I was speaking with a client a few days ago, and she was recounting to me how tough it can be to manage mail.  Her description included a lot of usage of the words “piles”, “stacks” and “moving”.  It reminded me that sometimes those tools that should help us can at times overwhelm us, if we allow them to go uncontrolled.

My first and best rule about mail is to not let it go horizontal.  Now clearly, this is not a new, cutting edge idea.  Others have expressed it before me, however, the really tough part is to live by that rule.  Here are some steps that may help.

The first and easiest thing to do first is to eliminate Continue Reading »

I did the math last week, and it is about 2 weeks before school starts, which means the fall season is just around the corner.  This is when I start looking forward to switching out my wardrobe. 

Before you do that, take a look at what you have in your closet currently and figure out which pieces just never made it out of the closet in the past few months, either because the fit wasn’t right, or you just don’t like them anymore.  Separate those items out, and Continue Reading »

One of my favorite organizing tools are baskets.  They are pretty, can be used in nearly any room, and in many cases, are environmentally friendly.  Labelling them can be tricky however.  Try this the next time:  Make your series of labels on your home computer and print, either just the word in a large, bold font (for a linen closet or office) or a picture of the item to be stored (in the case of a child’s room) along with the word.  Be sure to leave at least 1/1 – 1 inch around the perimeter of each one.  Then take the sheet to your local big box office supply store and have it laminated. 

Back home, using a sharp pair of scissors, Continue Reading »