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Day 69 - Organizing Computer Files

2011-03-15T06:57:00.000-05:00

It seems unfair that computer files should get as messy and complicated as paper files but it's a common thing. Way back on Days 10, 11 and 12 we setup filing systems for paper in the home and now it's time to attack the filing system on your computer.

If you're like most people, you make some effort to put documents and other computer files in a folder on the computer. However, if you can't retrieve the right file in fewer than two minutes or if your files are taking up 90% of your hard drive space then you need to work on the filing system.

You can sort through the files in one of two ways: Opening up the application and then opening up each file or using the file manager system on your computer which is probably the faster method. If, while using the file manager, you wish to open a document to be sure what it is, double-clicking the file name will open it in the proper application. It's also easier to create folders and drag files in the file manager.

Note: If you're not sure how to use the file manager system on your computer, it's generally Programs/Computer/C: drive/My Documents from the Start Menu. If that's not easy to find, consult your computer's Help File.

So, open up the file manager and let's begin! Let's start by looking at all the files that are not in folders. Decide if you need the file and if so, in what Folder will you store the document. If you have a folder for that topic, drag the file in. If you need a new Folder, create one and drag the file in. Don't worry about the contents of the folders right now, that comes next. Right now you just want to sort all the electronic files into the proper folders and purge any unnecessary loose documents. You may end up with a few miscellaneous files that do not really fit a category. You can create a Miscellaneous folder for them but you could also just leave them unassigned to a folder. In my experience "Misc" folders are not very helpful as storage spots as the items in them tend to be forgotten. You're better off creating folders just for each individual file or leaving them as "loose" in the My Documents folder.

Once you've assigned all the files, it's time to go through the folders. You've saved this step because it allows you to look at ALL the documents in a category at the same time. If you'd done this step first, you might not have noticed that you have TWO "Christmas Card lists" documents because one was in the Christmas folder and another was out of the folder.

Using the file manager, sort through all the files and delete any unnecessary or duplicate items. Open documents to compare them if they're similar or use the save date to keep the newest version of a document. If necessary, use the Rename function to create a more descriptive name for the file. If you have 97 documents in a Taxes folder, create subfolders for each year and move the documents. If you find files that belong in a different folder, drag them out to the proper spot. The more specific the folders, the faster you will find the proper document. The Organizing folder on my computer has about 15 separate subfolders including one just for the Logo so I can quickly find the logo when I need it.

If you come across electronic files that you may never need again but wish to keep, consider saving them to read/writable CD or DVD for future retrieval. Your computer files should also be backed up to a separate hard drive, online site or CD/DVD at least once a week to avoid a major disaster if a hard drive crashes.

To keep things organized, make an effort to save files in the correct folder the first time, creating new folders as needed. Also, make a note in your Tickler file to go through paper and electronic files at least once a year and purge the unnecessary files. Be sure to name files with enough description to make them easily distinguishable and therefore retrievable.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 70 - Organizing Bookmarks and Favorites

2011-03-15T05:49:00.001-05:00

A recent computer crash lost all of my saved Internet bookmarks. I was devastated as I'd been accumulating them for several years and had a HUGE list. As I began to recreate them, however, I realized that I hadn't often used the bookmarks but rather had redone the searches each time. I'm not sure why that is but I suspect it was because they were not organized properly.

Now that I have a smaller list, I have the chance to set up a more useful bookmark system. Since I have a really effective paper filing system (i.e. I can find something in less than 2 minutes) I'll setup the Bookmark filing system the same way.

Taking a look at the bookmarks, I see I have some for the local auto shops where we have oil changes done, tires rotated, etc. They often have coupons on the site so I have them bookmarked. That seems like a Household thing to me so I'll create a Household folder and drag those sites to that folder.

I like to decorate cakes so have a few sites bookmarked for reference. I'll create a Cake Decorating folder and in they go.

The 4H sites get their own folder as do the Thyroid management sites. The Games sites also get a folder as well as the Gardening sites.

I find a few bookmarks that I no longer care about so delete those listings. What's left are a bunch of school/education sites and organizing sites. I see that the organizing sites really fall into two categories - business related and reference. The business sites are places where my company is listed, State of MN Small Business site, SCORE, etc so they all move to an Organizing Business folder. The other sites are places that carry good products, have interesting ideas, etc so they will go to an Organizing Ideas folder.

There's a lot of school and education sites left so I can either put them all into one "School" folder or separate them out into small sub-folders by topic or some other type of designation. I don't have the mass amount I've had in the past so decide to just separate them into School - Teaching and School - For Kids. If there gets to be too many in the School - For Kids folder, I'll separate them into sub-folders by subject.

A handful of miscellaneous bookmarks are still left in the list but mostly they are in folders. I'd rather have a few bookmarks in the list than create a Miscellaneous folder which is too easy to ignore. If I really wanted all the bookmarks in a folder, I'd create a folder for each bookmark rather than put them into a Misc. folder.

Going forward, I'll make an effort to put the new bookmarked links into the proper folder and create new folders as needed.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 65 - Scan your stuff

2011-03-10T05:29:00.000-06:00

Every so often you run across a product that you know was created just to make YOUR life a little more organized. This is one of them - a hand-held scanner.

Let's think of a few ways this product would make your life more organized:

1. Scan all your pictures for organizing into albums or simply for safekeeping
2. Student use for libraries, etc when books cannot be checked out
3. Go (mostly) paperless! Scan necessary papers, receipts, invoices, etc. Store the images and recycle the paper.
4. Scan and store business cards, brochures and other business contact information
5. Scan recipes from magazines and organize digitally
6. Scan credit cards, passports, social security cards and other important documents in case they are lost or destroyed. Keep the scan in a secure online location or in a physical safe or fireproof box.
7. Land a big sale? Send business contracts and other paperwork directly to the office for processing
8. Store client paperwork for online retrieval from your web-enabled phone

There's lots of applications for this great gadget and many types of handheld scanners on the market. Check out prices, styles, sizes, etc before you buy. Amazon carries a price-competitive, highly rated model which you can see here.

Happy scanning!

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 64 - Catch up and Review Day

2011-03-10T04:48:00.002-06:00

Missed a day? Search back through the posts and catch up on any organizing steps you may have missed. Add them to your To Do list and get organizing!

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 63 - Break a Plate = Get Jewelry!

2011-03-08T05:58:00.001-06:00

You gotta love a website whose address is www.ibreakplates.com but the Broken Plate Pendant Company is more than just a great name - it's a great place to send your broken china to be fashioned into lovely jewelry. Don't have any pieces to send? No problem, the jewelry is sold on etsy.com

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 62 - Batteries

2011-03-07T03:34:00.000-06:00

Your junk drawer probably contains more than one battery for which you can't tell if it's charged or not. SO you hang on to it until you need a battery and then you don't remember it's in the junk drawer so you don't use it.

Whether you use regular or rechargeable batteries, it causes a lot less stress if they are all kept in the same spot so they can be found when needed. You can get a battery organizer like this one which comes with a tester but these organizers can be rather limiting if you have more batteries than will fit or if you're not disciplined enough to actually unpackage the batteries and put them in the organizer or have other sizes of batteries such as watch batteries for which there is no spot. The benefit of these is that if you actually keep it full you can tell when you're low or out of a particular size battery.

The easiest way to store batteries is to keep all in a covered bin - shoe box size works for most people - so all batteries of all sizes are in the same spot. You won't need to unpackage them but you'll have to be diligent about putting them on a shopping list if you use the last of one type.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 61 - Scrapbooking and Craft Organization

2011-03-06T01:36:00.058-06:00

Scrapbooking and similar crafts can be a great hobby and creative outlet but if the supplies get out of control, it can feel more like a burden and less like fun.

Like other types of crafts, scrapbooking has lots and lots and lots of supplies so the first step is to sort through all your supplies and put like items together. You'll probably find things you don't remember purchasing but it will also give you a good idea of how many of each item you own. Sort the paper by size and color, toss any paper, pens, etc that are unusable or for which you no longer have a use.

Once you have all supplies sorted, it's time to think about how to store them. Because of the large amount of supplies, it's ideal to have a room or part of a room available for storage. At the very least, a wall of pegboard in an out of the way room can store all supplies for use on the dining room table. Many craft, organizing and specialty scrapbooking stores sell organizing products designed just for organizing scrapbooking and similar crafty type supplies but plastic bins, paper filing trays and accordion files work just as well. Additionally, generic shelf organization can be used for scrapbooking supplies such as this system:

Setting up a pegboard system has the advantage of using underused wall space as storage for supplies while giving the flexibility of taking the supplies to another location for a crafting session. Pegboard can be found at home improvement stores and comes in a variety of sizes, colors and finishes. Pick one that fits your decor and purchase a package of pegboard hooks.

Securely install the pegboard on the wall and use the hooks to hang small pails which can hold scissors, pencils, markers and more. Hang ribbon spools on ribbon organizer that can be attached to the pegboard.

Mesh baskets and bins can be used to store paper and other supplies:

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 60 - Sports Equipment

2011-03-05T13:32:00.001-06:00

Sports gear is a fact of life for many adults and families. Even if it's just backyard toys or the family basketball, it all needs to be corralled.

* Create a spot in the garage or backyard to store all sports equipment. Lots of rally useful organizers exist just for storing sports equipment but even sturdy plastic bins will work. If not purchasing an organizer for equipment, get tall, heavy bins for storing hockey and lacrosse sticks so the bin will not tip over. Equipment can also be stored in plastic bins - just put all equipment for the same sport in the same spot.

* Make a habit of immediately cleaning out sports bags. Special drying racks are available for different types of sports equipment such as this one for hockey gear.

* Create a place for bike and scooter storage with bike racks and scooter racks.

* Keep locks in each sports bag

* Purchase duplicates of any items that would need frequent laundering such as head or wrist bands, shorts, etc

* Create an equipment bag for any sport, even if it uses a small amount of equipment.

* Keep sports bags packed and in the garage, mudroom or similar launch area so they're easily found for repacking and can be grabbed on the go.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 59 - Books

2011-03-05T08:44:00.000-06:00

It's book blasphemy to say, but sometimes you can own too many books. A good way to tell is if your kitchen cupboards contain Dickens' novels instead of cereal. If you find yourself a bit overwhelmed by the books in your home, it's a good time to take a serious look at them.

Grab some bags and boxes and let's Declutter! Easier said than done, I know, but if you seriously look at each book and think about why you keep it, you may be able to make some choices.

Kids' books: These are reasonably easy to purge if your children are in high school and you still have board books from when they were toddlers. There may be some books which have such special memories for you that you can't part with them. I, for one, kept all my children's

Tacky the Penguin

books and

Click Clack, Moo

. I think they're hilarious and am looking forward to reading them to my grandchildren. Those books are packed away in a special box of stuff I'd like to save for my grandchildren. My sons are in middle and elementary school so it will be a while, but that stuff is worth saving.

Sometimes your children decide they're done with a particular series so feel free to ask if they've outgrown Diary of a Wimpy Kid or the Magic Treehouse books.

Adult Books: These are no easier to part with than children's books but as they're bigger, it's all the more important to make sure you're only keeping what's important. I love Agatha Christie's books. I happened upon a whole stack of them at our library's used book sale so bought them all. I read them and really enjoyed having them in my bookshelf. Several years later I was sorting through the bookshelf and realized those little paperbacks were taking up more than half of the shelf space and it had been several years since I'd read any of them. I looked at each title in turn and two of them jumped out as ones I'd particularly enjoyed. I pulled the rest off the shelf, popped them into the library book bag and donated them back to the library book sale. Of that whole stack, I would have been willing to wait for a visit to the library for all but two titles so, much as I liked them, they were taking up space that I filled with other books I loved.

Books are difficult to part with but you probably only have so much space in your home to house them. Either let this be your guide for how many books you keep or put up more bookshelves and bins to house your collection. Your guide really should be "Are these books read and loved and useful?" If so, bookshelves will be a good investment but books that no longer have meaning are simply taking up space that you could fill with other wonderful books.

My website has a bunch of links of places you can donate or resell books.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 58 - Organizing for Home Schooling - Part 2

2011-03-05T08:19:00.001-06:00

Organizing a homeschool wouldn't be complete without finding places for everything and establishing some systems for keeping everything organized:

A Place for Everything
● Store the books you're currently using for studying a topic in or near your school area and keep the inactive/reference book area somewhere else. That way the World War II books are handy because that's what you're studying but the Inca books are also accessible for when your child gets a sudden desire to learn about Mexico
● Use 3-Ring binders for storing file folder games, printouts, reference sheets, etc
● Store workbooks, curriculum books and loose papers in magazine holders (by topic or child)
● Use stacking filing trays: one for construction paper, one for white paper, one for sketch pads, etc
● Consolidate! (all flash cards in one bin, all math manipulatives in one bin, all paint supplies together)
● Organize reference books by topic instead of by child or grade
● Create a library book box or shelf – one for each room where books are used, including bedrooms. That's the only spot where library books live so there's only a few spots to search when books are due
● Create a Project Area for ongoing activities. This keeps the volcanoes from permanently living on the dining room table.
● Utilize large flat bins for storing rolls of paper or finished projects like timelines and maps as they store nicely under beds
● Store supplie (pencils, glue, etc) in labeled bins so children can help themselves & put away
● Create reference files for miscellaneous pieces of topical paper. If you have a bunch of great worksheets and lesson plans on Africa, put them all in a file and pull it out when needed.
● Store large posters and bulletin board sets behind or next to bookshelves or under the bed
● Hang paper library pockets on bulletin boards to store writing prompts, memorization cards, vocabulary words

And...Keep it Organized
● Write out assignments yearly/weekly/daily and post where children can see
● Create a school schedule (M-Th and Fri off) or (9-11 a.m. and 3-4 p.m.) or (3 weeks on, 1 week off), etc
● Get yourself ready in the morning before the kids get up - Shoes on!
● When possible, purchase items with multi-year use such as pattern blocks or art history book. You'll spend less money and take up less space in bins and bookshelves
● Take out the next day's supplies and workbooks the night before
● Create a bin or list of activities for a younger sibling for when the older children are “doing school”
● Have a list of activities for a child if they need you but you’re busy with another child
● Use a timer to guide computer use, free time, breaks and similar activities
● Color code each child's notebooks, folders, bins
● Have frequent “pickup and put away times” during the day – set the timer, make it a race
● Institute a “quiet time” portion of your school day. Kids read or do puzzles while you make phone calls or do housework
● Enlist older children to read or play games with younger children while you work with another child

Pictures of some of these ideas can be found on my website.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 57 - Organizing for Home Schooling - Part 1

2011-03-03T14:43:00.000-06:00

Homeschoolers have a special organizing challenge as they try to fit a whole educational system for one or more children into a household that probably does not have a lot of extra space. It's therefore critical that homeschoolers learn some organizing lessons:

First, decluttering is a must. Sort through all the homeschool books, curriculum, workbooks, reading books, art supplies, science supplies, etc and really decide if it's worth keeping. If you have younger children who may use the materials that older children have outgrown, it's worth keeping the items but otherwise they must go.

Some common clutter areas to start the decluttering include:
Paper = use the AFT system: take Action, File or Toss. If you're keeping the paper as a school record, create a School Box for each child and empty it each August into the Memorabilia Box or the Permanent Record Box. If it's your paperwork, create some files for Reporting, Grades, etc and file paperwork there.

Children’s Artwork = take pictures and recycle or mail to grandparents or call your local nursing home to see if they have residents who'd appreciate some artwork

Old curriculum/books/manipulatives: sell, donate or store for younger children. Resources for reselling curriculum abound locally and online so you can recoup at least some of your investment. Don't keep it just because you paid for it. It's a waste of space and money. Donate for the tax break or re-sell.

Art Supplies: Check all pens, markers, etc to make sure they work. Check the supply of paintbrushes, paint, clay and anything else your children use for art. Toss everything that's broken or unusable and make a note to purchase any needed replacements.

Manipulatives/Flash Cards, etc: Make sure everything is current for your children's learning phase. Donate or resell items that have been outgrown.

Books: Again sort with your children in mind. If they're all at a 4th grade reading level or higher, you can probably donate the board books or Level 1 Readers. If you have books to save for several years until the next child will be ready for them, box them up and put them in storage or in an out of the way book shelf.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 56 - Diaper Bag Disasters

2011-03-01T18:55:00.000-06:00

Living with small children means living with a diaper bag permanently attached to your arm. They come in lots of great styles and colors but they can be just as messy as the children who need them.

Here's a few ideas to keep diaper bag disasters at bay:

1. Keep a small emergency diaper bag in the car. A few extra diapers with accessories, an extra set of clothes and wipes. If you forget your big bag, you'll have the necessities.

2. Make use of the pockets. Designate one pocket for each type of small item such as pacifiers so you can easily find what you're looking for.

3. Carry a small wallet that can transfer from your purse to the diaper bag.

4. Containerize the contents. Avoid masses of loose items inside the bag with simple plastic zipper bags or cool organizers.

This purse organizer comes in a huge variety of colors and can easily fit in a diaper bag to organize diapers, wipes, sippy cups and more.

5. Switch to a bag that has more compartments. The selections from So Young Mother look great and are tops for organization!

6. Keep a few clean zipper bags in the diaper bag for wet things.

7. Create one bag of rash creme, pain medication and similar items.

8. Restock and clean items daily.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

I'm Back - Posts to Resume Daily

2011-02-28T07:26:00.002-06:00

Sorry, all. Pneumonia had the best of me for the last couple of weeks but I'll catch up on postings today and they'll run daily going forward!

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 55 - Organize your Purse

2011-02-28T07:23:00.000-06:00

It's no wonder purses get disorganized as they are our constant companion and catch-all for our stuff, our children's stuff and more. If you have small children, I wouldn't be surprised if you were toting toy cars, small dolls or similar items along with your wallet and keys. Add in scraps of paper, pens, paper clips, coins, sunglasses and wallet and you have a recipe for organizational disaster.

Are purses just a lost cause? No! You CAN take control of your purse and here's some ideas:

1. Carry a smaller purse. It's Murphy's Law or something but the larger the bag, the more stuff will go into it. Find a purse that will only fit your wallet, keys, sunglasses, phone, pen and small pad of paper and one or two other small items. If need be, find a smaller wallet as well.

2. Purchase a purse organizer. There's a lot of these products around and their awesomeness results from the ability to keep all the important stuff in one spot, even in a large bag. Another benefit to these organizers is that you can quickly switch purses simply by lifting out the organizer and placing it into another bag. Prices and styles vary widely but here's two examples:

3. Contain the loose papers you keep in your purse. If you keep store coupons or other types of paper in your purse, purchase a small zipped bag or soft sided pencil case to hold them. It will keep the loose stuff from floating around in your purse and allow you to easily move the items to another bag.

4. Clean out your purse - daily or weekly. Toss the garbage, file receipts, etc.

5. Keep a pen and paper in your purse. How many times have you written a note on a piece of scrap paper or the back of a check deposit slip only to toss them as trash? Buy a small notebook and keep it and a pen in your purse.

6. Everything in it's place: Just like at home, there should be a place for everything and everything in it's place. Always put your keys in the same pocket of the bag which keeps you from searching frantically in the bottom of the bag in the pouring rain.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 54 - Catch Up and Review Day

2011-02-23T20:39:00.000-06:00

Take today to sort your photos or clean out your linen closets!

Wear your shoes!

D.

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 53 - Photo Organization Products

2011-02-23T07:38:00.000-06:00

There's a million organizing products on the market and most of them are for organizing photos. No, really. These products are widely available from craft and organization stores
as well as from your local scrapbooking store or consultant.

Basically they fall into two categories - albums and containers. The containers can vary from simple boxes that are sized for 4x6 photos to elaborate multi-piece storage systems. What you use is largely a matter of taste, functionality and time. If you wish your photos to be preserved in pristine condition, you'll want to ensure they are housed in archival boxes or in archival albums which use acid-free paper to prevent yellowing. This method is best for any really precious or fragile photos.

If, however, you just want them in a container and want to find the ones you're looking for when you want them, you have more choices. If you have shelf space, albums can be fun to look through although they require more work up front to insert the pictures. If you would like to conserve shelf space, stackable photo boxes are a good choice. Many photo boxes come with dividers and a spot to label the box.

An easy way to store photos in a stackable box is a photo organizer which stores up to 100 photos in each case and six cases fit into the box. In this case, you can have a Vacations box with photos from six separate vacations each in their own case.

Take some time to look online and at photo organizers in local stores. Think about how much time you want to devote to organizing the photos, how you'll use the photos after they're organized (do you care if they're in albums or not?) and how easy it will be to expand your organizing system as you get more photos.

Photo storage for digital photos is a lot easier. They can be stored on DVD, stored online or stored on a hard drive. If you store the pictures on your computer, be sure you have a good backup system running so you don't lose all the photos in a hard drive crash.

If you'd like albums of your digital photos, many online companies such as Flickr sell inexpensive small albums of your photos that are mailed to you.

System for staying organized: Create a photo management system that is easy for you to keep up with your photos. When possible, use technology to easily manage your photos.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 52 - Sorting Through Photos

2011-02-23T07:13:00.000-06:00

Raise your hand if all your photographs are neatly sorted and organized. If you actually raised your hand, I'm impressed. And, you're probably a scrapbooker. :)

For the rest of us, photos are a wonderful way to remind us of our past and our children and special events but they're also a pain in the rear. They fall out of albums that they probably shouldn't be in anyway, they pile up in cardboard boxes, they stick together and what do you do with all those old negatives, anyway?

In an effort to break down photo organization into reasonably manageable pieces, we'll spend a few days on the process.

Step 1 is sorting through the photos. This doesn't have to be as awful of a process as it sounds and the nice thing is that it can be done while you're catching up on last night's Glee episode.

Gather a few supplies like pencils, a trash bin, sticky notes, your To Do list, envelopes and a handful of small boxes or bins with lids.

Decide on some general categories for your photos. You can sort by immediate family, extended family, ancestor pictures, by year, by vacation, by event, etc. Don't get too specific at this time - you're just trying to get some system to the photos. Use your sticky notes to label each box with the category. Will you have some cross-over photos that could go in multiple categories? Yes, but you'll get more specific later if you wish. Right now it's just to get the photos contained and sorted.

Now grab a handful of photos and get sorting. Toss blurry and otherwise unrecognizable pictures. Toss duplicate photos unless you'd like to give one of each to the people in the photo. Place photos into the boxes according to the categories you've created.

Find some photos you'd really like to frame? Place them in a separate envelope, mark it "Pics to Frame" and write it down on your To Do list. If you need to enlarge the photos first, that's also a To Do as well as "Purchase frame for new picture."

If you unearth a photo that you think someone else should have, place it in an envelope with that person's name on it and write "Give pics to Susie" on the To Do list.

If you come across a picture that doesn't have a date and that would be helpful, write it in pencil or special photo paper pen on the back. You can also do this with any other info such as your great, great-aunt's name.

Chip away at this process until you have all the photos sorted. Having lids on the containers allows you to put away the project, stacking the containers, until you have another chance to work on it.

If all your pictures are stored electronically, the same sorting system applies. Delete blurry, unrecognizable and duplicate photos. Move the remaining photos into electronic folders by year, event, etc. Email photos to people who should have them, print photos you'd like to frame or find a good online source such as Shutterfly to print/enlarge photos to frame. Add these tasks to your To Do list. Rename photo images to indicate who is in photo if necessary.

Once you have the photos sorted into categories you have two choices: Separate them further into more specific categories or leave them in the general categories. Which of these you do is entirely up to you. If you don't have many photos it may be just as easy to leave the large categories. If you have many vacation photos, it might be worth your time to separate them out. Tomorrow's post will deal with different ways and products for storing photos.

System for staying organized: Immediately toss or delete unwanted photos.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 51 - Apps that Keep you Organized

2011-02-20T20:27:00.001-06:00

For those who love, love their phones and are never without them, they can serve as an organizational tool as well as a phone, movie player, etc. Here's a few fun apps that work hard to keep you organized:

Photo-Sort : Organize your photos!

Files on the Go : Fax and manage documents!

Organize : That's just what it does.

HomeRoutines : Get those household routine lists on your phone!

Closet - Clothing Organized : Scan your wardrobe - build new outfits!

Remember the Milk : Self explanatory!

Car Minder : Keep track of car maintenance!

Med Minder : Silent alarm when it's time for your pills!

Gift List Manager : Never forget which necklace your sister said she wanted!

Grocery IQ : Search products and make lists!

System for staying organized: If you replace an app with a newer version or one that does close to the same job, delete the first one. The fewer apps you have to manage, the easier it is.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 50 - Video Games

2011-02-20T19:54:00.001-06:00

If you have video games, you have clutter. Games cases, controllers of various shapes and sizes and cords, cords everywhere can be a nightmare for organization in the family room.

The key is to contain the items and this can mean anything from simple bins to specialized video game storage. For our system, I purchased two attractive wicker baskets, one to hold the game cases and a larger one to hold the all the controllers. The game basket is the correct size to hold the games so they can face forward so my sons can see which game they are choosing. The controller basket is large enough so all controllers and cords are hidden in the basket. Here's a picture of it. I've pulled out some of the cords of the controller bin on the right and the video game basket on the left to show what's in them.

If you'd rather get some specially designed organization tools, choices abound. Here's a few:

System for staying organized: Make it easy for the gamers in your home to put away the system and accessories.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 49 - Linen Closet

2011-02-20T19:26:00.000-06:00

Ever have a day when you open the linen closet and realize you have 27 pillowcases for the four beds in your home? Or that you have 9 fitted sheets and 4 flat sheets and they're all for a king size water bed that you had in your last home?

Linen closets can easily get out of hand but getting them back under control is fairly simple.

First, collect all the sheets, pillowcases and towels in the house and bring them to a central location along with a bag for trash and a bag for donations and a box for any other items you might find under the towels.

Next, check over everything for rips, stains or other damage and place all damaged items in one bag for recycling.

Bed Linens
Now sort out sheets and pillowcases into sets. Make sure all sets fit at least one bed in your home. If not, those linens go into the donation bag.

If you have mismatched sheet sets you can still use them by placing a fitted sheet with a flat sheet to make a set. If you prefer not to have mismatched sets, donate these sheets.

Now sort the pillowcases, placing matching cases with the existing sheet sets. Donate or recycle worn or faded pillowcases as well as those that no longer fit existing pillows. For example, you used to have king sized pillows but now only have standard size. Again, you may have mismatched or an odd number of pillowcases. You can either keep them for the mismatched sheet sets or donate/recycle them.

At this point you should have all bed linens sorted into "sets" of some type. Now take a look at the number of sheets you have for each bed. A good rule of thumb is to have one or two extra sheet sets for each bed. If you have children, two extra sets is recommended for each child's bed. If you have more than two sets for each bed, choose the sets you'd like to keep and donate the rest.

Bed linens can be stacked together as sets, all pieces of the set can be placed in one pillowcase and stacked or the set can be tied together with attractive ribbon a la Martha Stewart.

The bed linens should be located in or very near the bedroom to which they belong. Hall closets, bathroom closets, storage chests or clothing closet shelves are all good places to keep a set or two of linens. Where ever they are located, the bed linens should be the only thing on that shelf and the limited number of sets will keep the shelf organized.

If you need to purchase additional sheets to replace any damaged items, put that on your To Do List.

Towels
As with the sheets, sort all the towels into sets. Place all mismatched towels in one stack.

Now look at the number of towel sets. Keep one for guests - put that set aside. You should have 2-3 bath towels per person and 1-2 hand towels and washcloths per person. If you don't have enough towels to make up sets, make a note on your To Do list to purchase additional towels in matching or complementary colors. If you don't care about having the towels in sets, just make sure you have enough of each type of towel. Also keep 1-2 beach towels per person and any other specialty towels such as fingertip towels as needed.

Some towels should be in each bathroom but they can be organized by color (one or two colors in each bathroom) or by person (parents have one color towel, children have another color or each child has a color). There's no necessity for this but it helps ensure there's towels in each bathroom for the person who uses that bathroom. (It's also helpful for parents to know which child left his wet towel on the bathroom floor.)

Place the specialty towels in the back of the towel shelf or in a similar out of the way spot. Place frequently used bath linens in the front and stack all bath towels in one spot, all hand towels in another stack and washcloths in a separate pile. This allows you to pull the correct item from the shelf without disturbing the other towels on the shelf.

The mismatched towel pile can still be useful. Keep a handful of these towels in your laundry room for gardening or pet cleaning or other messy jobs.

System for keeping organized: When towels wear out, purchase towels in similar or complementary colors.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 48 - Checklists

2011-02-17T13:15:00.000-06:00

I love checklists. Love, love, LOVE them! I understand not everyone's a fan but moving through a project in an orderly, checklist-y way makes a lot of sense to me and keeps me from forgetting steps.

For those who are checklist people and even for those you who are not, the Internet abounds with printable, downloadable lists to keep you organized. There's literally thousands of checklists available so I'd browse to find ones that appear complete and helpful and print them out to put in my Household Book.

Here's a sample of websites that offer checklists:

Organized Today Love this site. :) Free printable forms and lists with new ones to come.

Real Simple Lots of checklists (174 at last count) for everything from pantry staples to speed-cleaning the bathroom.

Printable Checklists The name says it all. A virtual cornucopia of printable checklists. Some are free and some are available for sale in the Premium area.

Simply Checklists Again, the name says it all. These checklists are all available for free.

Checklist Another checklist site in which you create a free account to access the checklists. This one appears to have a mobile access feature which could be very handy.

Create your Own Printable Checklist Yes, you can create your own checklists in Microsoft Word and similar products but if you're looking for a super easy way to create a printable checklist, this is the site for you.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 47 - Organizing your Pet

2011-02-16T20:55:00.000-06:00

Like children, pets are messy. Unlike children, pets can't learn to pick up after themselves.

We have two cats (Puppy and Princess), a dog (Porkchop), two hermit crabs (Mario and Luigi) and a fish (Fin, Jr.) Additionally, it's not unusual for us to have tadpoles, butterflies and other temporary pets. With so many animal friends, it's really important that we have good organization and good systems to make sure they are fed and well-cared for.

Food
Locating the food close to the animal or where the animal is fed is really helpful. Our fish's tank is on a corner table and his food is in a drawer in that table for easy access. The cats are fed in the laundry room so their food is in a plastic drawer like this one
which is physically located on the bottom shelf of the storage shelves next to where the food bowls are located. In the drawer is a 1/3 cup measuring cup so the proper amount of food is placed in each food bowl.

The dog's food is in a container such as this and it also has a proper measuring container.

There's many food containers on the market - generally you'll want an airtight one to keep the food as fresh as possible. Check pet food supply stores, discount retailers and more. You'll pay more for one marketed as a "pet food container" so keep an open mind.

Our sons are responsible for feeding the pets and they take turns using the family chore chart.

Toys
Just like children, pets need to keep their toys in bins. Our dog has a basket on each level of our home in which his toys are kept. These are attractive open baskets which allows us to pick up and put away his toys easily but also allows him to pull out his toys. He also has an outside bin for his two thousand tennis balls.

The cat toys are likewise in small baskets on the main floor although they're just as happy pouncing on shoelaces.

Grooming
All pet grooming supplies are kept in a bin in the hall closet. This includes nail trimmers, brushes and the like. This bin also holds the fish tank cleaning supplies which are in a plastic bag.

Other
The dog has a bin in the garage which holds his leash, walking halter and another brush. We also keep one short leash in the van. His main leash has one of these cool bags on it so we can easily carry bags, keys, etc on walks.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 46 - Party Supplies

2011-02-16T20:29:00.000-06:00

My oldest son recently celebrated a birthday which meant I had to find the birthday banners, candles, paper plates and everything else for the big day. Generally this is not a big deal as I keep all party supplies in one plastic bin but upon opening the bin, it appeared I'd gotten into a bad habit of tossing items into the bin and it was a HUGE mess.

Time to organize.

I found all the candles and put them into a small ziploc bag. I made a stack of the plastic tablecovers, realized one was ripped and discarded it. All the crumpled paper plates and napkins were also discarded.

I made stacks of the remaining small paper plates and placed them in a gallon ziploc bag. The remaining paper napkins went into their own plastic ziploc bag. I realized I was nearly out of the small paper plates so made a note in my To Do book.

Plastic forks went into one plastic ziploc, plastic knives and spoons went into their own ziploc. Two unopened packages of pink plastic silverware went into the donation box.

I'm also nearly out of plastic cups so that note also went into the To Do Book. Streamers were rolled up, secured with a rubber band and placed in their own plastic bag.

At this point the bin is empty and every item is sorted into a category and neatly secured in a bag.

I replaced all the items bag into the big with the flat items on the bottom, large items on top of them and so on. Now I can easily grab the bag I need and everything stays neat and clean.

I placed the lid on the bin and replaced the bin in the closet.

And then I pulled it out again to get the items for my son's birthday party.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Cool Product Picks - Link has been fixed

2011-02-14T07:03:00.001-06:00

I've updated my website with a page of Cool Product Picks. I think these products are good organizing tools and some are just plain cool so check them out!

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 45 - Catch up and Review Day

2011-02-14T04:21:00.000-06:00

Take today to implement some new organizing steps!

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 44 - School Days

2011-02-13T01:49:00.001-06:00

It's halfway through the school year - do you know where your child's lunch calendar is?

Having children in school - even preschoolers or day care - requires quite of bit of organization to ensure your child gets gym clothes, musical instruments and library books on the correct day as well as making sure you attend all required parent meetings and even getting your child's homework and lunch out the door on time.

One of first things to do is to create a Morning Routine for your child based on what time he needs to be out the door and working backwards from there. Make a list of all the things he needs to accomplish like eating breakfast, dressing, feeding any pets, making the bed, brushing teeth, getting backpack and other school items and finishing with boots/shoes/coat/hat/mittens. Make sure your child is given enough time to accomplish those tasks so nobody feels rushed in the morning. For some children, this means getting them up a little earlier than siblings so they have time to be awake for awhile before they get ready.

Be conscious of how your child operates and that will make the morning run more smoothly for everyone. We homeschool our children but they must still all be ready for the day at a certain time. Each child has a Morning List in his room which has all the things that need to be done before 9 a.m. including eating breakfast, making bed, washing face, feeding pets, making bed, etc. One of my sons could get out of bed at 8:45 a.m. and get it all done with smile on his face. He is instantly awake and ready to go every morning. One of my other sons is a little slower to wake up and get going so he needs to be up for longer before he's ready to get moving. A third son is never hungry right when he wakes up so he does all his other chores and then eats and brushes teeth right before 9 a.m. When we figured out how each child handled the morning, it made it much less stressful on everyone.

The next step is an Evening Routine which, for school children, must include any homework to be completed as well as putting all completed homework in the backpack, packing lunches, collecting Show-and-Tell items and putting them backpack, etc. The backpack should be set in the Launch Pad by the door - ready for grab and go in the morning. Write out all the tasks that need to be completed in the evening to make the morning rush a little less rushed.

If there's time and children are responsible enough, have them empty backpacks when they return home and put everything in a designated "In Basket" where you can sort through it during the Evening Routine or earlier in the afternoon.

School papers can be recycled or placed in the School Box, artwork can be displayed in the designated area, reminders and meeting notices should be put on the calendar, school reference information can be put in the Household Book.

Homework Helps

Keep white paper, construction paper and scrap paper in stack filing trays.

Make sure your child has a place to complete homework that suits his needs. Some children would like to do homework at the kitchen table and others need a quiet spot in their rooms. Either way, make sure they have plenty of light, space to open books and notebooks and proper tools.

Set a consistent, non-negotiable time for homework each day even if it is "Right after dinner" or "Immediately upon return from soccer practice"

Setup a homework supply caddy with pencils, markers, sharpeners, glue, ruler, etc. I've found plastic tote caddys like this one to be perfect for this use. Fill the caddy with plastic glasses and put pencils and colored pencils in one glass, scissors in another, markers in a third, etc. The tote can be stored somewhere out of the homework area and brought out when needed. The plastic glass separators allow multiple children to take items to different locations if necessary while keeping it all neatly organized.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 43 - More on Closet Organization

2011-02-12T13:48:00.000-06:00

I did some posts about closet organization but thought I should follow up with some really great products I found when researching Cool Product Picks for my website.

First is this closet doubler system. You've all seen products on late night TV which claim to double closet space but they turn out to be flimsy plastic items that don't hold many items or break after a short time. This is a much sturdier system and looks great. If you don't have space to install an extra rod in the closet, this is a great alternative.

Next is this really sturdy item which gives shelf space in addition to extra hanging rod space. I love the idea of this for a child's closet.

There's a lot of products like this on the market and they can be really useful for storing jeans and other bulky items such as sweaters if drawer space is an issue. The cool thing about this one is that it comes with drawers so it keeps the closet looking neat.

Another option with added shoe capacity is this product.

Whichever of the hanging organizers you purchase, you're better off getting ones that are fabric or canvas as they will last longer than ones made of plastic.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 42 - Storage Areas

2011-02-11T05:54:00.001-06:00

When tackling organizing projects it can be tempting to banish all extra items to the "storage area" especially if they are items about which you'd rather not make a decision. This is not a bad plan until you either run out of room in the storage area or lose the ability to park the car in the garage.

Having a storage area is not really an excuse to avoid dealing with items and it can be a great opportunity to store out of season and infrequently used items for which you do not have space in the main living areas. To properly use your storage space you'll first need to purge all those items which you've been avoiding. After that, sort what's left into piles by what it is (all winter clothing in one stack, all camping gear in another stack, etc).

For the most part, items in a storage area should be in plastic containers with snugly fitting lids. Plastic containers keep out bugs, moisture and and are sturdier than cardboard boxes. Once you've got your piles, figure out what size plastic containers are necessary to fit each one of those piles. There are many specialized containers available for holiday wreaths, Christmas ornaments and similar items but they are optional.

Next step in setting up a proper storage area is to install shelving that is appropriate size to storage containers. Purchase heavy duty shelving that can hold more than 100-200 pounds per shelf to prevent collapse. Many shelving units have adjustable shelving to accommodate various sizes of containers - look for this when shopping for shelving units systems. Measure the space into which you'll install the shelving, including the ceiling height, and bring those measurements with you when shopping.

After the shelving systems are installed and bins filled, place the bins on the shelves by contents. Placing all holiday decorations together, all seasonal clothing together, etc will make it easy to find bins and put them away. Be sure to use label containers and be as specific as possible.

For the rest of the storage area, remember to use vertical space. Hang wreathes on walls, install movable ceiling storage, install pegboards, hang items behind doors, etc.

If you do not have a designated storage space, be creative in finding hidden storage space in your home. Think under beds, behind doors, in furniture, under stairways, etc.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 41 - Organizing for Illness

2011-02-10T14:45:00.000-06:00

'Tis the season for illnesses and today's post is inspired by all my friends who are suffering from their children's colds and flu. It's never easy to have a sick child but planning ahead for those inevitable illnesses might make them easier to handle.

Spray bottle with soapy water: I have one of these under the kitchen sink and it's great for cleaning up quick messes, even those made by the cats, the dog, muddy boots, etc. When illness strikes, it's nice to have some cleaning supplies ready.

Extra sheets and pillowcases: Each bed in our home has two extra sheet sets that are really handy when illness strikes as it tends to show up in the middle of the night.

Old towels: There's a stack of old towels in each bathroom and another stack in the laundry room. I won't mention the ways in which these are handy but they are really, really useful.

Medicine bin: All of our pain and cold medicines are in one container in the bathroom closet. It's nice to pull out one bin and grab the item rather than root around among all other medicines or have them loose and lost in the cupboard. Additionally, the thermometer, medicine dosage cups, etc and in a separate labeled container.

Medication Dosage Chart: It's important to remember to give your child the antibiotics but it can be difficult for sleep-deprived parents so have a few of these Dosage Charts from Everything Mom printed off and ready to post on your refrigerator.

Keep replenishing drinks in stock: If you give your child drinks like Pedialyte or Gatorade when they are ill, keep a few containers of them in your pantry to prevent having to run to the store.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 40 - Closets

2011-02-09T06:29:00.000-06:00

Closets are useful things and sometimes there can never be enough of them but they can also be black holes of lost gifts, unmatched pillowcases and dead batteries. Conquer the closet with some of these steps:

First clear out the closet clutter. Grab your four organizing containers (a bag for trash, a box for donations, a box for items that obviously live in another part of the house and a box for items in Limbo/things you want to keep but don’t currently have a home)

Do one area (one closet, one shelf) at a time
Step 1: Take everything out of the closet and sort it into the four containers.
Step 2: Decide what will go in that closet/shelf based on where it is located in your home. Is it a closet by the bedrooms? Then maybe it should be a linen closet. Is it a closet by the front door? Good place for coats, umbrellas and the like. Step 3: Sort out only the items from the Limbo Box that fit the criteria and put them in the cleaned space. Also, gather everything else from around your house that fits that criteria and put it away.
Step 4: Everything left in the Limbo Box goes somewhere else whether it be the donation box or another designed spot in your home.

Remember:
Designate each closet for a specific purpose by location to rooms
Designate each shelf of each closet for a specific purpose.
Group like items together (vases, shirts, pet supplies, soup, etc)

Once the closet contains the specific items, use some organizing tools to help make the closet more efficient:

Use bins and baskets to easily retrieve items on higher shelves. It is much easier to grab a bin and pull out the correct battery than it is to search through a mess of loose batteries. Label the containers!

Sort bed linens by type of sheet or combine sheet sets in pillowcase

If closet rods and shelving is inadequate, consider changing your closet system. Many home improvement stores and specific Organizational Product stores offer closet design services and installation services if you don't want to DIY. If you do DIY, many closet systems are available to customize your closet to fit YOUR needs..

Don't forget the underused space behind the closet door.

Consider organizers that hang from the clothes rod to add additional space.

Add additional shelves to a very tall space or use freestanding shelf stackers. Much space is often wasted when closet shelves are too far apart.

Place lesser used items higher up and frequently used items at body level

Use shelf dividers to keep piles of bulky sweaters and sweatshirts neat and upright

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 39 - Toy Terror

2011-02-08T06:26:00.001-06:00

If there was no paper in households with children then toys would be the number one organizing challenge for families. As it is, toys are often a close second in the chaos race. While no single organizing system will work for every household, here's some ideas to help get things started:

Use large toy boxes for large items only. Toy boxes can be useful for storing toys but only if the toys are large as small things tend to get lost forever.

Store smaller toys in bins with labels and/or pictures of what's stored in the bin. Make one bin for doll clothes, another for plastic animals and a third for toy cars. It will be easy for your child to find toys and especially easy for them to put toys away.

Encourage routine purging (donation) of toys especially at birthday and Christmas. If your child is having trouble with that concept, setup a toy exchange with other families or do a toy rotation where you pack away a bin full of toys for six months then bring it out and fill it with other toys for storage.

All kids love little toys from restaurants but few parents love such toys. To allow your child some control over their own stuff while keeping it under control, allow one “junk” drawer or bin but all items must fit in that one space. My sons each have one drawer or bin whose contents are off limits to my opinion of the value of the items. The only rule is that the contents must not overflow the container. If they do, the child must purge contents.

15 minute toy pickup at end of day. It's better if you can do pickups multiple times during the day but if you have just one time, late afternoon or evening is best. Set the timer and make it a race. Give younger children assignments "Pick up all the blocks." so it's easier for them to focus and contribute.

Setup a toy jail for toy clutter. Every so often my sons' idea of "all toys picked up and put away" worsens to the point of ridiculousness. That's when we bring back "toy jail". After the pickup and put away session is done, I ask the boys if they're done cleaning. If the answer's yes, then all toys still out go into toy jail which is just a box. From here, the boys can ransom back any toys by performing extra chores. Any toys not ransomed after one week are donated. We don't need toy jail very often and we never need it more than a week.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 38 - Wear Your Shoes in the House - Challenge

2011-02-07T05:49:00.001-06:00

Whenever I give presentations, this idea always gets a laugh but I would not be exaggerating if I said that this action is why I get things done.

I don't know if the reason is psychological (Putting on shoes makes your brain think you're going somewhere and therefore doing something) or physiological (Your shoes give your body support so you have more energy and are therefore more productive) but for whatever reason, you'll get more done during the day if you wear shoes.

Please note: by "shoes" I mean some good athletic shoes, toning shoes and the like. Flip-flops, heels and such may make you look good when you fold laundry but they won't make your feet happy after a long day.

You may think I'm nuts but just try it for a week. Let me know after a week if I'm completely off base on this or if you experienced some increase in your productivity.

Assignment: Wear supportive, comfortable shoes in the house for one week.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 37 - Your Children's Clothes

2011-02-06T06:15:00.002-06:00

Next to toys, organizing children's clothing is the second biggest challenge when it comes to kids. Their clothes are cute and tiny and there's a LOT of pieces. Add in multiple wardrobe changes throughout the day and no desire to keep a room clean and it's an organizational nightmare.

Luckily, there's a few steps you can take to corral those kid duds:

Purge outgrown and damaged clothing: check this page at Organized Today for a store at which you can consign your kids' outgrown stuff

Put an unlidded hamper in each room – make it fun by using a basketball hoop or bright colors. There's lots of hampers available that will match a room's decor. Here's one in a cool green and brown combo:
And another one with a cute floral design:

If your child is having trouble hanging items, put up hooks or lower closet rod.

Child having trouble putting shoes neatly on the rack? Eliminate the problem by allowing children to toss everyday shoes into a bin. Keeps the shoes out of sight and put away without a constant struggle. As children grow, it will be easier for them to put away shoes neatly.

Pack away out of season clothing or move it to the outside edges of the closet. Keep current season clothing front and center in drawers and closets.

Jeans can be stored in a closet by using a hanging organizer like this one.

Limit clothing changes. This may be easier said than done for children who love to change up their attire during the day but perhaps a compromise could be reached if your child is allowed to pick one or two outfits for each day and place them in this hanging closet organizer. An added bonus of this organizer is your child has a whole week's worth of outfits ready to go and avoids the last minute hunt for the right shirt.

Purchase matching clothing: It's easier to mix and match clothing and manage clothes in general when the majority of your child's wardrobe is composed of two or three basic colors.

Store hair clips, ponytail holders, small LEGO figures and more behind the bedroom or closet door with a hanging organizer with clear pockets.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 36 - Catch Up and Review Day

2011-02-05T06:14:00.001-06:00

Is there an organizing step you're dying to try but haven't had the time? Today's the day!

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 35 - Your Spouse's Clothes

2011-02-04T06:14:00.001-06:00

You may have the organizing bug when it comes to the clothes closet but that doesn't mean your spouse is on board, especially when it comes to his or her stuff. If you'd really like to get your spouse organized, the very best way is to get the stuff under your control organized. Most of the time the spouse sees how the organization you've done has helped the family, the house, the schedule, etc and gets on board to finish the job.

If your spouse isn't ready to get organized you have two options: take control or hide the evidence. In the take control system, you organize your spouse by donating clothing that is never worn, recycling unsalable clothing and generally not asking their opinion on what stays or what goes. Some people are comfortable doing this because the spouse doesn't care/doesn't have time/trusts the decisions you'll make. If you and your spouse are comfortable with this system, organize away!

Hide the evidence is a little sneakier. OK, it's a LOT sneakier but it can be effective as long as the items in question are of insignificant value. A few years ago my husband was running out of closet space due to the large numbers of pink and pink striped oxford shirts he'd been keeping for more than a decade after high school. He refused to part with these shirts on the basis they were in perfectly good condition (mostly true) and that he might wear them (absolutely not true). They had no sentimental value except he wore them in high school so I pulled two from the closet and put them in a box and put the box away. After one full year of him not wearing them (obviously) and him not asking for them, they were donated. I did one more round of this and then 'fessed up. At that point there was a bit more space in his closet and he had to admit he hadn't missed the shirts so the rest of the shirts went to the donation center as well as some additional items from the closet. My husband has some items in his closet that he never wears but because of where he got them and their sentimental value, I'd never, ever donate them. This is a sneaky system but sometimes it can be used to prove a point about an item's usefulness.

As with everything else, organization is definitely something that everyone in the home should be a part of but there are some ways to move the process along if your spouse is unable to be involved or needs a bit of a jumpstart.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 34 - Your Clothes

2011-02-03T06:13:00.003-06:00

Can we talk about your clothes closet? I don't know how to break this to you but it's a mess and you don't wear most of the stuff in there and some of it you haven't worn in a VERY LONG TIME.

Let's get it organized. Send the kids to Grandma's or in front of a movie. Invite a friend over - have her bring the kids to keep yours occupied - and offer wine if necessary. Make it a good friend as you'll need her honest opinion.

Time to purge. First take out everything you never wear and really don't love. Put it all in a donation bag. This will be a good number of items. Good start.

Everything that is left are things you THINK you wear and/or you don't wear too often but which you think looks good on you. This is where the friend will be helpful as you'll want to try on EVERYTHING you think you want to keep. If it fits well and looks great on you - and your friend agrees - keep it but hang it back up with the hanger loop facing toward you.

If it doesn't fit but you and your friend think the color is great or some similar criteria, then start a shopping list to replace the item in your current size. Donate the item.

If it doesn't fit and doesn't make you feel amazing and your friend doesn't think you should keep it - donate it and don't replace it.

Do shoes, coats, shirts, dresses, pants, all of it. At the end of the session you should have a closet full of items that fit you and make you look and feel amazing. You'll also have a shopping of specific pieces you'd like to replace.

All of the items will be hung backwards in the closet as a little test of how often you really wear things. When you wear it, hang it back up the correct way. You'll know immediately after a season whether or not you wore something or not and after a year you can decide to donate those unworn items or figure out why it is you don't wear it. Maybe you're missing an additional piece to go with an outfit or you decide it looks good but it's uncomfortable to wear for some reason.

System for staying organized: Before purchasing clothing, try it on! And think what other pieces of your wardrobe it complements so you're not stuck with individual items which don't really fit with the other items in your closet.

Assignment: Organize your clothes closet.
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 33 - Four Things to Bring Along when Organizing

2011-02-02T06:40:00.003-06:00

You're ready. You are going to tackle your clothes closet and GET IT ORGANIZED! The kids are at the neighbors for the afternoon and you're eager to get started. You fling open the doors and start purging. That vomit green sweater your spouse bought you because it was "the color of your eyes"? You toss it onto the bed - purged! The neon orange scarf your grandmother knitted for you - onto the bed - purged! You toss and throw and organize and soon your closet is Martha Stewart worthy with clothes organized by color and hung by descending order of shirt sleeve size.

Whew! You are exhausted but very, very happy with your work. You turn around and see...all those clothes covering the bed and the chair and the floor and you suddenly can't deal. You remind yourself you've done a great job, you deserve a latte and you will cope with those clothes at bedtime. And you leave the room.

At bedtime you see the clothes still piled around but it's 11 p.m. and you know you have exactly 2.3 hours to sleep before the baby wakes up so you scoop the clothes off the bed onto the chair. In so doing, you see the scarf your grandma knitted and you feel bad about getting rid of it so you put it back in the closet. One scarf won't hurt, right? You go to bed intending to take care of all the clothes FIRST thing in the morning.

The next morning you are awakened by a 5 year old jumping on the bed demanding breakfast and a wet baby wailing from the crib and you can't be expected to deal with those clothes without coffee so you jump out of bed and toss on some clothes. In so doing you notice the vomit green sweater and you feel kind of bad for discarding it because your husband never buys you clothes and it was sweet of him to go to all the effort of that gift so you decide it maybe isn't THAT awful and you put it back in your closet. One more sweater can't hurt, right? And off you go to begin your day.

Over the course of the next few weeks you find the pile of purged clothing steadily growing smaller as you gradually put pieces back into your closet for one reason or another. And...you're back where you started.

Want to avoid this very common problem? Take these four things along with you when organizing:
1. a bag for trash
2. a box for donations
3. a box for items that obviously live in another part of the house
4. a box for items in Limbo (things you want to keep but don’t currently have a home)

Think back to the day you did your closet. If you had these containers, the donations would be in a container, your son's Legos would be in another container and the belt you're not sure about whether to keep would be in the Limbo box. And then, when you turn around after admiring your closet, you can simply pickup the containers and take them to your vehicle for donation, to the trash bin and to the toy box. Stuff in the Limbo box might find its way back into the closet but MOST of the purging will stick and that's the point of the purge.

Assignment: Anytime you tackle a big organizing project, make sure you have your four container friends with you.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 32 - Meal Planning

2011-02-01T06:39:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you but I hate it when I realize it's 4 p.m. and I have no idea what I'm going to make for dinner. I could probably scrape up a pasta dish but there's only so many times you can get away with that in a week. :)

I can really avoid that problem by doing a bit of meal planning. Whether you plan for a whole week, a whole month or even just for the next day, thinking ahead is an important tool for getting, and staying, organized.

There's a lot of electronic meal planning tools available. A nice comprehensive one is here at Meals Matter which is a free service with meal planning, personal cookbook and shopping lists. If you'd like to start out with something simpler, here's a free printable meal planning sheet.

Even if you just start with thinking about tomorrow's meals and put the steak to thaw in the refrigerator and pack the children's lunches before you go to bed you'll have a head start on the next day. As you get in the habit of planning meals, you can expand to cover a week or even longer but at first, start simple.

System for staying organized: Think ahead to future meals to avoid last minute rushes and extra trips to the grocery store.

Assignment: Add "Plan tomorrow's meal" to your evening routine and "Prep today's dinner" to your morning routine.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 31 - Laundry

2011-01-31T06:38:00.002-06:00

The minute someone creates a Laundry Fairy, I will be the first to purchase/rent/hire one. Like so many routine tasks, I don't find laundry fun because it's one of those jobs that is never completed. I can't ever check it off the list or be done because there's always MORE. So, I do my best to make laundry as efficient as possible so I can spend the minimum amount of time necessary to complete the task.

First let's chat about hampers. If there is room, I recommend each bedroom have a hamper of some type. There's some very attractive styles and types available and ones designed specifically for kids' rooms so there's something for everyone. If you have the space, even a laundry basket is sufficient to corral dirty items. It can be out in the room or in the closet but generally speaking, laundry stays off the floor if there's a hamper available.

If there's no room for a hamper or it is not feasible for some reason to have hampers in the bedroom, then all family members should bring laundry to a central hamper or laundry location. There should be one of these on each floor in which there are bedrooms and can be as simple as a laundry basket in the bathroom closet. You can even save a step at this point by setting up a central hamper for sorting by lights and darks like this system. Whichever you do, make it part of the morning and evening routine and follow up with family members who are struggling with the concept. If your family frequently dry cleans items, a separate bag should be available for that clothing.

Although it's helpful to have the laundry off the bedroom floor, it still won't wash itself so the laundry will need to be brought to the laundry room. Bringing all hampers to the laundry room, sorting the clothes and returning hampers is a great chore for a child and can be done daily or every other day depending on your laundry usage. When sorting clothing, be sure to setup a system that allows for your clothes washing needs. Most families will need a sorting system with at least three bins - whites, darks, special wash/colors - and if you have the ceiling space, get a sorter with a hanging bar above for hanging clean clothes as needed. Wheels are nice for rolling it to and from the washing machine but make sure the system has a well-designed system for the bags so they don't slip off the frame. Here's a good product as an example:

So, the laundry is in the correct bins and sorted. Now to get it washed. I wash a load of laundry every night before I head to bed which takes advantage of downtime for me and the water utility system. Some nights there's no laundry to do - hooray! - but most nights there's a load to wash. I use the morning routine time to toss the laundry in the dryer or hang the items.

Now the tricky part - a load of dry, clean laundry. A couple of years ago I setup a system of one basket for each child and one for my husband and I. These four baskets are in a sturdy shelf near the dryer and I try really hard to take each piece of laundry from the dryer, fold it immediately and place it into the basket to whom it belongs. It doesn't take much time and eliminates the annoyance of baskets of wrinkled, clean laundry piling up in the laundry room.

And, before you ask, yes, I do this with the whites as well and it goes REALLY fast with all those socks because I don't pair up socks. One of my absolutely favorite organizing tips is to stop pairing socks. Yes, just stop. Each member of my family has a different style of sock so I simply toss the sock into the basket to whom it belongs and it ends up in that person's sock drawer with all the others. Just think of the possibilities - no more stray socks! There may be an odd number of socks in your son's drawer but you DON'T KNOW and you DON'T CARE! As long as he has two clean, matching socks he's good to go. Now you're going to remind me that I have it easy with only sons and this system will not work with daughters who have colored socks. I think it will still be pretty easy. With one girl, all the colored socks automatically go into her basket and if you purchase MOST of her socks in one or two colors then odds are she won't lose enough to matter. If there's more than one girl then each girl gets one or two colors and they're still easy to sort. Will you still have the odd pair that are multicolored, yes, maybe. But you'll spend a few seconds thinking about that pair rather than hours pairing everyone's socks.

Try it for a month and let me know if the sock system works for you or if I'm full of it. :)

Once the laundry is in the baskets, the baskets are emptied a couple of times a week and immediately returned to the laundry room shelves. This is a good morning or evening routine task for everyone.

Some other organizing ideas for the laundry room: I have one of these handy little rolling shelves in my laundry room to hold cleaning and laundry items which would be a nice addition to any laundry room even if you have vertical stacking laundry appliances. These shelves store a lot of things in a small floor footprint. I also have a bin on a shelf for items that are hand wash or require mending or some type of special stain treatment.

System for staying organized: Setup the most efficient laundry system.

Assignment: Figure out where the laundry bottlenecks are in your household and take steps to eliminate them. Enlist spouse and children to help with this routine chore.

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 30 - Guilt Items

2011-01-30T06:37:00.001-06:00

Everybody's got 'em - things you don't want, don't need and can't get rid of. It might be a set of your grandmother's china, an expensive wedding gift or the handmade crocheted doily set from your aunt. These are guilt items because if they were anything else, you'd be able to purge them from your life without a second thought. But because of their perceived sentimental value or guilt association we feel we need to keep these items even though they take up space and every time we see them we feel guilty about not using them or keeping them.

Here's a few strategies for dealing with these guilt items:

1. Decide if you like it. If you do, think of some way to incorporate that item into your life. Do you like your grandmother's china pattern but you have three children under the age of 7? Then just use the china for Sunday dinner. You may lose a piece or two but your children just might remember how, when they were growing up, they used great-grandma's china for every Sunday dinner. Or, host a gathering for your friends once a month and serve tea and cookies on lovely china which may make a nice change of pace from drinking cold coffee out of a mug.

2. If you don't like it, find someone who will love it. Grandma's china is flowery but you're really more of a modern girl and honestly can't see yourself using the dishes. Check with another family member to see if they'd like the dishes. They'll stay in the family and someone has them who will use and love them. No family takers? Ask a close friend or someone whom you think would appreciate the dishes.

3. If you can't find anyone who would like the dishes, consider selling them and donating the money to an organization on behalf of your grandmother.

4. Can't give them to anyone and don't feel right about selling the items? Purchase one of the heavy-duty non-see through bins and pack all the guilt items in the bin. Put a date on that bin that's six months or a year in the future. Put the bin in your storage area and when you next encounter it and the date has passed, pick up the bin, IGNORE ALL RATTLING SOUNDS FROM INSIDE, and put it right in your vehicle and drive it to the donation center. If you can remember what's in it or feel at all guilty about getting rid of those items, change the date for another six months or a year and repeat the process. Once you can't remember what's in the bin you won't feel guilty about donating it. Try to remember that everything you donate will be loved and appreciated by whomever buys it.

Assignment: Locate all the guilt items in your home and take steps to remove them, and the guilt, from your life.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 29 - Chore Charts for Children

2011-01-29T06:33:00.001-06:00

I'm a pretty big advocate of involving children in household duties so we've always used a chore chart from the time the children were very small. I think it's important children understand that all household members contribute to the running of the household and they are developing important skills they'll need to survive in the wild. Plus, I consider it my gift to future daughter-in-laws that my sons will know how to clean a bathroom.

I've always used the customizable, printable ones from the DLTK website which allow me to easily update and modify the chores as needed. These chore charts can be made fun by adding the child's favorite graphics and are available for many seasons.

My favorite thing about chore charts, however, is their inability to argue. Instead of me telling the child it is his turn to walk the dog or set the table, the child can simply check the chart to see if it is his turn. If they don't want to set the table, they can take it up with the chart, it's nothing to do with me. :)

If you're not sure which chores are appropriate for different ages, there's several lists available on the Internet including this one but you know your own child best. One thing to keep in mind when assigning household chores is that you will need to lower your standards and children will require repeated, positive instruction until practice makes perfect.

System for staying organized: Make household chores a part of the daily routine.

Assignment: Create a chore chart of age appropriate chores for children and help them learn how to accomplish those chores.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 28 - Morning and Evening Routines

2011-01-28T10:18:00.000-06:00

I think this post will be so much more helpful if there's text.

Routines can be a really useful organization tool. I have one for the morning and one for the evening and they are just a list of everyday tasks that help keep the rest of my day running smoothly. My morning includes exercise, coffee, breakfast, dressing (with shoes on), desk work, drying laundry, some dinner prep and light housekeeping. I want to have this all done by 9 a.m. so have set aside certain amounts of time for each thing and that helps to get it all done without having to get up at 4 a.m.

The evening routine includes a 15 minute clutter pickup (recycle the newspaper, etc), put out things needed for the next day, put in a load of laundry and start the dishwasher. These tasks help the next morning run smoother, make the house look neater and generally start the day off well.

My sons have a list of Morning Tasks and Evening Tasks in their bedrooms which is not a timeline but rather a list of things that need to be completed before 9 a.m. and before bedtime. These tasks include make bed, brush teeth, wash face or shower, feed pets, comb hair, laundry to hamper, straighten rooms, etc. Each child knows when it is his turn to feed the dog or cats as we have a permanent chore chart posted. I like the list of morning and evening tasks so I can just say "Have you done everything on your list?" instead of running through each and every task. When the boys were younger we had a specific evening routine of snack, reading, bedtime but now they are older and while we still do some elements they are not the same every night. Generally kids like routines because it gives them a sense of knowing what to expect when and having them work off their own list of tasks teaches them some independence and time management.

System for staying organized: Post the morning and evening routines where everyone can see them and communicate expectations clearly and repeatedly until they become habit.

Assignment: Write down some morning and evening tasks that would help your days run more smoothly and create morning and evening routines from those tasks.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 27 - Catch Up and Review Day

2011-01-27T07:06:00.008-06:00

Take today to catch up on any organizing steps from the past 27 days. Let me know how things are going for you and forward this blog on to someone for whom it might be useful.

My Catch Up day will involve cleaning out boxes and other stuff from our storage room and getting it ready for seed planting! Have a great day!

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the all new Organized Today website for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 26 - Leave when you Need to Leave

2011-01-26T06:23:00.000-06:00

I'm a pretty organized person and a multi-tasker so I really struggle with this concept. If I have four minutes before I need to leave, I always think I can fit in one more cup of coffee, phone call to the city about the water bill or a load of laundry. The truth is, that just makes me late.

I couldn't find out who first said "If you're early, you're on time and if you're on time you're late" but aside from the fact that person was probably not a mother of toddlers, they have a point.

If the kids and I are ready to leave and it's earlier than the time I know we needed to leave, we should go. Even though I try to plan for us to leave about 10 minutes earlier than we MUST leave (to allow for last minute dog barf on shoes or other such calamity) it's really OK to leave 15 minutes early. It's so much less stressful when traffic is worse than expected or the directions are not as clear as you thought and there's the added bonus of being first in line for the movie or getting great seats for the concert.

Plan to leave before you need to leave and when the time to leave approaches, just do it.

System for staying organized: Set a timer to go off 10 or 15 or 20 minutes before you need to leave the house and leave when you're ready!

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Website is relaunched!

2011-01-25T08:53:00.000-06:00

If you got to this blog via my website Organized Today, you saw that it is completely redone with a new look and lots of new content.

When you're decluttering your home, be sure to check out the Where to Recycle and Donate page which includes links and resources for consigning your stuff, selling it to someone else, recycling it or dropping it off to be reused. If you have a link to add, let me know.

Coming soon is a Product Pick archive of some really amazing organizing tools as well as articles on getting, and staying, organized. I'll be adding more Tips, Forms and Articles to the site frequently so be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed or check back often.

I've also added a new service if you live outside of the Twin Cities or would like to tackle some projects on your own - Phone and Email Support - and you can sign up for my once-quarterly newsletters.

And finally, to get you started on your organizing journey, I'm offering a special in January and February - book a three hour session and pay for only two hours! Check out the Specials and Promotions page for details.

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 25 - Ongoing Donation Box

2011-01-25T06:11:00.001-06:00

I bought a big plastic plate a few years ago envisioning I'd use it to serve food on the deck. It turned out to be too slippery and cumbersome to use so I stuck it back in the cupboard, never to be used again. I kept lifting it out and moving it to access the other serving plates until the absurdity of this struck me - why did I still have this in my cupboard if I knew I was never going to use it?

I realized it was still there because I didn't have a spot for things I intended to donate. Witness the birth of the Ongoing Donation Box. I stuck a box in an out of the way closet and put the plate in it. Now that I had a spot, I found LOTS of things around the house that were in the same category - never to be used but still sitting there. I put two itchy sweaters, some weird coffee mugs, a children's game and more into the box and once it was full, put it in my van and the next day dropped it off at Goodwill. I replaced the box with a brown paper grocery bag and eventually it was filled and off it went.

Not only will this help you purge on an ongoing basis but it will keep you from racing around the house the next time a charity calls for a pickup in your neighborhood.

System for staying organized: If you see an item to be donated, take it immediately to the Ongoing Donation Box.

Assignment: Create an ongoing donation area

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 24 - Library Book Management

2011-01-24T05:55:00.001-06:00

Our family uses the library a LOT. No, really, I've maxed out my library card more than once and have needed to use the boys' cards.

The library is a great resource but late fees and lost books are not great. With 100+ books to track, this could have been a real problem for our family. To prevent totally funding a new library wing through fines, we instituted a system that has worked for years - designated library book spots.

Our living room, family room and each bedroom all have designed areas for the library books and ONLY library books. We have lots of other books in our home but those spots are just for the library books. In the family room and living room, it is a large basket and the boys each have one shelf of their bookcase that is just for library books. When the boys were younger we also had a designated bin in the van for library books so they didn't get lost under the seats with the Cheerios.

Library items to be returned are placed in the designated reusable bag in the mudroom and items are added to it on or before their due dates. This makes it easy for everyone to know where library books are placed when they need to be returned and it's easy to grab this bag and go.

All five family members have their own library card and I keep track of when items are due using the library's website. I can sort the checked out books by due date and I choose the soonest due date from all 5 cards and place a "Library Books Due" note on our calendar. That day I return or renew all items that are due and move the notation to the next soonest due date. It doesn't take very long to manage our items this way and is a huge timesaver over the phone renewal or physical visit. If I can renew all items, then I can put off returning those items until the next time we visit the library. If your library does not have an online system, note the soonest due date from the checkout slip and put that on your calendar. Create a spot to keep all checkout slips so you can change the due dates as necessary and then recycle the slips once the items are returned.

System for staying organized: Encourage all family members to return library books to their designated areas.

Assignement:Create designated areas for library books in each reading room of your home, use the calendar to track due dates and use one reusable bag for transporting items to and from the library.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 23 - Items that Belong to Someone Outside your Home

2011-01-23T05:41:00.005-06:00

My little nephew used to leave pacifiers at my house. All the time. I don't know why that is but my problem was what to do with them so they could be returned. I came up with a "To Be Returned" basket. It sits under the table by the front door and it contains all the stuff that needs to be returned to someone outside my home. I washed the pacifiers, put them in a bag and put the bag in the basket so the next time we saw that family, I could return them. It has worked out really well as the basket is right by the door through which friends and family pass so I pull the item out and set it on top of the table for them to take as they leave. I feel better about not losing items that don't belong to us and it's a convenient, attractive and logical storage spot for those items.

Assignment: Find an attractive container in which to store other people's stuff to be returned and find a spot for it by your main door.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 22 - Magazines and Catalogs

2011-01-22T05:08:00.001-06:00

Magazines are fun to get but they often end up making tippy piles on your bedside table or covering the family room floor. Add in catalogs and you have a big organizational challenge.

The first step in managing magazine clutter is to decide if you're receiving more magazines than you have time to read. Decide what value you get from each one for pleasure or education and see if there's any subscriptions you can cancel. If you'd really like to read about a certain topic, see if there's a comparable magazine that comes less frequently so you have time to read between issues. Your local library probably has at least a year or more of your favorite magazines so you could cancel all subscriptions and read on a schedule that suits you. Note that if you decide to cancel, your remaining subscription can often be transferred to your local library, nursing home or other organization at no cost. Check with your magazine publisher for more information.

The second step is to make a plan for reading what you keep. With busy schedules of work and family, reading time may fall way down on the list so let's think of some ways to maximize it:

1. Make a reading area. It could be your favorite chair in the family room, the porch or your bedside table but choose one spot where you can keep all your reading material. Store the magazines in an attractive bin or covered basket if desired but contain them in some manner.

2. When magazines arrive, check the Table of Contents to see if there's any articles of interest. If not, move on.

3. If you receive a lot of magazines but can't find the time to read the articles, tear them out and make a "To Read" file. Recycle the rest of the magazine and take this "To Read" file with you on the train for your morning commute, while waiting for the doctor or in the carpool lane.

4. Take advantage of down time. Chances are you're spending a certain amount of time each day doing nothing as your child takes gymnastics lessons or has soccer practice. Use this time to flip through your magazines and read or tear out articles to read later.

5. Share a subscription with a friend.

Catalogs: Fewer retailers are sending paper catalogs these days but their number can still be overwhelming to receive in the mail. Same principles apply as to determining which you like to receive - how useful is the catalog to you? - and then opting out of the rest. Catalog Choice (www.catalogchoice.org) is a free service to opt out of any catalogs which you no longer wish to receive.

System for staying organized: Be thoughtful about what magazines and catalogs you wish to receive before signing up. If you're purchasing for an organization's fundraiser, give gift subscriptions to friends, family, libraries, schools, etc instead of yourself.

Assignment: Determine which magazines and catalogs are of greatest value to you in the time you have to read. Cancel all the rest and be creative in finding reading time in your life.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Tip Suggestions and Share your Ideas

2011-01-21T05:06:00.001-06:00

Are you struggling with a certain area of your home and need some organizing ideas? Post a comment or contact me and I'll make it a Post of the Day.

Share your tips for organizing - I know you have some!

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 21 - The Junk Drawer

2011-01-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

I like junk drawers. I think they're fun to organize. I don't know why that is, exactly, but I think it's because the stuff in a junk drawer doesn't require too much thought. Most junk drawers contain the same things: batteries (new and dead), pens that work and pens that don't work, loose pen caps, good pencils and broken pencils, markers that work and markers that don't work, rubber bands, paper clips, business cards, notepads, unidentified pieces of metal or plastic, tools, cell phone chargers, candy or gum, breath mints, scraps of paper with phone numbers or lists, coins, a broken watch, toys, ear buds, shoelaces (opened or not), small package of tissues, sunglasses, eyeglasses, chap stick, stamps, calculator, instruction manual or two, photographs, keys, glue, stickers, credit card/gift card/rewards card, and coupons.

(Note: I made this list based on my memory of the many junk drawers I've helped organize. I'd LOVE to hear how close I came to the contents of YOUR drawer!)

Now the easy part: Yes, there a LOT of stuff in this drawer but the good news is most of it is dealt with without too much thought. You will need to pull out each item, one at a time, and decide what to do with it. Toss the garbage, make one pile of things that should live in the drawer and another pile of things that you want to keep but they go somewhere else.

Let's bring back the list and talk about the contents:
batteries = if you don't already have one, create a spot for ALL the batteries in your home. Put the batteries in that spot and discard if they do not work. Can be stored in the Utility Drawer (more on this later)
pens that work and pens that don't work = grab a piece of paper and test each one. Discard the ones that don't work. You probably already have a place designated for the good ones.
loose pen caps = discard
good pencils and broken pencils = discard ones that don't have erasers or are too short. You probably already have a place designated for the good ones.
markers = test, discard ones that don't work. Good ones can live in craft area, highlighter or two could live with your good pens & pencils.
rubber bands = discard ones that are so old they break when stretch. These could live with other office supplies or in your Utility Drawer
paper clips = Place these with other office supplies
business cards = file in rolodex, put info in phone or Household Binder or discard
notepads = with office supplies
unidentified pieces of metal or plastic = if you are too nervous to discard these items, they could live in a bin in your garage or storage area
tools = some common tools such as a small hammer, pliers, screwdriver, etc are handy things for a utility drawer, however an entire toolbox is not necessary.
chargers = are they current? If so, wrap a label of some type around the cord to designate to what device they belong "Darcy - cell" and they can be stored in the Utility Drawer. Outdated chargers can be recycled.
candy or gum and breath mints = fresh enough to eat? Hide them in your dresser or purse.
scraps of paper with phone numbers or lists = transfer any tasks to your To Do Book, copy phone numbers to your Household Book, phone or Rolodex. discard paper
coins = where do you use coins? Put them there.
broken watch = is it cost effective to have it repaired? If yes, put that on your To Do list and put the watch in your Action box. If not, discard.
toys = transfer possession to the young people in your home who own them
ear buds = who owns them? are they working? if yours, when do you use them? place them with the electronic device.
shoelaces = are you likely to use them? If yes, Utility Drawer. If no, discard.
small package of tissues = office supplies, purse, diaper bag, kid's backpack
sunglasses & eyeglasses = current prescription and in good condition? purse, dresser, etc
chap stick = unless fairly new, discard
stamps = office supplies
calculator = office supplies
instruction manual or two = if you don't already have one, create a file for instruction manuals in your filing cabinet and put it there
photographs = put with your other photographs
keys = if current key to known lock, should be in desk drawer. if mystery key, discard or place with other mystery items in garage or storage area
glue = office supplies, craft supplies or Utility Drawer
stickers = give to children or put in crafts
credit card/gift card/rewards card = shred if expired, put in purse if current
coupons = toss if expired, otherwise place in coupon organizer

Congrats - the Junk Drawer is no more! Clean it out and start thinking of it as a Utility Drawer instead of a junk drawer. A Utility Drawer has a specific purpose of holding miscellaneous items that need to be fairly handy when needed and for items which don't really fit into other storage areas. Take another look at the pile of things you're keeping. Which of these make sense for a Utility Drawer? A couple of tools? Probably, since it would be nice not to walk out to the garage or down to the basement when you needed a tool. Batteries? Yep, often used so should be handy. Electronics chargers? Definitely should have a handy home. Some office supplies could also be stored in this drawer if there's not another convenient location for them in the area. Regardless of what items are stored in the drawer, everything but tools should be contained in bins to make it quick and easy to locate items.

System to stay organized: Limit the contents of the Utility Drawer to specific types of items and contain those items in appropriately sized bins.

Assignment: Transform your junk drawer into a Utility Drawer

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 20 - Recipes and Cookbooks

2011-01-20T08:52:00.000-06:00

Anyone out there have a stack of loose recipes they've torn out of magazines or received from friends and family? If so, are they stuffed in a drawer or a folder or in your cookbooks and every time you see them you think "Wow, these are really out of control but I don't want to toss them because I'd really like to try some." You have the best of intentions but the paper just got out of control.

Recipes contribute to a lot of paper clutter for people. Even if you use the Internet for your recipes, you've probably printed off a favorite recipe or two and need a good place to store them.

First of all, grab your stack of loose recipes and sort them into:

Toss You tried it and didn't like it or, on second thought you really aren't going to to make this. When evaluating recipes, keep in mind your skill level, the ingredients needed and the time involved in preparing the recipe. I've received some wonderful recipes from friends but they take 4 hours to make and I don't have that time in my schedule. Keep in mind that most recipes are available on the Internet and unless it's a family recipe, it's probably out there somewhere.

Tried and Keeping You've tried this recipe and liked it and will make it again.

To Try New recipes

Recycle the Toss pile and go back to the To Try pile. Sort them into whatever categories make sense to you such as Main Dishes, Side Dishes, Desserts, Appetizers, etc. If your Main Dish pile is too huge, it can be broken down into Main Dishes - Poultry, Main Dishes - Beef, etc. Similarly, some categories could be combined as Desserts and Appetizers. However many categories you create, make one folder for each of those categories. It could be a manila folder or a two pocket folder - but they will store your To Try recipes. Label the folders "To Try: Main Dishes" etc. and store them with your cookbooks.

The Tried and Keeping pile can be stored in a variety of ways. First sort them into categories - using the same ones as you did for the To Try recipes will help you remember where they are. Then you can glue them onto 3 hole punched pages and put them in a binder, scan them and store them on your computer, have them scanned and stored on CD, glue them to blank pages and store them in clear sheet protectors in a binder, find the recipe online and store it in a Microsoft Word folder, find it online and store it in that website's recipe box option, or create folders for them like you did for the To Try recipes and store them with the cookbooks. Lots of options but the point being they should be secured in some way that allows you to easily find the recipe.

On to cookbooks: Personally, I find cookbooks fun to read and I think one of the reasons people have so many is that they present such a wealth of possibilities. But they can get out of control so a handy system for deciding what cookbooks are most valuable to you is this: turn all the cookbooks around so you can't see the spine. When you need a cookbook, you'll need to search for a minute to find the one you want but when you return it to the bookshelf, put it back in the proper, spine-outward, way. Cookbooks are like clothes, you probably only use 20% of what you own. This is a visual way of knowing which ones you actually use and after 6 or 9 months, you'll know which to donate.

Some cookbooks only have one or two recipes you use. If that's the case, copy that recipe out of the book, put it into your loose recipe system and get rid of the book itself. Again, keep in mind that thousands and thousands of recipes are online so you can feel fairly confident those Betty Crocker recipes are replicated somewhere. If you have a cookbook of recipes that you would like to learn for Thai food, for example, put on your To Do list to make a Thai recipe this week.

The system for staying organized here is to have a spot for when you pull a recipe out of the magazine (it goes in the appropriate To Try folder), for when you have a keeper recipe (it goes into the appropriate Tried and Keeping spot) and for evaluating if you want to keep the recipe at all (think of the time involved, your skill level and the availability and cost of required ingredients). Stay organized with your cookbooks not purchasing a new cookbook until you've checked out the availability of recipes online or else only purchasing cookbooks which are different than the ones you already own.

Assignment: Organize your loose recipes and turn your cookbooks around!

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 19 - Shopping Lists

2011-01-19T07:52:00.000-06:00

Grocery shopping does not rank at the top of my favorite things to do. I don't hate it but I don't love it. What I do hate is coming home after a trip to the store and finding I hadn't purchased some important item. This used to happen a lot before I created typed up grocery lists in Microsoft Word for each store (by section) and printed them out to hang on the refrigerator. I have one for the regular grocery store, one for the warehouse store, one for the ethnic stores and one for the natural foods store. When we run out of an item, household members are encouraged to pull a highlighter out of the drawer and highlight it on the list. This seems to work better than having the household members write the item in the proper section. Before heading out to get groceries, I can check the pantry to see if any items were not put on the list and can feel fairly certain that we'll replace needed food items. I occasionally edit the lists as we stock the pantry with different foods or discontinue eating some type of food but having them saved in Word makes this really easy.

You might be one of those people who prefers to live dangerously and shops without a list. While it is certainly an option, using a list will help you spend less time in the store as you're searching for specific items in a specific order and it will help you spend less money. Much research has been done that indicates shopping with a list prevents people from overspending more than if they shopped without a list.

This same system can be used for any store at which you regularly shop such as discount retailers, especially ones with food sections. For those stores you can have one list by section to get all your grocery, personal care, clothing and household needs in one stop. If you're trying to make the most of time management, these types of stores are definitely the best choice.

A note about purchasing non-perishable shopping list items: Whether it's toothpaste or pasta, pick up one or two extra items while you're at the store to keep a well-stocked pantry. This prevents you from having to order dinner because you're out of food or brushing your teeth with baking soda or making a last minute dash to the store during rush hour. It's a good organizing principle to keep extras of some items.

I know you've been dying to ask "Why do you have so many lists?" There's multiple lists because the items on the lists are unique to that store due to availability or price and therefore I'm willing to coordinate multiple grocery lists. I don't shop at four places every week, however. I go to the regular grocery store every two weeks, the natural foods store about every two weeks, the ethnic stores and warehouse store as needed to restock which is about every 4-6 weeks.

Let's take apples as an example. Apples are available everywhere but I have them on the regular grocery store list and the natural foods grocery store list as we eat organic apples and those are the places that carry them. The natural foods store has a better selection of produce so I will generally go there every two weeks or so to stock up on fruit, veggies, bulk grains, and other things on my list. I don't shop there for other things as it is price prohibitive for us. If I just can't fit in a trip to the natural foods store, I can get all those organic foods at the regular grocery store so I have them on that list as well. The best price for TP is at the warehouse store so it is on that list. We eat a fair amount of tofu so that item is on the ethnic store list where it is considerably less expensive than the regular grocery store so we prefer to stock up every 6 weeks or so but it is also on the regular grocery store list for "emergencies". Do note that all of these stores are very close to us so are all equally convenient. You would not want to have this system if travel were an issue and not every family eats the same way so you may not have any need for more than a regular grocery store. I'm simply using this to illustrate that a grocery list system is such a good tool that it can be used for multiple stores with ease.

For you online grocery shoppers the principle is the same. Make sure your weekly delivery includes all the items you need by using the lists provided by your online shopping service or by creating your own and you'll avoid overspending as well as that trip to the grocery store to get milk which was the whole reason you subscribe to the delivery service in the first place!

Assignment: Start typing up shopping list for any of the stores you frequent. Post them in a convenient spot with a handy highlighter.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 18 - Catch up and Review

2011-01-18T07:26:00.000-06:00

Today's the day to catch up on any organizing tasks and to review how the paper management is working overall. It may take a little time to get fully used to the flow of paper but remembering the A(action)R(reference)T(toss) system should help when indecision strikes.

Dealing with paper is everyone's number one organizational problem and takes a good amount of time to conquer so if you're behind on a few tasks, no worries, most of the upcoming organizing steps are much less labor intensive than dealing with paper. Give yourself a TON of credit for how far you've come in just two weeks! If you have questions on something that's not working like it should, shoot me an email at darcy@orgtoday.com or post a comment. Chances are, other people have the same question.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 17 - Routine tasks v. Three Daily Priorities

2011-01-17T11:05:00.001-06:00

Wouldn't it be great if household tasks like laundry, dusting, meal preparation and dishes were like other tasks and they went away forever once completed? Maybe someone will invent completely stain resistant clothing or little pills that grow instantly into delicious and nutritious meals but until then, we're stuck with the routine tasks. The question remains that on any given day, how do we accomplish those tasks in addition to the all the extra tasks on our To Do list?

The short answer is to develop a separate routine or schedule for those routine tasks. For example, my routine schedule has me putting in a load of laundry at night before I go to bed and drying it first thing in the morning. I also start the dishwasher at night and my sons take turns emptying the dishwasher the next day. (we use magnets with their first initials to know whose turn it is) My sons have a chore chart which tells them who is responsible for feeding the animals first thing each morning as well as whose job it is to walk the dog, set the table, etc. Dishes that don't go in the dishwasher are washed after every meal and everyone in the family makes their own bed as part of the morning routine. Each morning I prep as much of that day's evening meal as possible and also do some housekeeping like sweeping the kitchen and giving the bathrooms a quick once-over.

None of the above tasks is on my To Do list but because they are done at a pretty regular time each day, they become routine, don't take a lot of time and free up most of my day for items on my To Do list.

How you manage your routine tasks can vary. If there is one day you devote to housecleaning instead of doing some each day, then one of your Three Daily Priorities would be "Clean the house". If your life is such that you can do an entire week of laundry in one day then it would be one of your Three Daily Priorities on that day.

Writing up a schedule or list of daily routine activities and putting it in the front of your To Do book is a handy way to remind yourself of what routine activities you want to accomplish and when.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 16 - Calendars

2011-01-16T06:06:00.000-06:00

Calendars are an essential organizing tool but finding the right calendar or combination of calendars can be tricky.

As a general rule, the fewer calendars the better. If you can get yourself to one, either paper or electronic, that's the ideal but sometimes that's neither possible nor necessary.

It's not necessary if your work life is such that you have really set hours and never leave work during that time or if your work has varied hours but it trumps all your other activities. Under this system, you don't need to know what or where other people are doing as you have to focus on work. This way you can have one work calendar and another calendar for your private/family life and they do not need to integrate.

For most people, work and children and social activities require clear communication between all members of the family and clear communication is really helped by one calendar. There's a hundred different types of calendering systems out there so the best way to choose one is to figure out how people will be using it.

If the whole family is wired and your kids communicate more by text than actual words, an electronic calendar is probably best. Google has a free, easy to use calendar that can be tied into email and shared with specific email addresses so you, your spouse and your kids can see the schedule and add items. Other email programs also have shared calendaring systems and there's plenty of phone apps to choose from so keeping one electronic schedule for everyone shouldn't be a problem.

A paper or other hard calendar can be just as useful as an electronic one and allows for some more flexibility. For example, each family member's activities can be written in a different color. Calendars also come in chalkboard and dry-erase boards formats which allow easy addition/subtraction of events.

Whatever the format you use, there's a few critical steps to effectively managing a calendar:
1. Put EVERYTHING on the calendar. Don't try to remember events and don't forget to add recurring events. The rule should be: If it's not on the calendar, it doesn't exist.

2. Add as much info as possible to the calendar event. During soccer season, my sons' calendar entries include whether it's a practice (P) or game (G), the time, the field and any other info such as snack or carpool info. So an entry for August 25th might read "6:15 p.m. J socc. P,LD, go w/Andy, me pickup both" Crypic, yes, but here's the info "at 6:15 p.m. John has soccer practice at the Lexington Dodd fields. Andy's mom is taking both boys and I'm taking Andy home after practice."
There's no additional info I need to know about that event - it's all there. Other relevant info for a calendar entry might be an address or a phone number or a place name like a restaurant.

3. Deal with conflicts immediately. Does your daughter want to go to a party on the same night as you'd planned a family dinner? Decide as parents or as a family how to handle the scheduling - can she go after dinner or can you plan this as a special meal just with your son? Important meeting same time as lacrosse practice? Can your spouse take over lacrosse or can you arrange carpooling?

4. Look ahead. So important I'll say it again. Look ahead. Planning for out of town trips or for purchasing new hockey helmet for the start of next week's season or whatever, the sooner you know about it, the better.

It may take some trial and error before you come up with the perfect calendaring system but it's such an essential organization tool that it's worth the effort.

Assignment: Figure out what calendaring system works best for you and implement it.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 15 - Filling up your day with "Two Minutes"

2011-01-15T05:19:00.003-06:00

It's 8 a.m. on a Saturday. You have the day free and your plan is to tackle a few big projects around the house for which you've been waiting for a free day. These projects are really important and will take up most of your day. You've had your coffee and breakfast and you're rarin' to go. You grab your To Do list and because you're so enthusiastic about accomplishing a lot of tasks today, instead of choosing one of the Three Daily Priorities, you choose a smaller task because it will only take "two minutes". And maybe it did take two minutes (or five or ten) and so you choose another small task because it will only take "two minutes" and then you get it accomplished but then see you haven't done the breakfast dishes but there's not very many so you do them because it will only take "two minutes" and while you do the dishes you remember your sister asked you that morning to make restaurant reservations for next month's family Sunday dinner. It will only take "two minutes" so once you finish the dishes you call the restaurant and then since you're on the phone you take "two minutes" to call your friend Jane to see if she'd had any luck choosing a summer band camp for her daughter and when you get off the phone you see the book you need to return to the library next week so you walk it to the place where you keep the library books and as you do so you think you'd like to read another book by this author but that should only take "two minutes" since you're looking for something specific so you stop at the computer and open up the library's website and browse for other books by that author and then you see a book on a related subject and remember that your mom recommended a book but you can't remember the title so you take "two minutes" to email your mom asking for the book title and then you see an email from the other girl scout troop leader asking for the start time of next month's Saturday food drive collection so you take "two minutes" to find that info in your Girl Scout folder and email it back to her and then you see the email that your co-worker had commented on your Facebook post so you take "two minutes" to find out what she said and you see a post about a charity event so you take "two minutes" to look at the charity's website and that reminds you that you meant to donate those two sweaters so take "two minutes" to head upstairs to your closet and grab the sweaters and then you see the upstairs bathroom sink could use a cleaning so you take "two minutes" to wipe it down and a few other things in the bathroom and then you see the laundry hamper is overflowing and it's your daughters job to put in laundry on Saturdays but you're going downstairs anyway and it will only take "two minutes" so you head to the laundry room and put in a load and see your silk shirt that needs a button so you take "two minutes" to sew on the button and head back upstairs to hang it up and see that picture that is still hanging a little crookedly because it needs anther picture hanger so you head to the garage to take "two minutes" to get the picture finally hanging straight and you see in the garage the recycling bin has something sticky in it - maybe spilled soda - so you take "two minutes" to wash out the recycling bin and then you get the hammer and picture hanger and head back to fix the picture. You put the hammer away and head back to check the To Do list so you can get going on those big projects just in time to see your son coming out of the kitchen asking if you're going to make dinner anytime soon because it's 5 p.m. and he's hungry.

Yikes.

Your entire day can fly by in "two minute" increments so while it is tempting to get some of those "two minute" tasks accomplished you're better off focusing on your Three Daily Priorities. While those "two minute" tasks listed in the scenario above needed to be done, most of them were neither high priority or highly time sensitive so an entire day was wasted in non-essential tasks while the priority tasks were not accomplished. Choosing just Three Daily Priorities allows you to focus. If you finish those three priority tasks then you can move on to some other priority tasks or spend the time knocking off a bunch of "two minute" tasks.

Note: the same thing can happen sitting at your desk at work so the same focus is necessary at the office!

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 14 - Email Management

2011-01-14T05:11:00.000-06:00

Now that we've finished the paper management systems, it seemed like an appropriate time to talk about email management as email is just electronic paper and should be managed in the same way.

Let's review the paper management system: A(Action)R(Reference) T(Toss)

Now let's look at your email inbox and start with Toss. Any spam email should be in your Spam folder but if not, delete or mark it as Spam now. Do you have any other items that are a Toss? Forwarded jokes, chain emails, email that doesn't apply to you either on a personal or work basis are all Tosses.

What should remain are all items that are either Action or Reference. Let's deal with the Actions first. Find all the emails that will require you to do something and write those Actions down in your To Do list. If the Action has a corresponding attachment you have two choices of either printing it out and placing it in your Action pile or creating an electronic Action pile with an email folder entitled Action. There's not really one right answer for this as it's a good thing to not print out paper whenever possible but sometimes it would be good to bring that paper with you to work on as you're waiting for a meeting to start or otherwise utilizing some down time. Either way, the most important part of this is that you write the Action down on the To Do list and then either delete the email or move it to your Action email folder. There should be no Action emails in your Inbox.

Now to Reference. I would venture to say more of these emails need to be printed especially in a work setting as you need a record of the project and task progression and/or information needed for meetings. However, if printing an email it should have a specific Project File or Short Term file where it belongs.

Reference emails that are not printed can be sorted into email folders systems just like the paper systems. Create folders for each project or client and move emails to be saved into those folders. Create one for company information, one for the Scout troop info, one for the fantasy football league. Create as many as you need to store the info that is currently living in your Inbox. If you create the folders with specific names you will be able to quickly find the info you need but even if you forget into which folder you placed the info, most email systems have a search function so you can find emails by keywords.

Just like with paperwork, the goal of email management is to have your Inbox be just that - a place where new stuff comes IN, not where items are stored. It may sound crazy, but it's possible to have your email Inbox be just that. For another take on this, visit Inbox Zero http://inboxzero.com/.

Assignment: Apply the ART system to your email inbox

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 13 - Down Time

2011-01-13T14:44:00.000-06:00

Today's post may seem like a joke but it's actually an often overlooked opportunity for organization and time management. I'm writing this post while I wait for my son to do his harp lesson. Earlier this afternoon I deciding what to do during those 30 minutes. I checked the To Do list and looked for things that I could take with me. "Write blog", "Read gardening catalogs" and "Read items for Thursday night's board meeting" were all good candidates of stuff to do. I realized I'd read the board meeting minutes but hadn't crossed it off the list so was down to the blog and the gardening catalogs.

I brought both activities along but as I've made this commitment to the blog for 2011 and won't have time later today to write it, it is the obvious (although not quite as fun) choice for the time. If I finish it, I have the catalogs to read but I realized that this time each week is a good organization tool. I always have things to read whether it's my book club book, a magazine, a school report to grade, volunteer papers, work papers, or fun stuff like the gardening catalogs. Keeping those in one spot allows me to quickly grab them as I'm heading off to drive a kid somewhere. If a higher priority item is also easily transportable such as a form to fill out or paper to grade, then making use of these few minutes will allow me to knock at least one thing off my To Do list. I could also run a quick errand or meet a friend - also good uses of my time - but in this case the blog gets the time.

This year, find little bits of down time in which you can accomplish a short task. Keep all your reading material in one spot so you're not hunting for a book at the last minute and keeping all tasks on the To Do list will help you choose what's the best use of your time at any time.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 12 - Setup a Filing System (Part 2)

2011-01-12T06:00:00.001-06:00

Today is Part 2 of setting up a Filing System and it should take care of the rest of the paper which does not already have a home. (see Household Notebook, Action Box, etc)

Yesterday you went through your existing files and purged items that are not of current relevance such as last year's tax forms. Those went into the recycling bin or into boxes and into the storage area as "Things I Need to Keep but Will Never Look at Again". All files now in your filing cabinet should be those to which you'll be adding papers from your Reference pile as well as creating new files.

Find that box of Reference papers you created, grab a stack of manila file folders, some hanging folders and tags and a label maker or pen. Pick up each piece of paper in turn and ask yourself "Do I need to keep this?" and "How easy would it be for me to get the info if I ever needed to?". If you find that it's best to keep it, look at your existing files and see if you already have a file for that item. If not, create a new file for it using the Noun-Adjective system. Some items in the box may be ones for the "Things I Need to Keep but Will Never Look at Again" storage box so add them there. Going forward there probably won't be any to add to this area but we're still catching up on all papers.

Everything in that Reference box should find an appropriate home or be recycled. When you're done with this step today, EVERY PIECE OF PAPER IS IN ITS PROPER SPOT! Congratulations!

Ah, you say, but today's mail will bring me more paper!

I say, bring it on! You have a system for dealing with every single piece of paper that today's mail and school and meeting and spouse brings you.

Let's go through my mail from yesterday as an example of using the systems we've setup. I received a bunch of junk mail from various sources - automatic Toss (Recycle). I received a request from a charity to donate a gift certificate for their silent auction fundraiser. I will do this (Action) so I added it to my To Do list and put the donation form and accompanying papers in my Action Box (in my case, a stacking file tray in the top drawer of my desk). I received an info packet for a board meeting on Thursday night. I need to read this (Action) so it went on the To Do list and in my Action Box. There was an updated info sheet about our home insurance coverage. This is a Reference for us since we use the info to comparison check insurance prices yearly. It goes in my "Things to be Filed" area (more about this below). I received two school supply catalogs. I like these - they're fun to look at - so I considered keeping them but I won't be ordering school supplies for several months so I recycled them. I want them eventually, though, so I put "Request Didax catalog" on my May Tickler File list. Our credit card bill came so it goes in the Financial slot on the desk where my husband will look for all checks, bills, credit card receipts, etc. I few coupon books came so I leafed quickly through them and pulled out a couple for local restaurants and for the place where we get oil changes. Those went into the coupon organizer under "Eating Out" and "Service Coupons" respectively. My grandmother sent us a holiday card so after we all read it, it went into my Memorabilia Box.

Other paper that entered my life yesterday: My son wrote a research paper on the War of 1812. It went into his School Box. Another son drew a funny picture using geometric shapes and I put in his School Box. My husband brought home an article he thought I'd enjoy so I put it on my bedside table where I keep all reading material. I received via email some forms I need to keep for our next 4H club so I printed them and put them in my 4H club Project Folder.

A note about the "Things to be Filed" area: Filing is not fun but it doesn't have to be such a chore if you setup some parameters to keep it from getting out of control. One way is to do the filing once a week. Pick a time you're usually in the house anyway like a Sunday night right after dinner. Unless you really generate an enormous amount of paper every week then 10-15 minutes should be enough for you to put away all items. If this doesn't work for you then try setting up a thing which can hold more than a week's worth of items but which won't allow you to avoid filing for too much time. Say a stacking file tray or a manila envelope. At a certain point, those things will overflow beyond use and then it's time to do the filing. Of course it will take you longer because you've put it off but that's your choice.

There will certainly be some paper that we didn't address specifically so send me an email or post a comment if you can't figure out what to do with it but overall you have the tools to cope with the paper in your home.

Congratulations!

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 11 - Systems to Organize your Paper

2011-01-11T16:16:00.001-06:00

Some paper is more specialized than just Action or Reference. There are projects you're working on, committees you help, stuff your kids bring home, precious items to save and even coupons to use. Much of household paper clutter falls into these kind of "not filed" categories and I have a few suggestions on how to cope with them:

Project Files
If you help with the PTA carnival or arrange the scout dinner or teach a class or are remodeling your family room, you will often have bunches of papers that all deal with the same project or activity. Each one of these items should have its own Project File so you can find all the papers dealing with that activity all in one spot. For example, I have a project file for "Friends of the Library" which is a volunteer organization. It holds agendas, budget info, etc. I use it every month throughout the year. I have another one for "Friends Booksale" which is a committee of the Friends group but it has a lot of notes and info just about the booksale. Those booksales are held twice a year so that folder is active only occasionally during the year. I have another folder for the 4H club that I lead, another for marketing ideas for my business, another for website ideas for my business, etc. These are ongoing folders but sometimes I have short-term folders. When we put a deck on our home I had a "Deck" project folder with estimates, specifications, design ideas, etc. Once the deck was installed and the bill paid, I tossed all irrelevant info and put the "Deck" folder into the "Things I Need to Keep but Will Never Need" storage in case there was a problem in the future. Project Files can be kept anywhere as long as they are easy access as you will frequently be using the information.

Coupons
Not everyone uses coupons but if you do, you need a way to use them before they expire. I've used a variety of systems over the years but have finally hit upon something that works consistently for our family. I purchased a coupon organizer and customized the labels for the items we purchase. Any loose grocery or household items go in here. That goes with me when I shop. Occasionally I'll find coupons for local restaurants so I have a large white envelope labeled "Eating Out" for those. Similarly, I have a "Service Coupons and Fun Stuff" envelope containing oil change coupons, bowling alley coupons, etc.

Other store sale coupons are stored in a small zipper pouch that is kept in my purse so if I'm out and about or am going shopping, I have those coupons with me. Storing them in the pouch allows me to easily transfer them to another purse.

School Box
Kids generate a LOT of paper and as a parent it's sometimes hard to toss those lovely fingerpaint rainbows or perfect spelling tests. A good solution is a School Box. This is a bin with a lid, one for each child, that will hold all the papers your child generates during a year. You can feel free to immediately recycle anything but if you're undecided about something, like that green dragon with orange fangs, toss it in the School Box.

Every August, clean out the School Box and move everything wonderful to the Memorabilia Box and recycle everything else. Do this in August so the excitement of the coming year as well as the distance from the previous year gives you some perspective. You may find you've ended up with twelve drawings of green dragons with orange teeth and then can choose the best one to save.

Something too big for the School Box? Take a picture of your child with the item and keep the picture.

Memory Box
Every member of your family should have a Memory Box. This can be as simple or as elaborate as you like but it's really just what it sounds like - a box to hold memories. My sons' boxes contain everything from special birthday cards to baptism candles to their newborn wristbands. My memory boxes contain things from my childhood as well as a pair of tiny blue tennis shoes each of my sons wore as toddlers. Go through the boxes periodically - we try to do this around each child's birthday and remove or add items as necessary.

Assignment: Setup Project Files for ongoing projects or activities
Assignment: Use coupons? Get a coupon organizer
Assignment: Setup a School Box for each child. Put "Sort through School Box" on the August Tickler File list.
Assignment: Setup a Memory Box for each member of the family.

Darcy
============================================an't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 10 - Setup a Filing System (Part 1)

2011-01-10T05:36:00.005-06:00

Setting up an efficient filing system can take some time so we'll break this down into a couple of days.

Today let's deal with existing files. Go through your filing cabinets and sort items into "Toss/Shred/Recycle", "Frequently Used Files" and "Need to Keep but Will Never Look at Again Files". Most times the entire file folder will be one of those three categories and sometimes you'll want to keep some of the items in the folder but not all.

As always, when determining whether or not to keep something, ask yourself "How much of a hassle would it be to get this again if I actually ever needed it?" We often keep things that we think we might need again but NEVER, EVER actually end up digging out of the files. Those things are just taking up space and they're especially taking up space when they are easily retrievable via a website or a phone call.

Banking and financial documents are two prime examples of this phenomenon. Because they concern financial matters, we're nervous about discarding them but in most cases it would be really, really easy to get a copy of the check, bank statement or similar document by simply going online to our bank website or requesting the info via email or phone. Utility statements and credit card statements are also easily accessible and that's assuming you ever need them again.

So, toss/shred/recycle as much as you can and then sort the rest into items that you frequently add to or need to reference and everything else. Frequently accessed/added to files would include vehicle maintenance files, car/home/life insurance, dental and medical information, Christmas card list, pet health records, current year tax documents, etc. You get the idea. Over the course of a year you get updates on all that info and it would be good to have a handy place to store it. All these are Frequently Used Files. Each thing should have it's own file and the heading on the file folder should be in a Noun-Adjective format such as Insurance-Honda Civic, Insurance-Home, Pet, Medical-Darcy, Dental-Darcy, Tax Info-2011, etc. All files should be placed in alphabetical order in the filing cabinet for ease of use.

Need to Keep but Will Never Look at Again Files are items that you need to keep but you won't be adding to them or referencing them. These include previous year's tax document, medical insurance info forms from previous years, previous years' business receipts, etc. These items should be boxed up, labeled and placed in out of the way storage so your valuable accessible storage is used by current information.

Assignment: Sort existing files into Toss, "Frequently Used Files" and "Need to Keep but Will Never Look at Again Files"

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 9 - Catch Up and Review Day

2011-01-09T06:52:00.001-06:00

Wow, we've covered a lot in the last few days! Today is an opportunity to catch up on any organizing steps - I know the paper sorting could have taken more than 20 minutes! - and also to review how things are working so far. It's been a few days since we setup a To Do list so how is that working? What do we need to tweak to make it better?

Let me know how things are going and any questions or problems you're encountering. If you have suggestions or comments about the blog or our little adventure here, let me know!

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 8 - Setting up Paper Mangement Systems

2011-01-08T06:50:00.003-06:00

Most of the paper you encounter is short term Reference paper - everything from next month's school lunch menu to the plumber's phone number. By short term I mean items that you will probably need to reference sometime but you don't need to keep forever.
A few simple tools are all that are needed to keep the paper in your life from taking over your life.

First is a Household Book. This tool can be as simple or as elaborate as you like but essentially it is a 3 ring binder with sections for different areas of the household. My Household Book has section 1 for contact info. The names, addresses, phone numbers of family and friends is printed out of an Excel file (we use the same list for printing Christmas card address labels) and placed in a clear sheet protector. If information changes, I place the new info on a small sticky note on the front of the sheet and update it when there are several changes to make. The second page of this section contains names, addresses, phone numbers, etc of household contacts such as plumber, car repair shop, vet, doctor, etc. as well as library card numbers and other pertinent info. This information is in a Word file and is updated as needed.

Section 2 of the Household Book is a manila envelope that is 3 hold punched and contains take out menus. Section 3 of the book contains info about our garbage pickup service including accepted recycling items. Also in that section is the county hazardous waste collection info for recycling paint, etc. Section 4 is a list of fun local activities and restaurants to visit.

Other sections to include could be meal planning and grocery shopping, sports schedules and information, school contact info, music or other extra-curricular activity info, car maintenance schedule, etc. The Household Book is an ideal spot to hold info that you're probably storing on a bulletin board or on your refrigerator.

Variation: Use an accordion file instead of a 3 Ring Binder. Label each section.
Electronic variation: put all personal and household contacts into phone, local fun activities and restaurants, etc can also be added

The second tool is a Tickler File. This can take a lot of forms but it's purpose is to hold repetitive tasks and information that is not needed immediately. To make a Tickler file, find 12 manila folders and label one for each month. Place a piece of blank paper into each folder. Now sort through your Reference papers and find things that you will need to reference some time in the near future for a specific event.

A good example of this is a wedding invitation. These are sent months in advance so after you've RSVP'd and put the appropriate tasks on your To Do list "Make travel arrangements for wedding" "Buy new dress" "Buy wedding gift for Duane and Diane", you may still need the invitation if there are directions to an unfamiliar venue or other information such as as the schedule of events. So, now you have this piece of paper you need to keep for the next three months - where do you put it? In the appropriate month's Ticker File where it will happily reside until you need it the month of the wedding.

The other function of the Ticker File is to keep repetitive tasks such as changing the furnace filter, making doctor and dentist appointments, checking smoke alarms, planning a child's birthday party, etc. On those blank pieces of paper in each month's file, write down the repetitive task to be performed that month. Every six months you should replace batteries in smoke alarms and check fire extinguishers so choose two months and put those tasks on the sheet of paper. Choose a month to make your yearly physical appointment and do the same for the other members of your family. Set dentist appointment months, change furnace filters and get the car's oil changed every three months. Put it on your calendar on the first day of each month to "Check Tickler File" then copy those tasks from the Tickler File sheet to your regular To Do list and replace the sheet in the Tickler File.

Variation: Use 12 manila envelopes, 3 hole punch them and place in Household Book
Electronic Variation: Use Gmail Tasks or similar electronic tool to create lists for each month. This will require you to enter all info including specific directions to the wedding reception venue, etc.

Using these two tools, we should be able to find a home for much of the Reference paper. We didn't talk about filing systems for the rest of that but will tackle that on Day 10.

Assignment: Sort through short term Reference papers and pull out items that could be stored in a Household Book. Create a Household Book. Add any related tasks to To Do list such as "Write up Household Yellow Pages with plumber info, etc"

Assignment: Sort through short term Reference papers and pull out items that should go in the Tickler File. Include wedding invitations, sale fliers and other items that will not occur for some time but for which you need to save the information. Create a Ticker File of some form. Add any relevant tasks to the To Do list. Add repetitive items to the Tickler File.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 7 - Sorting Reference Papers

2011-01-07T06:20:00.003-06:00

Some paperwork needs to be saved. Lots of it doesn't but some of it does and that's your Reference papers. (If you've no idea what this means, see Day 5!)

Since Reference papers cover a really wide range of items from tax forms to birthday invitations they can be tricky to manage so we'll talk about some general systems and you can customize to what fits your needs.

Most reference papers can be grouped into either long term or short term. Long term are things like yearly tax forms, business receipts, wills, mortgage info and other important grown-up stuff. Consult your tax adviser to see if there are other items you also need to keep long term. These are items you PROBABLY NEVER NEED TO SEE AGAIN but you still need to keep them. So, this type of Reference paper goes into boxes neatly labeled Tax Documents and Business Receipts and it goes in whatever storage area you have. Accessible, but out of the way. Wills, original copies of marriage and birth certificates, Social Security cards, seldom used passports, etc should all be in a fire-proof safe in your home or in a safety deposit box. Again, these are important items to keep but are not necessary to access very often.

Short term reference is everything else and it all needs a home. The rule of thumb when deciding whether to keep a piece of Reference paper is: How much of a hassle would it be to get this info? If it would be as easy as accessing your online bank statement or calling your investment company, then you do not need to keep the item for long. If it would be annoying and embarrassing to keep calling the other moms on the soccer team to find out when practice is scheduled, then you should keep the soccer schedule.

Today just focus on sorting your Reference papers. Try to weed out as much as you can by asking yourself how much of a hassle it would be to get the information if you needed it. If you think it would be pretty easy but you're still not comfortable tossing it all, then keep the info from the last year or two and toss the rest. Keep in mind your bank, utility companies, investment firms, etc all have records of your information and can provide it to you if necessary. Also sort out long term Reference items from short term Reference items and separate any important documents that need to be secured. Tomorrow we'll talk specifics about where those short term Reference items are stored.

Assignment: Talk to tax adviser or accountant about what long term Reference needs to be saved.

Assignment: Make arrangements to secure important documents such as marriage and birth certificates, Social Security cards, etc.

Assignment: Eliminate as much Reference paper as possible

Assignment: Separate long term and short term Reference papers

Assignment: Store long term Reference papers such as tax documents

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 6 - Dealing with the Action papers

2011-01-06T03:06:00.000-06:00

Grab your To Do list and let's deal with the papers you've designated as "Action". (If you have no idea what this means, check out Day 5!)

Since each one of those papers means you have to DO something, let's put them on the To Do list. Taking each piece of paper in turn, add whatever the Action is as a task on the To Do list. Add them as multiple tasks if multiple steps are required. Be sure to note any relevant contact information, due dates, etc.

Now, what to do with that piece of paper? If it is a piece of paper which is the action, say a permission form to be filled out and returned to school or information about a prescription that you need for when you call the doctor, then it needs to stay in your Action pile. We'll talk about this again in a minute.

If you've written down all the necessary info on the paper like "Call Sally by 18th to RSVP for party 952-555-1988" and you've also added another task "Get birthday gift for Sally by 18th", then move the piece of paper to the Toss category.

If Sally's party invitation also contains info you need to keep about the party location, then the item moves from the Action to the Reference pile.

We'll talk about how to manage the Reference pile on Day 7. Today we're going to stick with the Action pile.

Once you've sorted through the Action pile of papers, you'll have moved some of them to Toss and some of them to Reference but many will still remain as Actions because the paper itself holds info about or is the Action. Your goal now is to find a spot to store your Action papers. You'll always have some so you'll need a permanent home for them such as a stacking file tray on a desk or a red file folder or even a drawer. WHERE you locate the Action papers doesn't matter as much as the fact that you designate a specific home for them and that's the ONLY thing that lives in that specific spot.

Action papers correspond to items on the To Do list so going forward, be sure to first put the Action on the To Do list and then keep the Action paper if necessary.

Assignment: Go through the Action pile of papers and write the tasks on your To Do list.

Assignment: Designate one spot for keeping your Action papers.

Darcy
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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Day 5 - Sort the Paper

2011-01-05T08:19:00.000-06:00

Today's the day you corral all that paper in your home. Sounds like an overwhelming job, I know, but it won't be as bad as you think.

First, find a reasonably out of the way place to start this task. Depending on how much paper you have in your home, it may take a while and you don't want to keep moving the project.

Next, find four empty boxes or bins.

Now gather all the paper in your home. Get it from the refrigerator, from the dining room table, from the mudroom walls, from the other boxes and bins where you've been keeping it, from the desk and the kitchen counters. Get it all. The only exception at this point are files in cabinets or other containers. Leave those for now, just deal with the loose stuff. Put all of that paper into one of the empty boxes and bring it and the other boxes to your work area.

To deal with the paper in your home, you just need to remember the acronym ART. That stands for Action, Reference, Toss and EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF PAPER IN YOUR HOME CAN BE DEALT WITH UNDER ONE OF THOSE HEADINGS!

Isn't that great? You don't need to remember a complicated set of filing systems or anything else, just think ART.

Sounds too simple to be true, I know, but I've done it time and again with clients and it will work for you, too. Here's how it goes: Pick up the top piece of paper from the paper box and look at it. Ask yourself "What is this?" In this case you answer "It's a list of parent names, phone #'s, etc for my son's soccer team." Now you ask yourself "Is this an Action, a Reference or a Toss?" Since you want to keep it, it's not a Toss and there's nothing you need to DO with it, it's a Reference. Put it into the Reference box.

Next in the pile is an expired coupon from Kohl's. You can tell immediately this is a Toss and it goes into the Toss box. You pick up the next item and ask yourself "What is this?" and the reply is "It's a form I need to fill out and return to the doctor's office to update our records." Now you ask yourself "Is this an Action, a Reference or a Toss?" It's not a Toss and you actually need to DO something with it so it's an Action and it goes in the Action box.

Does it sound silly to ask and answer the questions to yourself and might your family think you're losing your mind by having conversations with yourself? Maybe, but the act of asking and answering these questions force you to think about the item and that's what helps you figure out how to categorize the paper.

Tomorrow we'll setup a system for dealing with the items in the Action box and after that we'll deal with the Reference items. For today, just sort. Put on some great music and get excited about the fact you're getting that paper under control.

Assignment: Sort the paper in your home into Action, Reference and Toss

Darcy

Day 4 - Adding fun stuff to the To Do list

2011-01-04T22:52:00.000-06:00

Remember yesterday when I said the To Do list will always exist and it's going to be kinda long while you're organizing? Well, today we're going to add a few more things.

It's so easy to get caught up in the laundry/carpooling/dinner making/more laundry/homework/work work mode that we forget about the stuff that really matters. It may be your friends, your family, your dog, your hobby, your spouse or your glass frog collection but everyone has something that's important to them which never gets done because it's not on the list.

Today's the day to add some fun to the list. Is there a friend with whom you've been meaning to reconnect? Add "Call Jane - coffee?" to the list. Been meaning to visit your Great-Aunt Mildred? Add it to the list. How about that unicycle in your garage? Add "Check out unicycling class" to the list. Don't forget "Get babysitter for Saturday night for date night" and "Check Ebay for purple glass frog" and "Take Spot to dog park - Saturday".

There's always plenty to do but not everything on your list should be a chore.

Assignment: Add some fun tasks to your To Do List

Darcy

Day 3 - Organize the To Do List

2011-01-03T17:45:00.000-06:00

I'm going to say this now and I'll probably say it again later: Your To Do list will NEVER BE DONE. Accept that fact, embrace it and understand that it means you're alive and well.

That being said, it doesn't mean that your To Do list has to be an unwieldy and overwhelming group of tasks. There are a few simple things you can do to make the list easier to use.

First, if you have tasks that have been on your list since the 1990's, it is time to think seriously about WHY they are on your list. Ask yourself: Do you really need to complete that item?

If yes, do you have the skills or time to complete it? If yes, then you need to make it one of your Three Daily Priorities (more on those later) If no, then you need to hire or delegate someone to complete it.

If you do NOT really need to complete that task, then is it more of an "wish list" item? If yes, make a section in the back of your To Do Book for your "wish list" or "bucket list" or "Someday/Maybe" list. Whatever you call it, those are NOT items for your To Do list. If it's not really a Wish List item then perhaps it should be deleted from your task list entirely.

Next let's take a look at all those Projects on your list. They have also probably been there for months, if not years. You'll recognize the Projects because they are the items which are actually multiple tasks all rolled into one. "Paint the living room" is a good example of a Project, not a task, because to complete this "task" you need to measure rooms to estimate amount of paint, choose color, spackle holes, rent or buy paint tools, buy paint, move furniture, etc etc. That's at least SIX tasks, not one. If you're going to this project, all tasks need to be written out separately so you can tackle them one by one.

Now, for the most part your list should really just be the things you NEED or REALLY WANT to do and all items should be one- or two-steps long. Now the big question is "How do I use this list?"

Excellent question! (Side note here: when you are tackling an organizing project, especially one that encompasses more than one room in your home or area of your life, you will initially have a LOT more tasks on your list. This is because there's extra things you need to do to get organized. But, once you complete them, more things in your life will fall into place and you will have more control over the rest of the regular tasks. Don't freak out.)

OK, back to how to use the list. Unless you are Superman and able to turn the earth in reverse and move back time you only have a set amount of time each day to do everything. Because of this, you need to have priorities. You already use a prioritizing system as you choose to feed your children instead of re-grout the bath tile as the feeding the children bit is more of a priority to you. We're going to prioritize THREE things, and only three things, from your To Do list to accomplish each day. If you get those Three Daily Priority tasks done, awesome! Have a latte or choose a fourth thing to accomplish. Will there be more than three things each day that need your attention? Absolutely, but the three things you will choose will be important so it's necessary for you to accomplish them as well. Setting this limit allows you to focus and is usually a good number of things that anyone can accomplish in a given day. No matter how ambitious you feel, resist the temptation to choose 11 things. Just choose 3 and then another 3 if you have time but just choose 3.

Some things to think about when choosing your Three Daily Priorities include "Do you have all the info/tools/etc to complete the task?" If not, add whatever tasks you need to get the info/tools/etc you are missing. Another thing to consider is the amount of time it will take to complete the task. If you need to call the insurance company about something, that may be a day in which you only have time for Two Daily Priorities.

However you mark those three items is up to you but I'd recommend something like marking them with a star in the margin. If you highlight them, you'll see the highlighting until you rewrite that page and it will be hard to tell after that first 3 which tasks you're doing.

Whew, that was a LOT of info but the To Do List is critical and it's important to use it correctly and not get overwhelmed by it.

Darcy

Assignment: Move all "Bucket List" items to a separate list in the back of your book and delete all tasks you're really not going to do.

Assignment: Break out all Projects into their separate tasks.

Assignment: Pick three items that you will accomplish tomorrow.

Day 2 - Create a To Do list

2011-01-02T15:42:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you but I can't remember everything. I do pretty well - my kids are generally dressed and fed and there's food in the pantry and the house is neat and clean enough - but there's still TOO MUCH for me to remember on a daily basis. So I rely heavily on my To Do list.

My list is contained in a very pretty spiral bound journal with flowers on the front - see Day 1 why something like this is important - so I can easily find it. I have all my tasks written down in it and that gives me great peace of mind to know that I'm not forgetting anything. I also have one pen that I really like that I keep attached to the inside of the spiral binding.

If you want to get, and stay organized, the necessity of the To Do List cannot be denied. There's always things to do and it's a huge stressor to find out you've forgotten something or have to try and keep remembering things. That's why you write things down but if you write items down in multiple places it's easy to lose those paper scraps and then it's just like you never wrote them down in the first place.

The To Do list is a necessary tool for organization but is just that - a tool. It's a place to record tasks but YOU control when you perform those tasks. Many people are resistant to using a To Do list because they feel it gets too overwhelming to see ALL THOSE TASKS STARING THEM IN THE FACE DAY AFTER DAY AND THEN SOME OF THEM NEVER GET DONE AND YOU HAVE TO KEEP REWRITING THEM UNTIL IT DRIVES YOU CRAZY!!!
Yep, I get it. We'll spend some time on Day 3 arranging the To Do List to fit your personal style and keep it from getting too overwhelming. For now, let's just get the list going.

Today's the day for you to start recording YOUR To Do list. Get your lovely To Do Book and find all those other notebooks and scraps of paper and Post It notes. Grab the ones from your purse and the bulletin boards and the computer and the desk and the fridge. Get them all. Sit down with a nice drink and start transferring all those tasks from the paper scraps and notebooks and everywhere else to the To Do Book. Don't worry about the order but do add any relevant info such as due dates, phone numbers, contact names, etc that will assist you in completing these tasks. Don't add any tasks that are now irrelevant or whose due date has passed. Do add any additional tasks as they occur to you.

Congratulations. You've taken a big step toward getting organized. Feel good that you have the things you need to remember in ONE SPOT and that spot is NOT in your head.

Day 2 assignment: Transfer all tasks to your To Do book.

Darcy

Day 1 - The "To Do" List book

2011-01-01T17:09:00.004-06:00

Our battle against clutter cannot be won without an effective plan of attack so the first - and arguably MOST critical - organizing step we will take is to start a To DO list.

However, we are not going to make this list on any old piece of paper. We are going to use something that you will be able to find and recognize as YOUR TO-DO LIST among all the other books and papers in your life. You may have something already that you could use but you must follow these guidelines:

Here's what it CANNOT be:
1. one of your child's notebooks from school
2. one of your notebooks from work
3. a legal pad
4. a cube of Post-It notes
5. paper from the recycle bin
6. pieces torn from envelopes
7. anything without a cover

This may sound silly but you have to have something special to hold your To Do List and there's a few very good reasons for this. First, like I said before, if you use a notebook with a bright orange floral cover the chances of you recognizing it among all other papers on your desk, dining room table, etc are dramatically increased. (Assuming all items in your home do not have bright orange floral covers on them.)Secondly, this notebook is going to be your constant companion for a year or more and it should be something that is attractive to you. Thirdly, and this is purely psychological, if you really love how this book looks it will be a source of pleasure to you regardless of the onerous tasks it contains.

If you have something that fits this description, great. It doesn't matter if the book is spiral bound or not but sometimes it's easier to have a book that opens flat for writing. If you don't have something to use, put it on your shopping list and get thee to Target or Barnes and Noble or even the dollar store.

Your Day 1 assignment: find a fabulous book to hold your To Do list. You'll need it for Day 2.

Darcy

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Can't wait for more organizing tips? Want some personalized, on-site help? Visit the Organized Today website at www.orgtoday.com for free downloads and info on hiring Darcy to help you organize your home or office.

Kickoff - 365 Days to Organized

2011-01-01T11:17:00.004-06:00

It's January 1st and time for New Years Resolutions. If past years are any indication, "Get Organized" will again be in the top 5 of people's lists. Easier said than done, right? "Get Organized" can be an overwhelming item on your to-do list and therefore easy to skip in favor of "Get haircut" or even "Wash the dog" but in terms of the rest of your life, it might be the most important thing to do.

Would you like to leave on time for work and school after a pleasant morning with hair and shoes and coffee intact, children neatly dressed with complete homework and all sports and extra-curricular items on board? Would it be great to come home after a long day of work and errands and carpooling to dinner nearly ready in a slow cooker or just ready to be put together? Can you picture yourself taking that pottery class or knowing your bills are always paid on time or sending off meaningfully written birthday cards to friends and family?

That's what getting organized does for you - it puts YOU in control of your life and not the other way around.

You may say "Easy for you - you're a professional organizer." Ah, but I'm still a wife and mom and a small business owner and a volunteer so I'm no different in terms of needing to get, and stay, organized. I'm also not naturally organized so all I know has come from reading, tips from other people, personal experience and knowledge gained from helping clients. If I can get organized, so can you.

Sounds easy, right? But again, how to start?

Here's the deal: for the next 365 days I'll share one organizing step each day. The tasks will be simple and generally able to be accomplished in 20 minutes or less. We'll walk through each room of your home, declutter and create a system for keeping that room organized. Some days will be "review" days where you'll go back through that room and check that it's functioning the way you'd like it to. At the end of the year, you should have a decluttered, functioning home and life. I hope you will also have learned some techniques along the way that will help you adapt to changes in your life and keep things organized.

Here's to an Organized 2011!

Darcy

What's your Favorite Organizing Tool? - New Poll

2009-07-03T12:14:00.005-05:00

A recent attendee to one of my organizing seminars said her favorite organizing tool is several well-placed sticks of dynamite. I think she was kidding but it got me wondering what people think of as their essential organizing tool. As a professional organizer, I see lots of great specialized organizing tools featured in catalogs and in stores but I also see people using regular items to help keep themselves and their families organized.

So I'm wondering what your favorite tool is that keeps you - at least somewhat - organized. Do you have a family calendar? A notebook for all your "to dos"? A bin for storing Legos and Barbie clothes? Is it a can organizer for your pantry or a set of specialized clothes hangers for your closet?

Share your favorite product and look for my favorite weekly picks at http://www.orgtoday.com.

The "M" Word

2009-06-18T16:53:00.003-05:00

Money? Muchkin? Mesopotamia?

Nope, the "M" word for getting organized is MOTIVATION - where to find it and how to keep it.

I could get all yoga on you and suggest you search your inner self - visualizing the peace and tranquility that will come with calmly sipping coffee and reading the newspaper every morning rather than rushing around looking for keys, lunches, and backpacks.

Or I could inspire you with visions of Martha Stewart - tying raffia around neatly folded and stacked piles of bed linens rather than putting your kids to bed in sleeping bags because all the sheets in the house are in the laundry.

Actually, let's put pen to paper and figure out your motivation. Grab a clean sheet of paper - the back of an envelope will do if you think your only notepad might be at the bottom of the toy box - and a writing utensil. Crayons and eyeliner count if that's all you can find.

Write down WHY I WANT TO GET ORGANIZED at the top of the paper and list your reasons why you want to get organized. Don't prioritize or over-think this - just make the list as the ideas occur to you. Everyone's list will be different but you're probably thinking of things like "To have more time with my family" or "To make the mornings calmer" or "To be able to find things" or "To have a neat house so we can entertain guests" or "To have time for my hobbies" or "To be more efficient at work so I can build my business" or "To be prepared for meetings" or any other reason.

Now take another look at your list. You wrote those items because those are the goals you'd like to reach. That's the life you want to live.

Post the list where you can see it often. Add items to the list as necessary.

There's your Motivation.

For some practical ideas and tips for getting organized, visit http://www.orgtoday.com

Wordlock - If you can spell it, you can lock it

2009-06-17T08:23:00.005-05:00

Here's a cool product for kids and for those of us who have too many numbers to remember anyway.

It's the Wordlock and it comes in a regular lock type, cable bike lock, luggage lock, etc. Instead of remembering that annoying combination of numbers, you simply set any five-letter word as the combination.

I think it's brilliant and much easier for the kids to use to lock up bikes or for use at the gym. The product is available at many stores and online. Check out the website at www.wordlock.com.

Paper Clutter - Sort it then Store it

2009-06-16T23:10:00.003-05:00

OK sports fans, now that you've tried AFT'ing for a few days - and I hear a few of you are - you may be saying to yourself "Nice system, but am I really supposed to leave this pile of Action paper on my kitchen counter forever?"

Yes, you are.

Just kidding. You should be storing it in the laundry basket.

Seriously, it doesn't matter where you store it as long as it's rather out of the way and the designated spot for those items. Put it in a file, a basket, a tray or any other container of your choice but those Action papers are the only things that go in that specific spot.

The To File papers: Ideally you'd file them immediately however that's not always possible. Have a designated spot for the File papers and a scheduled time each week to file them!

Now you may be asking yourself if you really should have any Action papers if you're putting the action on the To-Do list. And the answer is: sometimes. If the action is "Call the vet - Porkchop yearly shots 555-9078" then you probably don't need the reminder from the vet. However, if the action is "Send email to group - vote on book selections for next book club." you need to send the email but perhaps you're also tracking the votes in which case you need a paper in the Action spot with the names of the books and the number of votes for each book. Another example is a form to be filled out. The To-Do list says "Fill out and return Whoopee Cushion survey" but you need to keep the actual survey in your Action spot until that task is completed.

All this may sound like a lot of work to setup but it really doesn't need to be complicated. I do a lot of things: run a business, homeschool the boys, serve on non-profit boards, volunteer, etc and I have a very simple stacking tray system of 1 Action tray, 1 Pending file tray (because I don't have a filing cabinet near my desk), 1 To Read tray and 1 Out tray. Technically there's also a To File tray but it's across the room. My system is simple and yet I can keep a lot of balls in the air.

So get out the laundry basket and start storing those papers!

Darcy
www.orgtoday.com

Action, File, Toss - The Easy Way to Sort Paper Clutter

2009-06-12T07:21:00.003-05:00

OK, I'm not kidding about this next part. Really.

Every single piece of paper in your home or office can be sorted into one of three categories: Action, File, Toss.

Seriously.

Try it.

Take a nice, big stack of paper clutter and set it down in front of you. Pick up the first piece and decide if it's an Action (something you have to do like respond to an invitation, fill out a form, make a phone call, etc), a File (information you have to keep but don't have to take action like an insurance summary), or a Toss (junk mail, outdated information, most school papers, etc).

Actions go in one pile, Files go in another pile and Tosses go in the recycle bin. (If you're tossing school papers or artwork from small children be sure to recycle it UNDER something else lest it creep its way back into your house.)

Now file the File pile. Now is not the time to reorganize your filing system. Put that on your To-Do list.

Find your To-Do list and bring it to the Action pile. Pick up the top item in the pile and write on your To-Do list the action you need to take as well as a phone number, address, due date, and any other pertinent info that will help you complete the action.

For example, one Action piece is the reminder from the vet that your dog, Porkchop, is due for shots. Your To-Do list item should read something like "Call vet - Porkchop shots - 555-1908".
You can then recycle the paper assuming you don't need directions to the vet office, etc.

Another Action piece might be an invitation to your cousin's wedding in August. This particular piece of mail will generate a bunch of To-Do's, namely "Buy wedding gift for Jim and Tonya - by July 30", "Get babysitter for wedding - by July 30", "What to wear for wedding - by July 30", "Wedding on calendar - today", "RSVP for wedding - today", etc

But, you ask, where do I put the invitation? A couple of choices:

1. Recycle it. Unless you're sentimental or need the directions to the church or reception.
2. Put it in a Pending or Tickler file. If you need info for the wedding such as directions, create a folder or tray where those items live until you need them. You could have a folder called "August" or a stacking tray for "Pending" and know that items you need in the reasonably near future are in that location.

I'll cover more about paper filing systems in a later blog but I challenge you to use the Action, File, Toss (AFT) system for a week and you'll see that it does work to help control your paper clutter.

More organizing tips and info can be found on my website at www.orgtoday.com.
Get Organized Today!

5 Minutes

2009-06-11T08:38:00.004-05:00

What can you do in five minutes?

1. Get the mail.
2. Pet your cat.
3. Get a cup of coffee (might take you longer if you stop to chat with colleagues)
4. Read a blog post.
5. Eat a muffin.

Or...you can get started on some de-cluttering like:

1. Scan the Table of Contents of a magazine and rip out any articles to read
2. Remove all the trash and money from the kitchen junk drawer
3. Toss all the junk mail into the recycle bin
4. Recycle unnecessary papers out of one file
5. Pickup all scattered items in the family or living room and even have time to fluff pillows!

Most people don't start organizing projects because the whole project will require hours and hours. While this may be true in total, a lot can be accomplished in small 5 to 15 minute increments and you'll be surprised how much progress you'll make in those little bits of time.