposes. Another great way to use spreadsheets when it comes to organizing stuff is, to organize in order to visualize trends. I personally don't do this frequently, but when I do, its always beneficial and satisfying. Ok....so don't judge me on this example.

This example shows all of the seasons of Survivor with random things that have happened in each season. The show has been on the air for over 15 years, so obviously some things have changed and evolved, both with gameplay and "twists" that production adds. The spreadsheet shows the presence of said gameplay or twists, and it shows ME the trends. 

For example, as a Survivor fan, I can see that for the past 18 seasons, there have been 15 "final 3" situations, and only 3 "final 2" situations (The first 12 seasons were ALL "final 2" situations). SO I know that, at this point of the series, it is the most likely that there will be a "final 3" as opposed to a "final 2."

Sorry everyone for the nerd overload.... The last installment of this series will be coming before 2015 ends. It will be Using Spreadsheets to Calculate.

Other Spreadsheet Posts
Tips & Tricks | List | Schedule | Organize | Calculate

#TBT Homemade Halloween Costumes

Well, my plan for this entry was to include old pictures of my halloween costumes I have used as an adult (or as a person too old to trick or treat). As it turns out.... I don't have many pictures that I could find... So... I'm just going to write about them.

2005: I was a pirate. I used an old pre-made costume that my dad had used many years ago. This costume was complete with an eye patch and a gold hoop earring.

2006: I was a tree and a friend was a lumberjack. I used a camouflage tshirt and brown sweatpants. I also attached some leaves to my shirt. As a single, the tree would have been a week costume, but with the lumberjack, it was pretty hilarious.

2007: Two friends and I were 3 crayola crayons. We bought red, green, and blue sweatsuits and attached black felt and spray paint to create the classic crayola look. We also used spray painted party hats for the pointy tip.

2009: I was a S'more. I think this is one of my better ideas. I wore white tights and and XXL white sweatshirt to create the marshmallow. I created the graham cracker with old pizza boxes. I used Styrofoam covered in brown fabric for the chocolate portion. It was great.

2011: I was Robin Hood. This one was pretty innovative too. I used a green flowy shirt, green tights, and brown boots that I already had in my closet. Then, I simply bought green fabric and a red feather to make the matching hat (and skirt). 

2014 (last year): I didn't really dress up for halloween, but we DID make a YouTube video showing 3 different costumes we came up with, without buying anything. CLICK HERE to watch that video... I still crack up on the 3rd costume....

Using Spreadsheets to Schedule

One interesting thing about me, is that I like to have a plan. Always. Its not that I'm not spontaneous, its just that having a plan reduces the likelihood of being anxious about stuff. I really like to plan and schedule and I sort of think about it as if it is a puzzle to solve. 

Anyway, that leads me to this blog post: Using Spreadsheets to Schedule. Spreadsheets are not typically used as a scheduling assistant, and I'm not advocating that this is the best method to plan an event, especially when it involves many people. But I will say, that I use spreadsheets to schedule quite often. 

1. Scheduling for a Month. First off, I'd like to say that using a spreadsheet to plan or schedule your month is the least helpful method. However, it is helpful if you're just trying to keep track of one or two specific things.

Let me elaborate by giving examples. When we were planning to move, we also had A LOT going on because of vacations and my sister's wedding, yet we still wanted to move at the most opportune time to have less overlap between our two leases. In this instance, I simply created a small table using a spreadsheet, entered the numbers for each date, then shaded the days in which we were unavailable to move. This helped us determine exactly how many days we had to move, as well as determined THE EXACT day in which we HAD to move. The boxes greyed out are unavailable days, and the boxes with a blue outline, were the days in which our notification and end date were for our old lease (meaning we had to be completely out by the 16th). See an elaborated timeline here.... (it was a crazy month!)

I've also used this same type of setup to monitor how many days in a row I work out. The visual is a pretty good motivation to continue going to the gym.

2. Scheduling for a Week. This is pretty handy for me, and quite honestly, I use this method often. I first started doing this when I would schedule for classes in college where every day of the week would have a specific different schedule. 

What you can do is create columns (representing each day) that can be broken up into smaller blocks of time. Then you can color code based on class or building or activity. 

Above is an example of this from when we were planning our Disney World Vacation. Each color represented a different park. Darker shades represented non-negotiable parks based on the dining reservations we had made, and the lighter colors were time periods were we could decide on the fly where we wanted to go based on our moods. (Orange- Disney Springs; Red- Magic Kingdom; Purple- Epcot, Green- Animal Kingdom; Blue- Hollywood Studios). 

3. Scheduling for a Day. Now this is intense, so just get ready. The only time I can remember ever using spreadsheets to schedule one day is for our wedding. This was really helpful in making a plan for individuals or groups of people that needed to do different things throughout the day. 

A wedding is one of the very few reasons I can think of why a regular person would need to do this... But maybe if you were an event planner, you might use this often, or if you were planning something with MANY different contributors. Construction companies, for example, use a similar method when they are planning, building, and finishing a building. 

Bonus: Scheduling Over Time. This isn't really helpful in scheduling, because SO much can change over a few months or years. HOWEVER, I have some spreadsheets that monitors specific informational dates over several years. This example is included in this post because it pertains to dates, and it fits better in scheduling that it does in any other spreadsheet category in this series. 

A few months ago, I was curious about when seasons of Survivor are filmed vs. when they are aired. So, using wikipedia, I researched the dates and created this spreadsheet, simply to visualize the timeline of it all.

#DontJudge.... Tune in next time to read about Using Spreadsheets to Organize.

Other Spreadsheet Posts
Tips & Tricks | List | Schedule | Organize | Calculate

Brown Paper Packages #9

"I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad..." Ok, I don't feel bad, but its still fun to remember my favorite things.

Two weeks ago, one my friends, Melissa, was in a play at Playhouse In the Park in Murray Kentucky. Additionally, the play was one of my all-time favorite musical soundtracks and movie, Rent. Obviously, this combination required me to attend!!! I was a little skeptical because of my love and knowledge of the show and I tried to prepare myself by lowering my expectations. After all, its just community theatre. 

After the first number, titled "Rent," I knew that this show was going to rise high above my expectations! It was phenomenal!! Every single one of the main characters was perfectly cast. The acting was great, and the singing was ON POINT! Top it off with messages of love and friendship, and you've got yourself a perfect recipe to make you cry...

Anyway, I'm so glad I made the trek to Murray to see my friend play Mimi. She was SO great and it was fun to watch her! Great job Melissa and the rest of the cast and crew!

The weekend following the Rent performance contained other Brown Paper Package moments. I am going to be a bridesmaid for my friend Kaitlin. All of her Bridesmaids are scattered across eastern USA. 1 in Murray, KY; 1 in Paducah, KY, 1 in Southern Illinois, 1 in South Central Kentucky, 1 in Memphis, 1 in Georgia, and 1 in Northern Illinois. Anyway, you get the point....some are pretty far away! 

SO....it was decided that we should try and pack all of Kaitlin's pre-wedding festivities into one weekend so that everyone could come, and so that the BMs wouldn't have to make numerous trips for various parties and showers (click here to read all about Kaitlin's Survivor themed Lingerie Shower). It was so fun reconnecting with friends and meeting and making new ones as well. Additionally, we got to celebrate Kaitlin and Dustin's upcoming marriage in a fun and unique way.

And then there's this....

Survivor: Lingerie Island

One of my good friends, Kaitlin, is getting married in a few short months and bridesmaids and friends wanted to throw her a lingerie shower. For you readers who may not be familiar with this, its exactly what it sounds like; instead receiving silverware and plates like at a regular bridal shower, the bride-to-be receives lingerie. I personally think these types of showers are sort of on the awkward side, but just let me continue.

Kaitlin is also a HUGE Survivor fan. In fact, Survivor is actually the reason we first became friends. She did not have cable at the time, so my sister had asked if she could come over and watch the season finale with me since she knew I would be watching it anyway. And thus, our Survivor friendship started! Me, Kaitlin, and Jeff Probst.

Due to her love for Survivor, someone requested that her lingerie shower be Survivor themed, and me being the only bridesmaid who watches Survivor on the weekly, quickly jumped on the idea and started I getting excited.

The Invitations.
Survivor 101: Many clues and notes that the contestants on Survivor come in the form of a riddle, and they are usually always a riddle or rhyming.

The Buffs.
Next, I needed to make buffs for all of the guests of the shower, obviously. My mom helped me with this! Thanks mom! This turned out to be a case of trial and error. I had looked up directions online to find how to make a buff, but after we made one following those directions, we found that the material that I had bought was not stretchy enough to fit on someone's head. So, we adjusted and measured squares that were 18" x 24". Then my mom sewed the edges to prevent fraying and then we connected 2 of the edges.
Survivor 101: Buffs are a piece of circular material that Survivor contestants wear on the show.

Naturally, I tried on a buff and played with it!
Survivor 101: The buffs are meant to be worn different ways depending on the needs of the content at the time. They shield the cold, catch the sweat, hold back the hair, and make the contestants look tough. Most importantly, the buffs help to separate the tribes (they each have different color buffs) and create tribe pride.

1. The Pirate
2. The Sweatband
3. The Necklace
4. The Cinderella
5. The Bracelet
6. The Strong Arm









Next, I assigned guests to their tribes, and wrapped the buffs. I wanted to split up specific people so that the tribes had a somewhat equal amount of Survivor knowledge.
Survivor 101: Survivor contestants don't find out what tribe they are on until they arrive on the island. This way, they can't strategize ahead of time.
Seasoned Castaways: "Blue tribe getting your first look at the pink tribe..."

Lastly, for prep, I created some decorations to make shower feel more like Survivor.
Survivor 101: At each tribe's camp, they have a tribe flag (which is actually a banner) with their tribe name labeled on it.

• Large Black Banner - Main "Lingerie Island" Banner
• Pink and Blue Long Banners - Tribe Banners. These were good to separate the tribes on different sides of the room. I used leftover material from the buffs, sticks, and jute to make these. The Tribe names were chosen based on the theme of the party
• Duanku - means panties in Chinese (according to Google Translate)
• Lianghao - means bra in Chinese (according to Google Translate)
• Torches - These are actual tiki torches that I borrowed from my parents. I removed the oil canister and replaced it with tissue paper to look like fire.
• Survivor 101: When castaways get voted out of their tribe, Jeff snuffs their torch symbolizing that they are out of the game.
• Seasoned castaways: "Behind each of you is a torch. grab a torch and approach the flame. Dip it in and get fire. This is important, because in this game, fire represents your life."
• Wrapped buffs
• Pots for the snacks
• Survivor 101: Castaways have to boil their own water and they are only supplied with rice for food. Sometimes they are given beans, nuts, fruit, or more hearty food for winning a reward challenge. For our shower, guests were only given chex mix and water (we had just eaten dinner).
• Voting Urn, Pen, and Paper. I used stuff I already had and just wrapped them in packing paper and jute.

Once all of the props and decorations were ready, it was time to have the actual party!

The Tribes.

Both teams are looking FIERCE!


We had 3 challenges.

The Knowledge Challenge. In the first challenge, tribes had to work together to answer questions, using a large die, about Kaitlin and Dustin's relationship.
Survivor 101: These types of knowledge challenges are normally played individually, but we thought it would be more fun to compete as a team.
Seasoned Castaways: "Let's get to today's reward challenge."

The Puzzle Challenge. One at a time, a castaway from each tribe had to untie knots to release envelopes. Once all of the envelopes were brought back to their tribe mat, 2 castaways could start putting together puzzle pieces that were inside the envelopes. The first tribe to finish the puzzle wins.
Survivor 101: This is a CLASSIC Survivor Challenge. Knots and puzzles are in many episodes of Survivor.
Seasoned Castaways: "You have got to DIG DEEP!"

The Memory Challenge. One at a time, a castaway from each tribe had to memorize the order of pictures random lingerie objects, then rush back to try to remember the correct order. The first castaway to finish gets a point for their tribe. The first tribe to 4 points, wins.
Survivor 101: When castaways are on the island, some challenges involving mental alertness prove to be very hard due to their lack of sleep, lack of food, and having to strategize 24/7.
Seasoned Castaways: "Survivors ready...go!"

Tribal Council.

Kaitlin opened all of her gifts, and as she opened them, all of the guests gave each one a name.
Lingerie Shower 101: This is a CLASSIC Lingerie Shower activity. It makes it a bit less awkward...

Once all of the gifts were opened and named, each castaway from both tribes voted for which gift was the overall favorite.
Survivor 101: Normally, the castaways vote for who they want to leave the island, but that would not work for a shower. I mean, who wants to get kicked out of a party?...
Seasoned Castaways: "It is... time to vote."

After everyone had cast their votes, I read the votes. THEN, I symbolically put out Kaitlin's torch and everyone commented about how she is leaving the virgin island. hahahaha
Survivor 101: There are many quotes that Jeff Probst says during EVERY tribal council.
Seasoned Castaways: "Once the votes have been read, the decision is final. The person voted out will be asked to leave the tribal council area immediately. I'll read the votes." 

I think everyone enjoyed Survivor: Lingerie Island. I know Kaitlin loved it because we are such Survivor fanatics. The goal was for her to have a great time, and for all of the guests (even if they have never seen Survivor) to enjoy the challenges and theme. It was a success.

Kaitlin and Jeff Probst >>>>>

Shoutout to the puka shell necklace. Even though Jeff doesn't actually wear a puka shell necklace.