Organizing a scattered brain

I'm scatterbrained.

This isn't a new phenomenon, just a worsening problem.

I used to be considered a bit of a control freak.

People thought I had it all together ... at least the ones who didn't visit my perpetually piled house. I remembered names, dates and places. Varied and versatile facts could be picked from my brain at broadband speed.

All of these traits made me a good copy editor and an interesting -- if eccentric -- friend. They've also made me a great study abroad adviser and expert traveler.

The problem is the more time zones I cross, the less together I seem to have it.

Magnetic hanging boards can be made from all kinds of cookie pans and stove top covers.

You've lost eight hours when you land in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. I also lost all ability to remember the scheduled events for a three-week excursion with 18 students. Six hours of your life have disappeared when you land in Catania, Sicily. For me, the ability to remember a new name and face was also MIA. By the time you see the richness of the plains of Tanzania you've spent more than 24 hours in the sky. I apparently also spent all of the brain cells needed to remember my visa application paperwork.

Sure, you get that time back on your return trip, but it seems like I've lost those critical skills for good. Not to mention the ability to pick up the pieces of life and work during the short three weeks between excursions.

No, I'm not sending out invitations to my pity party yet. I'll be the first to tell you how awesome my job is and how amazing each new adventure can be.

That aside, I have to find some way to get things together again. My first step was to designate some space in my office and throughout my home to post important information.

The most creative and attractive ideas I'm sharing with you today.

In my entryway hangs a shiny silver cookie sheet. A decorative ribbon strung through two holes drilled in one of the handles is enough to secure it to the wall.

Bottle caps and clothespins are made into magnets using flexible magnetic strips with adhesive.

On it hangs all of the important messages left by my close friend and cat sitter, Anders, to keep me up-to-date with the latest Oxford news. To hold it all in place I took circular magnets and superglued them to vintage bottle caps.

Anders is also kind enough to check my mail when he pays his visits to Bihi and Dixie. Large clothespins affixed to bar magnets hang across the bottom of the board to hold mail separated into bills, letters and junk.

In my bedroom hangs another board on which I secure packing ideas, shopping lists, personal appointments, reminders and occasionally a poignant fortune from my latest Asian takeout night.

My current favorite: "In all things you've proven yourself to be defective." I believe the intended word was "effective," but I like it even better with the ironic mistake.

The board is hung horizontally in this room from hemp rope to complement my organic theme. The magnets are made with silk flowers.

I trimmed the stems with wire cutters and then glued the layers of petals, leaves and plastic spaces together with fabric glue. Once that was set I used superglue to attach the flower to the magnet.

There's no need to use the flower as purchased, though. Move leaves up, combine petals from two different flowers, or just take out petals if you think the flower is too full.

In my kitchen I've transformed my freezer door into a calendar. I started by gluing some red grosgrain ribbon to the door in a grid pattern. Mine's a standard four-by-seven grid and I make due during extra-long months. To mark the date in the squares I use numbers from a child's magnet set. Days of the week are marked with letters form a similar set.

I've glued buttons to circular magnets to hold important information on the door. Though the buttons are all different, I try to use similar colors to mark similar events. Due dates for bills are marked by shades of red. Under the 11 February button there's a small (maybe one by one inch) note that says simply "AMEX $353.60."

Work-related events are marked with blue and a note indicating the time and location. Personal appointments are under yellow buttons, birthdays are in green, so at a glance I can get a feeling for what's coming up and only have to read if I want to know specific details.

My final board hangs on the wall of my office. It's actually three magnetic boards hung in a group. I spray painted burner covers to match picture frames in my office and hung them behind my chair. They are also hung from ribbon, though they could have just as easily been hung on a tack nail.

One of the boards is to hold information related to my next trip -- departure information, business cards of contacts abroad, dates and itineraries. The other boards are for our office manager to hang incoming items on while I'm away. Phone messages and new tasks are hung on the larger one while important mail and various other information is hung on the smaller.

To keep theses notes in place I again employed circular magnets and clothespins. The small clothespins were painted to match the office and affixed to bar magnets. Circular magnets have been glued to change from various world locals. Most pocket change can't be exchanged when returning to the United States, so I'm glad to make use of it.

So now when I return from a trip I at least have a starting point in the various facets of my home life. Maybe this will prevent me from forgetting my parents' phone number or that important meeting with the ambassador.

Vanessa Cook is a former Southeast Missourian copy editor who dabbles in decorating.