1) Always tackle one room or closet at a time. Remove all the items from drawers before making decisions.
2) When organizing, remember the simple phrase: “like goes with like.” Donate unwanted multiples of things.
3) Eliminate stress by knowing where things are when you need them. Locate items where they are used the most.
4) Stop unnecessary paper from coming into your house. Opt out of junk mail at www.dmachoice.org.
5) Use technology to remember appointments. As soon as you make an appointment, add it to your phone’s calendar and set up an alert. If you are a highly visual person and don’t want to rely on technology only, use a paper calendar AND your smartphone to have a backup.
6) Store smaller items such as lipstick, as pain reliever, and hand lotion in smaller bags within your handbag so that you can find things when you need them.
7) When organizing your desk, pour out all your pens and pencils and keep only the ones you like the most.
8) Go paperless and opt for online banking and investment statements.
9) Appoint a file drawer to store household purchase receipts, user manuals, warranties and repair receipts in a series of hanging files labeled “A” through “Z”. Take the user manual and stuff all the other related papers inside it to keep everything together. An alternative is to have a binder system with top-loading plastic sheets, one for each item, and use your label maker to label each page with the item name, not the brand.
10) Keep your fridge stocked with essentials: Post a running order sheet on your fridge door. When it’s time to go shopping grab the list and go! If you’re in a hurry, take a picture of the inside of food pantries and the fridge so you don’t buy multiples. I eliminate paper by keeping a list on my phone.
11) Use an online backup service like Carbonite, OneDrive, iCloud, a flash drive or external hard drive to back-up your critical documents.
12) In the mood for takeout? Put all your to-go menus in either a binder or a large zip lock bag and store them in a kitchen cabinet. Keep another set in your car’s glove compartment.
13) Create a “last stop” area by the front door to collect outgoing mail, permission slips, keys, sunglasses, and other such items. If you’re constantly losing your house keys, buy a Tile tracker or consider installing an electronic lock and just use your code.
14) Use empty pill bottles and jewelry boxes to hold thumbtacks, paper clips and other tiny items.
15) Store plastic bags from the grocery store in an empty Kleenex box.
16) Stock up and keep a few essential greeting cards handy in your home office file drawer organized according to occasion. Next time you need a birthday, new baby, or sympathy card you will be prepared.
17) Stop the sock madness! Purchase 10 pairs of the same socks so it’s easy to find a matching pair. Throw out the old ones.
18) Tired of trying to remember all of your passwords? Store them all in an online password manager such as Dashlane.
19) Always forgetting your printer toner cartridge numbers? Use your label maker to attach a label to the front of your printer for easy reorders. Make a label that says which way to feed in the paper, too!
20) No one can remember what spices they have at home and they end up buying multiples. Solution: Use the notes app on your smart phone to dictate all the spices you have into your notes so the next time you’re in the store and have a recipe in mind, all you have to do is look at your phone to see if you have the spices needed.
21) Keep a change purse with quarters and smaller change in your car so you are always prepared for parking meters. Keep an extra $10 or $20 in there for emergencies.
22) Store large coupons such as Bed Bath and Beyond in the back seat pocket of your driver seat to keep things neat and organized. Get a coupon organizer for the smaller ones and always keep it in the car. You can also download a free coupon app called “SnipSnap” so you’re always prepared to shop.
23) Don’t throw out those diaper bags – they make great emergency car kits and also are a great way to store your tools in the house or garage. For the car emergency car kit, fill them with a bottle of water, a blanket, hat, gloves, flashlight, Neosporin, Band-Aids, Benadryl, windshield ice scraper, paper towels, Windex and jumper cables with long wires if your car doesn’t already have them.
24) Besides keeping a “To-Do” list on your smartphone, use Post-It notes on your dashboard to remind you of urgent tasks.
25) Use a clear plastic string tie envelope to house your tax return and receipts so they can never become separated. Use your label maker to create a label and store the last 2 years in a file cabinet, file box or office closet. The rest can be archived in another part of the house.
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