Before you hit the stores for all the bargains being advertised be sure to go through your kids' current wardrobe.  Purge clothes that are too small and identify clothes that fit and can be used for school.  Then make a list of what they need.  Now you are ready to shop. You will be amazed at how much you save doing it this way.    

It's summer.  Make your entryway welcoming, bright, and functional.  Store winter accessories away in bins on the shelf above the rod in your coat closet or consider getting an entryway bench with baskets to store these items in.  Add a basket to a table for incoming mail and a hook for keys near the door.  Lastly, make sure the lighting is bright enough and minimize rugs to give it a fresh summer feel.  Welcome home!

According to the May 18 edition of USAToday, the average worker wastes 2.5 hours a week looking for documents missing in poorly organized electronic files.

Start with something simple, like your purse.  Completely empty all pockets, pouches, and compartments.  Dispose of all garbage, recycle expired coupons, shred expired credit cards and receipts.  Remove duplicate items and items that haven't been used in over 6 months.  Look at what remains and decide if those items are essentials.  Group essential items by type (e.g., make up, credit cards/cash, eye care, etc).  Containerize like items together by placing them in small pouches (preferably clear), ziplock baggies, or buy a purse organizer.  If you decide you want a purse organizer, check out the Purseket, I have one and love it.  

Lastly, if you loved this exercise and what to involve your friends on your quest to get organized, consider calling us about booking a mini-workshop.  These are "girls' night out" style gatherings that are designed to be fun, interactive, and informative.  

Consider getting a 3-bin laundry sorter and placing it in the room where clothing is most often being removed (the bathroom?) or in a shared hallway.  Label bins: whites, colors, and darks.  Rather than tripping over piles on laundry day, simply grab one of the mesh bags and dump it into the washer.  Clean clothes can be folded and placed back in the mesh bags so they can be transported back to each person's room and put away.  It's a wonderful thing.  

I just bought a hanging jewelry organizer. It has 66 see-through pockets. All my bracelets are together, as for necklaces, and earrings.  This makes is so easy to select the best option for what I am wearing.  Best of all, it hangs in my closet right next to my clothes. Love it.

My daughter has more books than a small library.  The good news is that she loves to read.  I (of course) love this.  The flip side is that I am faced with a plethora of books strewn about the house.  To encourage her to put her books away when she is done reading, I made a few magazine holders out of cereal boxes.  I made each one a different size to demonstrate the size of the books that go into each box.  I lined them up on a shelf and taught her the "new system" for organizing her books.  She loves it because she enjoys looking at the pictures on the sides.  I love it because it has encouraged her to put her books away.  A win-win.  The best part is that they are put away nicely and not heaped up in a "leaning tower of Pisa" pile.  To learn how to make a magazine holder out of a cereal box, click here.

"Organizing, it really does improve life.  I don't want to do it myself, but I like the results."

What I recommend to my clients for dealing with magazines is to first sort the magazines you receive by those that you "love to read" and those that you "never have time to read."
 
For those that you "never have time to read," consider calling and asking to cancel or switch your subscription.  Often magazines have affiliations and you can simply select another title.  Alternatively, you can donate them to a local dentist, doctor, or other practice with a waiting room until your current subscription runs out.  (It's great to recycle them but better to reuse them first!)
 
For those that you "love to read," organize the magazines that you have not read yet in a magazine file, only keeping the last 1-3 issues.  As you read a magazine, tear out articles of interest and organize them by topic in a binder or expandable file.  Topics may include: Health, Recipes, Mommy Tips, Crafts, etc.  Once you are finished reading that magazine and have selected (and filed) your articles, recycle it.

Birthdays are crazy enough without adding to the clutter. For your next birthday, ask for "consumables" like a gift certificate to the spa or a dinner for 2 at your favorite restaurant.

Ok, call me nuts but I discovered an amazing thing.  Sanitize your kitchen sponge by dampening and popping it in the microwave for a minute.  Then, when it is cool enough to touch, use your all-purpose cleaner to wipe down your countertops with it.  No scrubbing required!  It's as though it melts away grime!

If you enjoy podcasts, click here for a list of podcasts that focus on getting organized.

If you haven't joined "Freecycle" yet, think about it. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills.  Click here to get more information about The Freecycle Network.

Hang a magnetized pad on your fridge and attach a pen on a string. Every time you run out of something, write it on your list. On grocery day, just grab your list and go! For extra credit, write down items in the order in which they are arranged in the store (e.g., produce on top of the list, frozen on the bottom of the list) to make your shopping trip a breeze.

The most successful way to throw an amazing party is to plan.  Make a list of all the things that need to get done before the event and record time sensitive events on your calendar.  Make sure to include sending invitations, booking a venue, ordering/buying food and drinks, decorating, and party activities.  Staying organized by maintaining your list will ensure that you are not forgetting something that you had hoped to get done.  

I found a helpful website that provides suggestions for donating or recycling anything from the most usual to unusual items.  Check it out, click here.

If you find yourself struggling with paper, your desk, and productivity levels consider the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. David proposes a unique system using lists to increase your effectiveness and efficiency.

Prevent delicates/hand washables from inadvertently getting thrown in the wash with the everyday laundry by hanging a bag on the side of the hamper to store them before laundry day.  See the photo below of a small mesh bag hung on the side of a hamper for stockings and knee highs that will be hand washed.

Stash extra plastic bags at the bottom of the bin so when you remove the full bag, a fresh one is right there at your fingertips.

Start a toy rotation system.  Pack up and store approximately half of the toys.  Keep one of each kind out and store the others (e.g., have 2 shape sorters? keep one out, store the other).  Every change of season (or when the kids start to complain of boredom), pack up the toys that are out and pull out some of those previously stored.  A toy rotation system is a wonderful thing.  It keeps kids interested and keeps parents happy because it saves money and reduces clutter.  A win-win.   

Try a 3-bag sorter and skip the "sorting step" all together.  As you remove your clothing, simply place articles in the appropriate section of the sorter.  Use one section for whites, one for colors, and one for darks or delicates.  

One example is this Satin Silver Laundry Center.  Find it at: www.stacksandstacks.com

Sean Kirst, a columnist for The Post Standard, wrote an article about his experience with Put it Simply Organizing.....a must read if you have resolved to "get organized" in 2011.  Click here to read it.

Being organized is like having 25 hours in a day.

Next year, make the month of November the month to purge items that you no longer need or use to make room for the influx of gifts come December.  Consider charities, craigslist, and ebay your friends during this time of elimination.

If you are expecting overnight guests for the holidays consider creating a hospitality drawer in the room they will sleep in.  Place a small tag on the front of the drawer welcoming guests to what they will find inside.  The drawer can either be in the night stand or a dresser.  Put things like tissues, band aids, antacids, and breath mints in the drawer.  Add other items you anticipate guests needing or possibly forgetting.  


For extra credit, store surplus guest towels and bed linens in a bin under the bed and place a small sign in the drawer pointing guests to where they can find these items. Little touches like these make guests feel welcome and at home.