Well, if you are in the U.S., now you can*.  For $99, New Leaf America will come to your home and do an efficiency audit.  When they are done, they will give you a customized report, as well as a DVD full of  helpful home efficiency tips.  They also give you a customized list of recommended products, including things such a bulbs, smart power strips and low-flow faucet adapters.  Best of all?  They provide free** installation for anything you purchase through them.

They also have a free online lighting energy calculator that helps you determine how much you will save from switching from incandescent to high efficiency bulbs.  Even if you’re not looking to switch your bulbs out yet, it’s fun to play with just to see what a difference a little wattage can do!

If you are in a country outside of the United States, and know of a similar service, please let us know in the comments section.  We are always interested in finding out what is available world wide.

*Currently New Leaf America has service available in California, Arizona and Utah, but they will continue to train new auditors and expand into additional states soon.  Contact them for more information.

** Sorry!  That was my error.  There is a charge for installation, although it is quite reasonable.  Pricing varies by project.

So,… are you organized yet?  Have those mountains of paperwork found a home?  If not, you might want to consider going “paperless”.

Of course, there is no such thing as a completely paperless office, but there are many things you can do to reduce the amount of paper you generate or store.  Today we are going to look at some online solutions, as well as a company that takes all your paperwork and makes it disappear.

If you’re not familiar with the term “cloud computing”, you soon will be.  Cloud computing, also known as internet computing, is simply a program that runs on a remote server, as opposed to something that must be loaded onto your computer to run.  A major benefit is that these programs can be run regardless of your operating system.  It also frees up space on your hard drive, which is always nice, even in this day of the TB (terabit).  So here are some “clouds” you might want to consider…

Remember the Milk is an online to-do list program.  This popular program does a great job of keeping track of your to-dos, as well as send you reminders when the time comes to get things done.  It also integrates with Google Calendar, and is supported on the iPhone.

If you’re looking for a better way to manage your projects – and the people on them – Basecamp makes collaboration simple. You can share files, track time, schedule milestones, assign projects, and make to-do lists, to be shared, or kept “private”.

If you need a way to manage your contacts, leads, and proposals, Highrise gives you plenty of tools, and a centralized place to store them.

image via Studio I.T.

So new the paint is stil drying, Studio I.T.’s Studio Webware is an cloud version of their popular interior design accounting system.  Best part?  You pay on a month by month basis, which means there is very little upfront cost, and updates are done automatically.  As the information isn’t up on their site yet, you’ll need to contact Studio I.T. to learn more about availability and training sessions.

Now, that is just a small sampling of the programs that are out there, and I would recommend exploring several before making any decisions, but the number of such programs, and the way they will bring us ever closer to an actual paperless office, is astounding.

Of course, it’s all very for a smaller company to use these products, but what about larger firms, or the large commercial clients of larger firms?  How do they manage to reduce their bulging filing cabinets, and generate less paperwork in the future?

That’s where companies like AMI come in.  Not only can they take all the existing documents and quickly digitize and organize them, they can also provide business process management to reduce a future backlog of paper.  All of which will help bigger companies stay organized and clutter free!

Thanks for joining us for our “Let’s Get Organized” series.  We’ll see you next week for a bumch of new product reviews!

Monday – Let’s Get Organized, Day 1 – Sustainable Desks

Tuesday – Let’s Get Organized, Day 2 – The Naked Binder

Wednesday – Let’s Get Organized, Day 3 – Storage Solutions

Thursday – Let’s Get Organized, Day 4 – iPhone Apps

Now, I know many of you may not have an iPhone.  In truth, I don’t have one either, but there is no getting around the fact that the amazing number of apps available for the iPhone have changed the way we use our phones, and could make a big difference in how we stay organized in the interior design business.  That being said, if you don’t have an iPhone, stick around for this first entry, because it’s available for other phones and your computer too!

image via Evernote

The simplest way to describe Evernote is as a note taking service, which doesn’t sound all that amazing.  But when a “note” can be anything from a snapshot you take with your mobile phone, to a screen grab of a website you’re on, to a to-do list you send yourself via email, things get a lot more interesting.  For designers, this is a major boon.  Imagine seeing something, anywhere you are, taking a picture and sending it off to a file system where you can easily access it along with notes, voice memos, web pages, lists, etc.  And everything can be filed to the correct folder automatically, once you tell Evernote what to look for.  Best yet, the basic service is free.  I’ll let their little intro video explain more…

Next up are the two iPhone apps made for color selection, Benjamin Moore’s ben® Color Capture™ (above),…

and Sherwin-Williams’ Color Snap® (above).  Both manufacturers provide these applications for free, and both work pretty much the same way, by capturing an image, allowing you to choose a specific color from that image, and then matching it to that manufacturers paint line.  The main differences between the two are in how they then interpret what you can do to integrate that color into a coordinated scheme, but those differences are fairly minor.  Of course, the application is limited by the fact that a camera is never as good at capturing and interpreting a color as the human eye is, but it sure beats carrying a fan deck with you every time you leave your office.  Free

Next up is a really useful app for interior designers called I.D.Wood.  With images and reference materials on over 50 different commonly used woods, including information on origin, common uses, and milling techniques.  Best of all for green designers, it includes a sustainability feature as well.  Price $2.99

And speaking of green, for those of you preparing to take the LEED Green Associate exam, there are flash cards for your phone. Price $19.99

Trust someone to come up with a “design a room on an iPhone” app, but since Mark On Call is targeted specifically at interior designers, it may be worth a look.  And for the price, you don’t have much to lose!  $2.99

And finally, for those times when you’re stuck in a really long, boring meeting, there is Home Sweet Home, a game where you “Create the room of your clients’ dreams with hundreds of unique pieces of furniture and accessories across dozens of homes each with their own challenging riddle. Then, with deadlines looming, direct your build team to assemble it all in front of your eyes!”  I’m not sure if the client yells at you when things go wrong, but I like that coffee is how you keep your “build team” motivated! Price $2.99

Tomorrow – Let’s Get Organized, Day 5 -  The Paperless Office

Monday – Let’s Get Organized, Day 1 – Sustainable Desks

Tuesday – Let’s Get Organized, Day 2 – The Naked Binder

Wednesday – Let’s Get Organized, Day 3 – Storage Solutions