Top 10 Tips

BABY STEPS
Take any organizing in small steps. Don’t try to do too much. Set a time limit of 20 minutes and ‘have at it’ in one drawer or area of a room. You will still see the results and will be more likely to do it regularly if you keep it painless. As you start to see the transformation, you will find it gathers its own momentum.

MAIL CENTER
Create a mail center system to deal with your daily mail. Have a few stamped and pre-addressed envelopes ready to send checks in to the bank. Have your checkbook, calculator, supplies and sections for coupons, bills to pay, items requiring action, invitations etc.

ENJOY THE PROCESS!
When you write a to-do list, after congratulating yourself for being so organized, put in a couple of enjoyable things (like getting a pedicure or taking a walk in the park) to reward yourself. Organizing doesn’t have to be a hard slog!

DON’T DROWN IN TO-DOS!
There are only so many to-dos you can do in one day. Keep a complete list of your to-dos which cover work, personal, family and general goals. This will probably be pretty long. Every day (or evening before when you set up for the next day) choose just a few to-dos and copy them onto your daily list. It is much more manageable and realistic. You can even set yourself rewards for when you clear your daily to-dos.

PROTECT YOUR STORAGE SPACE
In your email and on your desktop create a temporary folder for all the items you know you are not going to need later (such as shipping tracking numbers, flight details or other reference). Then check it every month and delete the past-date ones. This way you will keep your folders free from clutter and will prevent wasted storage.

JUNK THE JUNK
Deal with junk mail proactively. Have a recycling bin close to where you sort the mail to immediately ditch the junk mail. Have stickers handy to return credit card applications to sender. Reduce junk mail by clicking here. You can reduce junk mail up to 80% by going to the source and it lasts 5 years.

LIMIT THE DISPLAY
If you are having trouble cutting down a collection, decide on how much attractive display space you are willing to allocate. Then choose the pieces you want to display most. You could also allocate a small box of storage for the few pieces that didn’t make the first cut. Rotate the pieces regularly between the storage box and the display space. You will soon see which pieces you really appreciate and will enjoy them more, as you are handling them and changing the display regularly. This process makes it easier to decide which items to resell.

DON’T OVERDO IT!
Set time limits for yourself if you have to work in the evening. When you have worked for the set time, stop! Go and be with your family and enjoy your evening. You will be more productive when you come back to it tomorrow.

CLEAR YOUR DESK
Try to avoid cluttering your work desk with empty staplers, dirty coffee cups, knick knacks and piles of work to do. When you walk up to a clear desk, you are more likely to want to sit down and start. A clear space allows for creativity whereas a cluttered disorganized mess just creates a subconscious feeling of stress. Also, when there are existing piles it is very likely you will just keep adding to them; when you have a sheet to file at a clear desk, you are more likely to find somewhere to put it. It is easier to stay on top of things if you work on keeping it clear.

PACKING SMART
Write a checklist for any trip you do a lot- maybe a camping trip or a business trip. If you add to it after every trip, you will be able to save time getting ready next time, and have faith in the fact that you will be as prepared as you can be.