Losing your mind over figuring out which cable goes to which product? The easiest thing to do is to label it as soon as it comes in the door! There are some very inexpensive label ID tags out there, including this one. Taking a few minutes up front to identify your cords and cables will make a huge difference later on!

In Peter Walsh’s book “It’s All Too Much,” he shares his proven system for letting go of emotional and physical clutter to create a happier, stress-free home and life. Read his room-by-room tips to honestly assess what adds quality to your life and what’s holding you back. A must read!

Labeling shelves, drawers, and containers is a quick and easy way to ensure everyone in your home or office knows where things should go. Do it like a pro(fessional organizer) with a label maker! They come in a variety of styles – this is the one that accompanies me on all my client visits.

Resist the urge to continually check email or voicemail. Instead, set specific times — perhaps once in the morning, once after lunch, and once before you end the day — to do this. You can set the sender’s expectation in your signature line, saying, “I check email 3 times daily. I’ll respond to your request as soon as I am able.”

A colleague from NAPO (the National Association of Professional Organizers) just launched a great website called The Stuff Shop that aims to link people’s excess stuff with organizations and ministries who can use it as well as provide options for recycling, shredding or disposing of it in an environmentally friendly way.  Check it out!

Our local chapter has been talking quite a bit recently about ways to solve the age old problem of socks straying from one another in the laundry cycle, and these are some of the solutions that have been proposed.  The sock clip seems like a handy way to keep socks together.  It won’t harm fabric, is easy to use, comes in different colors for different family members, and  can be used for other things (like clipping chip bags).  The Container Store has its own version called The Sock Pro, which is more basic but does the more or less the same thing (without acting as a chip clip), and finally, there is the good old safety pin, which we all have plenty of already.  Just pin your socks together when you take them off at the end of the day, throw them in the laundry (they won’t rust), and find them at the end, all nicely matched!  The only hitch with this tip is that the sock wearers have to be trained to do this…but it will be worth it if you can!

Want to make sure you remember the all the product information that comes with your software CDs? Just use a permanent marker and write the serial number, product key, or any other vital information on the printed front of the disk.  Then, no matter what happens to the packaging, the important information will stay with the CD.

It’s a New Year, and many people’s resolutions include getting more exercise, enjoying more time with family, and often, getting organized.  While it’s all very well to say you want to “get organized”,  it’s also very important to know WHY you want to get organized if you want your resolution to stick.  Write down the top two or three reasons why being more organized would make your life easier; for instance, saving time looking for things, or saving money by not buying duplicates of things you already have but can’t find.  Once you have the reasons written down, you will be better inspired to keep your resolution!

Christmas is over, and soon your holiday decorations will all come down until next year. To keep things organized and ready for the next holiday season (which will come far too quickly), here are a few great pointers from The Container Store.

In organizing your linen closet, pull out  and get rid of anything that is stained, torn or otherwise in sorry shape.  Animal shelters are often happy to take old towels and sheets as donations, so you can know that they are going to a good use.  See if you can limit yourself to three sets of sheets per bed and as few as three sets of towels per person.  That way, you will have one set in use, one in the laundry, and one in the closet.  Resist the temptation to hoard extra sets for emergencies, and if you get new sheets or towels, try to give a set away.