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General

  • When you decide that it's time to organize, start with the area that makes you the most anxious, and then prioritize the other areas in order of importance to you. This will give you a better perspective on everything that needs to be done.
  • Make a deadline for when you would like to accomplish the first task. When that is complete, set a deadline for the next task. One step at a time is easier to deal with then trying to tackle everything at once. 
  • Set aside specific times of the day that you can devote to "Keeping Up" with your spaces. For instance, you can start with twenty minutes each day. This is a manageable amount of time, and the job will be less daunting if you try to maintain it once the area has been organized. 
  • Write down all your plans, and cross them out as you achieve them. This will give you a sense of accomplishment when you succeed.

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Residential

  • Home Maintenance - keep a scheduled checklist of things that you may need to accomplish annually or quarterly. You could organize this by season or by month. Then it isn't a big question as to when you last changed your air filters or fire alarm batteries or cleaned your gutters. 
  • Household Information - Set up convenient folders where you sort your mail for bills to be paid, coupons you save, or for school activities. File them as soon as you get them and mark any important dates on your calendar.
  • Set up a clutter depot in each room - choose an attractive basket to drop clutter into when unexpected visitors call or when your just too tired to put everything away. Keeping clutter contained will make each room look so much nicer. Tackle one basket at a time. Carry the basket from room to room emptying it out and putting it away as you go.
  • Routine is the key to clutter control. Once you and your family are in the routine of putting each item away after each use, you will no longer have to waste time searching for it.
  • Make a routine of doing a 10 minute tidy up session before bed. If that's not a productive time for your family, find a time that is, before dinner, after school, after homework. If it isn't decorative, find its home and put it away. If it doesn't have a home, create one, preferably out of sight.
  • If it is broken and you have lived without it this long, throw it out. If it is valuable, make an appointment to have if repaired, if you still have not had it repaired in one month give it to charity, affixing a note that it is broken.
  • Always use clear containers when storing items. Seeing what's in side will save endless time.
  • Permanently keep a box marked Charity in your car and add to it on a weekly basis, when you are:
    • Sorting laundry
    • Searching through your junk draw
    • Choosing something to wear
    • Moving aside kitchen gadgets to get to the cheese grater
    • When your child receives a new toy part with an old.
  • Once you start giving you won't be able to stop. Find a Charity drop-off point along your errand run and stop as soon as the box is full.
  • Keep a table by the door for: keys, glasses, purse, outgoing documents, i.e. tickets, etc,
  • Drop items and notes that you need to discuss with your partner into a basket held at a central location. Sort through the basket together on a daily basis.
  • Set up locations or baskets for certain tasks and store appropriate supplies at this point, making each project easier:
    • Art center
    • Gift and card basket, store upcoming gifts here
    • Dog toys, lead, food and treats
    • Reading chair, drop reading material here
    • Letter writing basket/Bill payment center
  • Set standing dates on you calendar 1st & 15th of each month to pay bills, make use of Bank telephone bill payment services, On line Payment services and Payee automatic debit or payment services to save time writing checks, envelopes and stamps.
  • You may also want to keep a change container/machine to drop loose change into as soon as you come home, you will be amazed how quickly those pennies add up now they are no longer scattered around.
  • Get into the habit of always returning these items to this point as soon as you come home, if you can…add a hook to hang your purse from.
  • Have a shelf by the car for things you need to take with you:
    • Dry cleaning
    • Items for return
    • Briefcase
    • Lunch
    • Meeting notes
    • Gym clothes
  • Try to keep it as clutter free as possible, so you will actually check it before you get into your car each time.
  • Make a list of all your important information. Think of all the numbers you would need if your house burnt down or your purse full of credit cards was stolen:
    Passport number.
  • Birth certificates
  • Store credit card and emergency cancel numbers
  • Social Security
  • Driver license
  • Investment information
  • Keep the list secured at home and a copy in a safe place out side of your home.
  • Throw away instruction manuals and boxes to simple appliances like hair dryers and toasters once the 90-day, 3yr or 5yr warranty is up.
  • Start a file for the rest of you warranties and instructions keeping them all in one place. This will save a lot of frustration next time you need to use the automatic timer on your oven. (I personally like large 3-ring binders with a thick sheet protector for each item: include service papers, warranty, instructions, and receipts)
  • No time for reading - listen to books on tape while commuting, preparing dinner or watching your child's soccer practice. Spread the word that this is your new hobby and you'll never run out of tapes. People love to buy gifts as easy as this.

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Organizing Children:

  • Make the mornings run smoother by having all family members get ready the night before:
    • Clothes and shoes laid out, ready to wear
    • Any notes signed
    • Money collected
    • Lunch boxes washed and laid out…Lunches made
    • Breakfast table set
  • Use the ‘out with the old – in with the new…when children receive new toys, they will be more likely to part with a rarely used toy by the novelty of a new one.
  • Discard toys and games as soon as they are broken or have parts missing.
  • Set out different color files for each child; have them drop in any notes when they unload their school bag. Make a note on your calendar to check them twice a week, make sure your children know which days you sort the files, so they can present something more urgent directly to you.
  • Could your sitter work a few hours extra and run a few errands for you, lessening your load?
  • Children are always keen to help someone else, supply your sitter with clear containers, sticky labels, markers and fun stickers, have her enlist the children's help to sort their rooms and or play area.
  • Take control of your child's 'Art' masterpieces: Invest in two large Art Portfolio Cases per child. As the 'Art' comes home, Name, Date and display on the refrigerator if you must- (One piece at a time for one week only) then drop into one of the cases. At the end of each year sort through the Art with your child and choose one piece for each month, clip together and place in the other file. Pop a few of the rejects into your Gift supplies box to wrap gifts with and Recycle or trash the rest. Continue this process until your child leaves school. Pass the portfolios on to your child when they leave home.
  • Smaller Art Portfolios are also perfect for storing, report cards and other special mementoes.
  • Select a sturdy attractive box to store larger mementoes like Baby's first shoes; this is not a catch all, you will need to be very selective about which items make it to this box.

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Business

  • If you find if difficult to get any "quiet time," try arriving at the office a few minutes earlier than your coworkers to peacefully plan your day.
  • Keep most frequently used items, such as current projects, work tools, phone lists, etc., nearby. You want easy access to these things, so keep them on your desktop or in a nearby drawer.
  • Remove Information, tools, files and objects not frequently used from your desk. They should be kept in a filing cabinet or on a shelf. If you do not have one, find the time to set one up.
  • Name files by how you would think of them first, not necessarily by title or source. For example, a newspaper article could be filed under “Seminar Resources,” instead of “Houston Chronicle article.”
  • Paper clutter is a major ongoing issue for most of us. Papers pile up because we put off making a decision. If your desk is cluttered with too many papers, take a small section and focus on one item at a time. Either toss it or file it in its' proper category. A good filing system provides accessibility and enhanced effectiveness.
  • Create an ACTION file. Anything that needs your immediate attention is either recorded in your calendar or goes in the ACTION file. If it doesn't have a place, create one.
  • We collect so many business cards. If you write the date and place, or function, on the back of the card, it will be much easier to recall the individual.
  • If you find yourself overwhelmed by a particular project or task, take a moment to write down the components. Perhaps it can be divided into smaller jobs which will be easier to manage. Use your appointment book to schedule time slots to get the job done.
  • If you use an In-Box, do not confuse it with your To-do Box, sort through both daily. Tackle your In-Box over the recycling bin and make decisions first time around. Note actions on your To-do List and place in your To-do File or Box. Pass it on if it doesn't concern you.
  • Set up a file for ‘Reading material'. Next time you see an article of interest, drop it into this file. Grab the file next time you are on the way to the bank, doctor, or somewhere else you can squeeze some reading in.

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Organizing Your Vehicle

  • Store magazine articles and other reading material in your glove box for those wasted minutes spent at the car wash, repair shop, or at school collection time.
  • There are many products on the market for storing your essential supplies from visor sunglasses holders or document organizers to backseat organizers and trash containers. The non slide, carry-all trunk bag with compartments is especially good. Any method you use, make the effort to keep it up so that everything can be reached immediately.
  • We all have endless items of clutter in our cars. Many are as useful as they are clutter-some:
    • Jump-leads
    • Flash light
    • Fire extinguisher
    • First aid kit - These and other items should all be stored in a clear container with a lid, secured from sliding around in your trunk.
  • Useful items to have in your car or glove box are:
    • Plastic bags for quick clean up
    • Restaurant coupons stored in clear envelope
    • Aspirin
    • Moist hand wipes
    • Tissues
    • Breath freshener
    • Small notebook/pen
    • Car registration
    • Insurance documents
  • Make the drive easier with children by keeping a container in the back seat stocked with:
    • Snacks Drinks Napkins and moist wipes
    • Coloring books and crayons
    • Note pads
    • Short stories
    • Small toys
    • Suitable travel games
  • Supply a trash container in the back and get the whole family into the habit of returning, replacing and removing items upon your return home each time.

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