Conquer the Household Mail and Paper Demon

Households are bombarded with paper on a daily basis. Bills, statements, pay stubs, calendars, schedules, menus and permission slips seem innocent enough individually, but when joined with the other piles of unattended paperwork, they can form an army that overwhelms even the best defenses.

But you shouldn’t feel defenseless against this persistent warrior.  With an organized plan of attack and some disciplined strategy, the paperwork enemy can be conquered and tamed.

First of all, take a look at the type of paperwork that’s overwhelming you the most.  Is it those bills that go unpaid when you can’t locate them?

Is it the mounds of artwork your children have lovingly created and decorated your refrigerator with?  Maybe it’s the constantly changing soccer schedule or troop meetings.

Once you determined the most invasive paper culprit or culprits, it’s time to line them up and sort them out.  A successful filling system has three main components.

A file for those things that need to be acted on immediately, one for those that are part of a household’s ongoing management, and one for those that are more infrequent but nevertheless crucial, such as tax records, insurance policies, wills, and home maintenance documents.

When conquering the paperwork monster, make a promise to yourself to deal with each item the first time you handle it.  Get out of the habit of rifling through your mail and tossing it aside.

Set aside time each day to open mail, go through paperwork in your inbox and sort and file appropriately.  Decide if each item is something to be paid, something to be done, or something to be filed.

At the end of each week, take out each file and respond appropriately by paying the bill, responding to the request, or moving items that need to be filed into their permanent locations.

Of course, if you know something is urgent and can’t wait until week’s end, clip it to the front of your file box or place it in front in a folder labeled Urgent and act accordingly.

Save telephone time by keeping calendars, schedules, take-out menus and phone lists into clear page protectors in a 3-ring binder.   Flip through the household notebook to quickly check meeting dates or find phone numbers.

Create your own forms, or use our free printable Household Notebook forms. This is also a great place to put correspondence addressed to the entire family.

Organize magazines and newspapers into baskets kept near couches and living room chairs for people to look at during their free time.

Be sure to keep in the habit of sorting through this on a regular basis and filing those magazines you decide to keep and tossing old newspapers and magazines you wish you toss.

Garage Organization Made Simple

You’ve conquered your house, your home office, and your car, and you’ve mastered the art of scheduling and cooking in bulk.  But your garage is still a cluttered and unorganized mess.

As with everything else, a neat and organized garage is attainable with just a little elbow grease and some simple storage solutions.
First, get a handle on the mess by moving everything out to sort through what goes and what stays.  Large, clear plastic containers can help you do this. They’re great for clearing away the clutter and then using for storage.

Be ruthless with yourself during the sorting and purging process.  Don’t keep paint from a project from two years ago, and if you have parts to things you no longer have, get rid of the parts as well.

Consider adding a cabinet to your garage. Look for units that offer keyed locks, so you’re able to store poisonous materials and sharp tools out of children’s reach.

The garage is also where most of your kid’s sporting goods land. To keep bats and balls organized, purchase a hamper-style organizer. Designate a section for each child. Add a bin or shelf outside to store messy, muddy shoes as well.

Find a workable storage solution for all the little things in your garage.  Organize bolts, screws, nails, fasteners and other small parts into small clear containers so you can easily see what each contains.

Organize into steady stacks or consider installing a shelving unit to house these out of the reach of small and curious fingers.

For long-handled items, such as rakes and shovels, look for storage units to keep everything straight or use a durable rubber trash can.  Pegboards can also be installed on garage walls, and can be a simple solution for hanging items such as rakes or shovels out of the way.

They can also be hung on hooks. Inexpensive hooks come in a variety of sizes. Large deep hooks are perfect for hanging a ladder and bikes can be hung and kept off the garage floor as well.

Now that you’ve practiced on your house, your office and your car, organizing your garage is a snap with a little creativity, some hard work, and a well thought out plan.

Coordinating Your Busy Family’s Schedule

If you have a busy family that seems to be traveling in different directions constantly, you know how challenging it can be to coordinate everyone’s schedules.

Between projects and deadlines at the office, meetings with your children’s teachers, after school activities like soccer practice and troop meetings, not to mention the household chores, it can be a dizzying and confusing task.

But if each family member is committed and communicates effectively, the task of creating a combined family schedule is a manageable one for you.

The first step is to commit to weekly family meetings.  Make it mandatory that each family member is there so that the schedule can be discussed and organized.  This should also double as a great opportunity to schedule quality family time together, so make sure it’s held at a time when everyone is able to attend.

Next, design a schedule that can be easily accessed by all family members, so that everyone knows where everyone else should be at any given time.  This can be done by designing one yourself using materials such as poster board, markers, pushpins and index cards that can be pinned to the schedule, allowing for changes that can occur from week to week.

It could also be designed on your family computer and saved onto the desktop, so each family member can readily access it and make changes if necessary.  Have family members get into the habit of indicating on the schedule specific addresses or contact telephone numbers if the activity is new or changes from week to week.

Be sure that care providers for your children such as grandparents and babysitters are familiar with your scheduling system and know how to use it.

Again, with a commitment from each family member and open lines of communication, the family schedule can be a useful tool for everyone.

Clear Clutter for a Cozy Casa

Is your house so messy you can never find what you’re looking for?  Are you often late for work because you can never find your car keys?  These tips will help save time and keep you more organized.

Keep things in a place that makes sense.  Drop your keys in a dish by the front door so you won’t waste time looking for them throughout the house.  Put anything you need to take with you by the front door- outgoing mail, your briefcase or the library books that need to be returned.  This will save you time in the morning because you won’t be running around trying to gather what you need for the day.

Straighten up as you go. Pick up the newspaper and put in the recycle bin instead of leaving it on the coffee table. Fill the dishwasher after every meal instead of once a day. Put your groceries away rather than leave them on the kitchen table.  How can you possibly know what food you do or don’t have if last week’s haul is still in the bag? This makes the kitchen an appealing place to enjoy a meal instead of a constant reminder of chores that need to be done.

Finish one project before starting another.  I have a friend who has started to update his bathroom, never finished the project and is now working on his kitchen.  His house is constantly in a state of confusion and he never manages to get any project completed because it’s now so overwhelming.

Keep your bathroom tidy.  Wipe up the sink and vanity top after you shave or wash your face and put your toiletries away.  Doing these small things as you go keeps the bathroom looking cleaner in case unexpected guests stop by- you won’t have to be embarrassed if they ask to use the facilities.

Organize your closets.  If your closet is filled to capacity, you can’t see what you have. Instead of squeezing everything into your closet, keep out of season clothes in the spare bedroom closet. Keep shoes in boxes or shoe racks.  Donate any garments that no longer fit or if you haven’t worn them in the past season.  Don’t hang onto things you can’t use anymore because there is someone out there who will be grateful to have it.

Keep your important documents and papers in a safe place.  Birth certificates, passports, marriage license, divorce papers, the deed to your house and the title to your car should be filed in a fireproof lock box.

Better yet, they should be kept in a safe deposit box at a bank close to home so it’s convenient for you to retrieve them when needed.  If you keep important financial information on your home computer, it’s a good idea to backup to a flash drive and keep this at the bank too.

The cost of a safe deposit box is worth the peace of mind knowing you won’t have to replace these documents if they were ever lost in a disaster.

Taking small steps every day to keep organized will help keep your casa cozy and clutter-free.

Be Safe and Sound When Repairing or Remodeling your Home

Home improvement projects can be dangerous. Many tasks call for sharp tools or power tools that can cause injuries. You can’t successfully repair or tackle home improvement projects your home if you’re not careful.

With a little careful organization and forethought, even the most difficult home improvement tasks can be conquered safely and successfully.

Be sure to completely read the instruction manual for your power tools and follow the manufacturer’s safety cautions. Tighten any adjustments and check that the guard is working before you operate a tool.

Keep power tools dry, and plug them into grounded electrical outlets. Take care not to cut the power cord. Never store your power tools while they are still connected to the power supply.

Keep fingers well away from a power blade. Clamp small pieces of wood before cutting them, rather than holding them. It’s imperative to wear work gloves when you’re handling rough materials such as wood, glass, or metal, but take them off when using a power tool so you have complete control over it.

Never use any kind of power tool without proper protective eyewear. Unplug a power saw before changing the blade or doing any other kind of maintenance or cleaning to it. Learn how to properly support a board when you cut it with a power tool so it doesn’t kick back towards you during use.

Always completely shut off power or water when working with the electrical wiring or the plumbing.  One of the first questions you should ask as a new homeowner is where your shutoffs are located.

When working on a ladder, don’t lean out to either side. Keep your body weight between the sides of the ladder. It may take longer to get off the ladder and move it to reach farther, but it is well worth your time.

Falls are one of the most common causes of injuries in the home. If you’re not used to the physical element of doing construction, remodeling, or renovation work, you might easily injure yourself or strain your muscles.  You may not even notice the aches and pains until you wake up the next day.

Don’t take chances and overexert yourself when lifting heavy objects, or when repeatedly lifting lighter loads. Get a helper to do some of the work, and take plenty of breaks. Listen to your body’s signals and realize when enough is enough.  Learn to bend and lift with the knees and not your back.
You’re going to find a great satisfaction and pride knowing that you’re able to safely and successfully accomplish repair, remodeling and renovation projects around your house as long as you’re smart, safe, and keep yourself organized, focused and on task.

Avoid the Avoiding Habit and Find More Time and Less Stress

Procrastination can creep in and easily become a habit. Once it does, it erodes your capacity to function effectively. But it can be a hard habit to break.  However, with some honest self-assessment and an organized and attainable plan of attack, it can be overcome successfully.

Be gentle with yourself when you decide to try and kick the procrastination habit.  It may be so ingrained that you don’t fully recognize all the ways you actually procrastinate.

Start out by taking a large or complicated task and breaking it down into smaller parts that you can accomplish easier.

It’s important to bear in mind that the most difficult or complex tasks are simply just a series of smaller jobs. Make a verbal commitment to someone else about improving your time management skills and your desire to avoid procrastinating.

Allow others to become involved in your efforts by reviewing your progress, helping you set deadlines or evaluating your results can be very helpful.  This will most likely create a commitment on your part to fulfill the expectations they’ve set for you.

Sit down and map out a plan to manage your time more effectively.  When a deadline is looming, make sure you allot time each day to work on the project so it doesn’t sneak up on you in the final hours or days.

Learn to ask for help when you’re feeling overwhelmed or overworked. Reward yourself for good behavior and accomplished goals. Don’t wait until you’ve accomplished the ultimate goal, but reward yourself for your successes along the way.

Make sure the reward is something you like to do.  Treat yourself to the newest book by your favorite author and take the time to read it. .

Indulge in bubble baths or relaxing music.  If you’ve gotten into the habit of working late, make sure you develop a new habit of going home on time each night.

By making a commitment to avoid the avoiding habit, you’ll soon be well on your way to finding more time and find yourself more relaxed and productive and less stressed in the process.

Organize Your Life For Success!

Organizing the content of your life based on your needs is a best practice for managing your time, resources and money and is an essential first step if you are to fully achieve your potential in life. The reasons for this are simple. An organized clear mind leads to clear and objective goals, which in turn leads to you being able to achieve what you set out to do.

A critical first step then in staying organized is to set up a system of resource planning and clerical needs that allows you to plan out your time effectively, and allocate where you are going to spend it. In short this means such steps as getting a day planner so that you can plan ahead. Getting appropriate stationary systems and office space in place, and also getting yourself a filing cabinet, or at the very least some kind of filing system!

It would certainly be true to say that staying organized then is not something that lots of people do naturally! At first it can even seem slightly stifling, especially if you are used to totally going with the flow of what each day brings. In truth this is ok. It IS good to be spontaneous on occasions, but in general it is vital to plan out what you need to do in a particular time frame, because otherwise it is all to easy to simply become distracted!

All of us know this to be true if we think about it from the viewpoint of our own lives. For example, when we surf the web we find ourselves flitting between sites, and before you know it a couple of hours have past! Now, don’t get me wrong. That is one of the joys of the internet, and of life in General. But it is nevertheless a time stealer that staying focused and staying organised could have helped to negate.

So then am I saying that Staying Organized should mean robbing you of the juice of life? Robbing you of the spontaneity? NO! NO! NO! For me the exact opposite is true. Staying organized is about finishing the day’s tasks and having crammed far more good stuff in! In short it is the exact opposite of a spoil sport!

You should know your own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to this area (clue… Staying organized means doing more of the things you like!) and communicate them to yourself regularly to analyze that your wants and needs are being met effectively. Then organize your time based on that feedback.

Keep with the program. Stay Organized, and Organize YOUR Life For Success!

Think Green When You Clean

We all want to do our part in ensuring our environment stays as safe and healthy as possible for our children and future generations to come.  Many people don’t stop to think how their household cleaners can affect the environment, and how toxic they can make the immediate environment of your home.  With some careful forethought, planning and effort, your home can be cleaned safely and effectively, sparing the environment, your home, family and pets from toxic chemicals and fumes.

Most people firmly believe that surfaces in their homes must be disinfected on a continual basis to prevent illness and the spread of disease.  But the truth is most areas of your home don’t need to be disinfected to prevent the spread of germs.  This includes your bathroom. Mild detergents, hot water, and some elbow grease can generally do the trick.

The exception to this rule is the kitchen.  Anything involved in food preparation should be completely scrubbed down and disinfected with each use.  This includes food preparation surfaces, utensils, cleaning clothes, and sponges.

When shopping for cleaning products, pay special attention to those with the words poison or danger on the label. These words indicate the highest level of hazard, under federal law. Products labeled with the words caution or warning can present a moderate hazard and should be regarded with care.  Always read labels and follow the directions.

Never mix cleaning products, such as those containing chlorine with those containing ammonia.

Consider using products such as vinegar, baking soda, and mild detergent when cleaning your home.  If you have questions about how to properly dispose of toxic household cleaning chemicals, contact your local health department or county sanitation office for advice and assistance. Most areas provide a household hazardous waste collection site for residents to properly dispose of such items.

To Keep or not to Keep

When it comes to yard sales, there’s one question you need to ask yourself:  to keep or not to keep…

There are many great reasons for having a yard sale.  Some people have yard sales before they move so they don’t have to pack and ship belongings they aren’t using.  Sometimes they are updating the look of their home and sell their old belongings to make money and room for the new ones.

Sometimes your children just grow like weeds and rapidly outgrow both their clothes and their toys. It could also simply be the desire to purge all those items you’ve held onto for so long, thinking you’d find a use for them but never did. No matter what your reason, having a yard sale is a relatively easy goal to achieve and requires just a few hours of preparation and a few more hours actually selling your wares.  You’ll reap both financial and emotional rewards from it.

Decide on a date for your yard sale, then get to work surveying the items you have.  When you’re going through your house deciding what to sell, you’ll have to be brutally honest with yourself.  If you haven’t used it, don’t like it, don’t see yourself using it or don’t know of anyone personally who could benefit from it, then it’s a yard sale item.  Sort through every dresser and kitchen drawer, every clothes and linen closet, every cupboard and toy box you have in your house.

Don’t forget your basement, attic, pantry, entertainment center, buffet and outdoor tool shed as well. If an item belongs to a family member, don’t make the decision for them. Get their input before placing an item in your yard sale box.  Regardless of the time it takes to sort through all your items, make the commitment to stick with it and remind yourself on a continual basis the monetary profit and emotional relief you’ll feel once your clutter has been cleared from your home.

Once the sale is over, make another commitment to yourself not to bring the unsold items back into your home.  Make arrangements with your local rescue mission or charity thrift store to donate the items.  Most will be happy to make arrangements to pick up large donations as well as provide you with a tax receipt reflecting your generous donation.

Once it’s all said and done, you’ll have some extra pocket change, and can breathe an emotional sigh of relief that the clutter that’s been weighing you down for so long has been purged from your home.  Renew your commitment to remain organized and to combat the clutter demon on a continual basis.