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Tips and Tricks- let's post em!


JustJackie

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I am determined to have a better system with my tarts. This are really picking up and I can tell that I need to become more organized.

I was reading on here how someone places their lables in an alphabetical accordian folder. I love this idea and am going to do it today! I forget who posted that- but thank you for the tip!

I am REALLY looking for a good way to keep orders organized. I am only internet right now- so I print them off and then the system breaks down! LOL I have orders all over the place and no real system for keeping them organzied. What do you do?

One little trick that I do with my wax is to pre-measure it and pt it in baggies. I combine soy and beeswax. So- I have 2 lb. bags made up and ready to go. It really saves time when I have a small order that I need to fill.

I really enjoy reading on this forum and have gotten so many good ideas! I can't wait to see what everyone has to say :)

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Get yourself a magnetic board (5.99 at Ikea). Everytime you get an order, you can attach it to the board with the little magnet. You can have 3 columns on your board. One for in progress, one for new orders and one for orders that need to be shipped.

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Get yourself a magnetic board (5.99 at Ikea). Everytime you get an order, you can attach it to the board with the little magnet. You can have 3 columns on your board. One for in progress, one for new orders and one for orders that need to be shipped.

I like it! I like it a lot! I am one of those people who like to "see" what I have going on. I work in my kitchen right now.... so it will be trick to find a good place for it... but I am going to give that a try!

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- I do the accordian label thing but don't think I shared that one. It helps things stay organized, for sure.

- I print all my orders on ONE color of paper (pink for me) to help them from getting lost amongst the white papers.

- Similar system to Carmen's but I hang my pending orders up and remove them as they go out

- When things are really busy I make a list of everything that needs to be filled, categorizing with pillars, votves etc. I check off what I have already then work systematically to fill the rest

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- I do the accordian label thing but don't think I shared that one. It helps things stay organized, for sure.

- I print all my orders on ONE color of paper (pink for me) to help them from getting lost amongst the white papers.

- Similar system to Carmen's but I hang my pending orders up and remove them as they go out

- When things are really busy I make a list of everything that needs to be filled, categorizing with pillars, votves etc. I check off what I have already then work systematically to fill the rest

I love the idea of the different colored paper.... do you find it a pain to switch colors a lot while printing?

I think I can even expand this to printing on different colors for internet invoices.

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I have a cork board that I use to put my orders on. Which hangs right over my work tables/area. They are in the order that they were received. If there is a rush order then it goes to the head of the line with a big red rush written on it. If the customer is not in a hurry for a order then it is done by that date that they requested it by. Once the order is complete I take it off the board and place it with the items to be picked up or shipped that way I know to call the customer who is going to pick up there order and let them know it is ready.

I also keep my labels in a accordian file pre printed in every size that I use. Once it's ready for a label I just go the the letter pull out the correct size.

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I love the idea of the different colored paper.... do you find it a pain to switch colors a lot while printing?

Sometimes. :tongue2: But it is so much worth it because it really does help me spot an order form from across the room, lol.

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The different color paper for new orders is a great idea! Right now I have a filing system going on...every folder is labeled ie; new retail orders, new wholesale orders etc. Once a new order comes in, it gets filed in its corresponding folder. Once the order is filled, the form then goes into a customer file.

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Get yourself a magnetic board (5.99 at Ikea). Everytime you get an order, you can attach it to the board with the little magnet. You can have 3 columns on your board. One for in progress, one for new orders and one for orders that need to be shipped.

yep, this is what I do too, only I use a cork board with push pins, and like some of the others, when the order is filled, I remove it from the board. :) I also do what Sara does, and if I have a lot of orders, with a lot of different items, like votives, pillars, etc., I catergorize them and do all of one thing at a time. Makes it a little easier than to keep switching back and forth.

I also have a big white board too that I can write on to keep notes on while I'm filling orders too. During the lull time (lol) when I have little or no orders, I use the white board to write what I plan on doing that day, like pillars, containers, soaps etc.. and what scent I want them. :)

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You are welcome for the accordian idea - it saves a lot of time.

When my orders come in I use a spreadsheet that I made up with columns for what I need to pour, the wick size, jar size, fo and color amt. When the order comes in I go ahead and list the fragrance in the first column and the number of jars in the appropriate size column. Before I pour I fill in the rest of the information that I need - the wick size, fo amt and color combo. I take that into the workroom and work from there. When I am done pouring - I use the spreadsheet to do my inventory adjustments.

HTH,

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I am REALLY looking for a good way to keep orders organized. I am only internet right now- so I print them off and then the system breaks down! LOL I have orders all over the place and no real system for keeping them organzied. What do you do?

Maybe you should look into a shopping cart that will allow you to export into a database format. Thats what we do and export to quickbooks. It helps with the orgnanization and taxes etc. It will also help when a customer told you they ordered something a couple of months ago and loved it and they think you are supposed to remember. With the db you can tell someone everything they ever ordered, print labels invoices and statements easily track inventory etc etc etc.

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I use that nasty ol' IGI 4627 comfort blend wax, and I've figured out a way to pre-portion it by cutting it up with a heat knife and wrapping the portions in wax paper either by the pound, or by a specific weight especially for my test jars. Best part of it is, I don't have to get coated in vaseline everytime I get ready to test a new scent or test a jar. I just go to my rubbermaid box and grab how many portions I need. I don't do any type of production yet, so I'm sure I'll have to modify this eventually.

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