When you are de-cluttering and picking up many objects that are taking up a lot of space in your world ask yourself a few questions in order to figure out whether or not it is something you still need (or want):

1. Do you need this item anymore?
2. Do you love this particular item?
3. Does this item make you feel better (or worse)?
4. Does this object reflect who you are now or is it something you might be striving for?

I’m a firm believer that you shouldn’t keep anything in order to “punish” yourself (jeans that are 2 sizes too small, the sofa table that you hated the minute it was delivered, etc.). Life is too short & you should be surrounded by items that make you happy.

See what you can do today to make your space more comfortable and a true reflection of YOU!

Let me know how it goes, I’d love to hear from you…

How many of you have something that you need to return to a friend, check to send in to school or maybe something that you wanted to give someone that you have in your car (or maybe sitting by that back door) that you keep forgetting to take care of?  I used to chronically forget to drop things off or send into school with the kids so a few years ago I started to rely on the good old USPS to help me get things done.  For the cost of a stamp I can get so many things off of my “to do” list, it’s scary (and wildly efficient).  Think about it – you need to send a check to a friend to reimburse them for something… you write the check out at home and then put it into an envelope anyway – why not just address it and put it in the mailbox – poof, it’s off your list!  The alternative is that you put it in the envelope which goes into your handbag or briefcase or your car where it gets lost – you can see where I’m going with this… your “to do” list never gets anything crossed off… So, the moral of the story goes: just put a stamp on it and get it done!

Are you a stamp & send kind of person like me or is your car full of things that are in need of being returned or dropped off?!

I put this suggestion in one of our newsletters and it got several mentions from my girlfriends (and even my Mother) as it’s such a simple but “revolutionary” suggestion.  Plan out your errands so that you are only making right hand turns.  You will be amazed at how much time you’ll end up saving.  I’m serious.

UPS implemented this plan several years ago and they plot their drivers route to include only right turns. They save so much time and money by doing it this way it was astounding.  It’s also a heck of a lot less stressful turning right vs. left when you have to cross over oncoming traffic and then waiting  for the traffic going your way (left) to allow you in.

Try it, let me know how it works for you… I promise, you’ll be surprised how much time it saves you….

I am always asked by clients whether or not it is good to have “too many files” and most people “over file” (which means they have a file for everything rather than in general). I advise you to start with the following hanging file folders so here is a pretty simple and somewhat Foolproof system:

Indoor File (cleaning service, appliance repair, security system, etc.)

Outdoor File (landscaper, Trash company, etc.)

Family:

One file for each family member – eventually you might want to break these files down to individual Doctors, Dentists, etc. Remember though, Social Security cards & birth certificates should be in your fireproof safe.

Utilities:

One for each utility company (Telephone, Gas/Electric, etc.)

Insurance:

Auto & Homeowners (or Renters)

Taxes:

File by year and then break down into 2 files from there titled:

Year Taxes (Example: 2011 Taxes)

Year Donations (Example: 2011 Donations)

Finances:

Bank

Investments

Expand on this as necessary. You might have another house, you might travel frequently and need one for your frequent flier information. You also might have a boat in which you can add the insurance in your insurance file right away. You could also just have a “Boat” file too.

Files are a fluid concept and will need tweaking from time to time as your life changes. Also, now a days we are able to download our bank statements online and therefore don’t need to file years of bank or investment statements anymore (yippee). I recommend downloading and saving anything that you can on your computer and you can use the same system above for your “digital” files as well.

I hope this motivates some of you to get started on your filing. It isn’t my favorite task but it is definitely one that is important. I think having my filing done is a really good feeling.

Does this motivate you to get started?

It occurred to me as I was catching up on a few magazines over the weekend that I was skimming through the articles that didn’t apply to me(fortunately that means I didn’t need to learn more than I’d ever want to know about varicose veins).  I thought to myself that I’m so glad I learned many years ago that  just because I had a subscription didn’t mean I had to read the entire thing cover to cover every month. Once I started thinking of it that way I wasn’t as overwhelmed by it all so much and it became much more manageable to me as a result. Today I thought I’d share this thought with you so that you could feel less guilt along with me.

Back when my kids were small and I subscribed to Parent’s magazine I tried to absorb all of the information for the upcoming years. As it turned out by the time my kids got to that age not only had I forgotten those nuggets of wisdom but those that I did in fact remember were sometimes no longer applicable! I was amazed that our generation survived with all the new rules and regulations that were changing almost daily, who can keep up?!

So I leave you with this, unless you are relaxing on the beach and have all the time in the world, don’t worry about reading all of your magazines cover to cover, it’s just too much pressure.

What magazines do you read cover to cover or better yet, which ones are you overwhelmed by? 

Anyone that saw Toy Story 3 couldn’t leave without shedding at least one tear.  In my case we went with our neighbors and both the Mothers were just shy of sobbing which embarrassed all 5 of the kids between us.  It made for a great laugh for them but she and I were scarred for life!

One of the most important plots in the movie was that the toys thought they were being thrown away rather than stored in the attic.  You see they had used black garbage bags to put the toys in the attic and it was mistaken for trash. This is a #1 BIG organizing NO NO!  You should never use black storage bags for anything in my opinion besides trash.  If you need to store bigger items where it makes sense to use garbage bags (say comforters, outdoor cushions, etc.) use CLEAR bags instead, that way you can see what is in the bag and it won’t be mistaken for trash.

Another thought on plastic bags are the ones you bring home from the grocery store, again, you can’t see into them and they are more often than not used for trash so something important can be thrown away too easily.  Use handled bags from when you’ve been shopping at the mall or anywhere else (even paper bags from the grocery store are better than plastic). It is actually one of my pet peeves to be honest with you, it’s just too easy to lose something important that way.

Although should you mistake storage for trash there would hardly be the drama of Toy Story 3 but why would you want to take that chance?

What happened to your favorite toys when you grew up?

My clients hear me refer to “valuable real estate” when mapping out the best way to organize their space. We need to maximize the space that they have and work with what we’ve got, it doesn’t stop at counter space or work surfaces, walls help too! By putting files “upright” instead of flat give you about 8.5 x 11 more inches of space, yup, that’s right!  Another bonus is that you will have it more visible in case you need to find it in a hurry. You can see it easily sitting up instead of just in a pile. One of my favorite wall pockets are either the copper or wooden ones from Ballard Designs. I’ve had mine for about 8 years and they look just as awesome as the day they showed up on my doorstep. In all honesty, this is a must have for me now, not sure what I’d do without them. Everyone has a pocket, one for each of the kiddos, one for receipts, one for pending projects and one for travel. I can put paperwork in there and know that when I need it, I’ll be able to find it in no time. So, when you’re running out of work surface, look up.  See if you can utilize the space on the wall around you or just stack things on their sides and see how much more space you can open up as a result. Let me know how it goes, I’d love to hear if this worked for you! When was the last time you looked up?!