A FEW SIMPLE TIPS

MY BEST TIP:

Start small and maintain.  What does that mean?  Organize one small area and keep it organized; establish a new pattern by making sure that you always return items to their new homes when you're finished with them.  Putting things back isn't natural behavior for everyone but if you want your newly organized space to stay that way it's vital to train yourself to do this.  Unless you'll be coming back to the task in the same day, always take a few seconds and tuck things away before you walk away. 

MAIL:  The bane of every client's existence.  

You walk in and drop it on the pile and there it sits. The pile gets bigger and the incentive to deal with it gets smaller.  So what do you do?  Try establishing this new pattern.  As you walk in with the mail, walk directly to the recycle bin or trash can and get rid of all the junk mail.  The only exception is credit card offers.  Take those straight to the shredder (if you don't have one, you should invest in a small inexpensive model) and get rid of them.  Put any bills in a particular place where all bills live and then open what remains.  It won't be much.

Then take a few minutes and get your name off as many mailing lists as you can.  The following are a couple of good links that are very helpful in paring down the number of pieces of junk mail that arrive at your home. 

Opt Out of Credit Card Offers - A service that lets you opt out of receiving credit card offers.
    www.optoutprescreen.com

Reduce Unwanted Mail  - DMAchoice™ is an online tool to help you manage your mail.
Start or stop receiving mail, in the categories of Credit Offers, Catalogs, Magazine Offers and Other Mail Offers, from individual companies within each category or from an entire category at once.
    www.dmachoice.org

CORDS:  Which one is which?

When you purchase a new device, write the name of the device on piece of medical tape, duct tape or even masking tape and wrap it around the cord.  For devices that you use often, keep that cord with the device.  For all other items, keep one container with all of the remaining cords tucked out of the way, maybe on a closet shelf.

PACKING FOR VACATION:

Take a few minutes and make a list of all of the items that you need to take.  Put a number beside each item indicating how many to take.   If you type up the list on your computer, you can just print it out and use it again another time.  Some items you will not take on every trip (sunscreen, winter coat) but you can simply cross those off. 

Next, gather all items, maybe on the bed.  Check off on your list as you go.  Once you have all of the items together,  start packing.  Tuck narrow items between those bars in the bottom of the suitcase.  Shoes, flip flops, or a can of hairspray fit well in these spaces.  Put socks, undies or a rolled t-shirt inside of the shoes.  Then pack remaining larger items. 

If you have children aged five or older, make a similar list for them.  If they are able to read, have them take the list and start pulling out the items that they want to take.  If not, you can call out the items and they can make their choices.  Of course, you should double check, but that's a much quicker job.  We started at a young age with our kids and by about age 8 they were very good at gathering their items for a trip and loved the independence.  You can also walk through how to pack the case, having them help, and soon they'll be doing that too. 

You'll find a sample packing list here that you can download and customize.