100+ Tips To Declutter and Destress Your Life
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100+ Tips To Declutter and Destress Your Life
Whether you're always looking for new and ingenious ways to reorganize your space, or living that "less is more" life is your newly minted New Year's resolution, it's never a bad time to tackle the clutter in your life and reorganize your home so that it works for you and not against you. Thankfully, Woman's Day checked in with some certified National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals members to uncover and highlight the best tips and tricks for tidying up even the peskiest of spaces. And if the following organization tips proves anything, it's that a little bit really does go a long way.
"Organization, to me, is one of the most calming and stress-free therapeutic vitamins that you could ever take," Wendy Silberstein, a professional organizer who's also known as the Aesthetic Organizer, tells Woman's Day. "Organization dictates what your daily life will be like; it brings families together; it brings marriages together; and it makes daily life so much simpler."
Professional organizer at STR8N UP, Jennifer Truesdale, tell's Woman's Day that finding ways to stay organized can help people avoid "decision fatigue," which is a state of mental exhaustion that comes after making a million tiny decisions all day. "If we can eliminate any clutter or chaos with organized systems and simplify our routines with more order, then we can eliminate many of those subconscious decisions that tax our brain throughout the day, allowing us more time for maximizing our daily productivity," she says.
When it comes down to it, both Silberstein and Truesdale emphasize the importance of organization, and why finding balance in your life should hinge on accessibility and functionality. Of course, prettying things up can help encourage you to keep your space organized, but that's less of a first step and more of a final one. So when beginning your organization journey, Silberstein recommends starting small and finding specific times throughout the day or week to prioritize organization. After all, even the smallest changes can make a big difference. For some inspiration on little things you can do, check out these organization tips:
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Create an on-the-go kit with sample products.
If you’ve collected a lot of small sampler products, corral them together in a clear zippered pouch that you can either grab and go the next time you travel or that you can keep in a drawer under the sink to try out the next time you want to change your skincare routine, Silberstein advises.
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Consider a lazy Susan for spices.
If you’re a whiz in the kitchen, Silberstein advises keeping the things you use most often close on hand. She recommends putting your spices on a lazy Susan either on the counter or in a cabinet next to your oils and vinegars, somewhere by the stove so they’re easy to reach when you need them.
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Attach a mesh bag to your hamper for socks.
It’s no secret that socks always seem to get lost. Keep them with their pair by putting them in a mesh bag attached to your hamper and then throwing the whole thing in the wash. “If everyone has their own sock bag, you will be able to match into pairs and put them away with ease,” Truesdale says.
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Label, label, label.
“You want your kids to be independent and understand where things are,” Silberstein says on the importance of labeling when you live with others. A simple set of labels for where major items go will help ensure that people can find them and put them back where they belong.
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Sort your fridge like a grocery store.
Just as grocery stores have a designated place for different types of items — meats, dairy, snacks, etc. — so too should your fridge. Silberstein advises using clear bins in your fridge to keep everything in its designated place, and stacking the bins to take advantage of the height available on most refrigerator shelves.
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Store kids’ toys in over-the-door organizers.
“Pockets are your friends,” says Truesdale. “Use over the door shoe bags with pockets for corralling all types of items when you need extra hidden yet accessible storage.”
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Pick your favorite cleaning products.
“Don’t have 100 products,” Silberstein says. “Most people think they have no space under their sink, but they just have so many products they don’t need.” She suggests picking your favorite multi-surface cleaner, glass cleaner, and bathroom cleaner, and storing those with a few sponges and rags in a bin under the sink.
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Use a basket for constant clutter.
If you have a partner or little one who’s constantly cluttering up the same space, have a dedicated basket in that space to keep things tidy. “Items can be put in the basket and easily carried to their room to be put away later,” Truesdale says.
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Tame cords with a picture ledge.
Uncross wires and gain back precious workspace by turning a simple picture ledge into a charging dock. Use a drill fitted with a 3/4" bit to make holes in the bottom of the shelf, then hang it on the wall above your desk. Thread your charging cords through the holes so you can plug in devices quickly.
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Use the walls.
Hang canvas bins from sturdy hooks, either in a row or grid pattern, to free up space the floor. You can use them to corral board games, books, magazines, and other items inside. Select a style with a soft color or patterns, and these catchalls become wall decor, too.
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Create an organization station in a kitchen cabinet.
Turn the inside of a cabinet door into an undercover organization station that stores important info like the WiFi password, memos, and coupons. Create your own memo board by trimming chalkboard vinyl to size and position at eye level.
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Put everything in its place.
Assign specific living quarters to everything you own, and enlist baskets, trays, crates, and hooks to help. If it doesn't have a home, it doesn't stay in the house.
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Set up an outbox.
Create a designated spot for outgoing items (packages, store returns, and more) to prevent them for crowding the tabletop and floor.
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Think about your daily routine.
Put things where they work for you: vitamins by the juice glasses, coats in the garage, and key hooks by the door.
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Keep a tray on your coffee table.
A small, open tray on the coffee table keeps remote controls from slipping between sofa cushions, says professional organizer Kathy Waddill, author of The Organizing Sourcebook: Nine Strategies for Simplifying Your Life.
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Get rid of CD and DVD cases.
Say goodbye to CD stands and move all your discs to a storage wallet. Better yet, import songs into your iTunes library and commit to only buying digital moving forward. You can also convert home videos with a mail-away service like imemories.com.
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Put a trash can in every room.
Keep a wastebasket in every room of your house so there's always a place to toss trash, suggests Waddill.
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Stick to a cleaning routine.
To stay on track (and make cleaning feel less overwhelming), jot your routine down on index cards — organized by daily, weekly, and monthly to-dos — and post them on a bulletin board, says Debbie Williams, founder of organizedtimes.com.
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Get rid of things you never wear.
Whenever you run across anything stained, ripped, the wrong size, or never worn, immediately toss it in the trash or a charity box.
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Organize cleaning supplies in a caddy.
Use a plastic caddy, not valuable shelf space, to store cleaning supplies. Keep it on the broom closet floor (locked, if you have small children) and tote it from room to room.
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Keep clean sheets near the bed.
Store sheet sets in the same room as the bed, between the mattress and box spring, or tucked into an under-the-bed box.
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Keep extra blankets nearby, but hidden.
Keep a cedar chest or a lightweight wicker basket at the foot of your bed to store blankets and extra pillows in a cute, organized fashion.
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Keep a dustpan in every bathroom.
Tuck a whisk broom and dustpan under the sink in each bathroom for an easy daily dust-up.
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Remember to stock up on toilet paper.
Put different-colored toilet paper behind your stash of regular rolls. When the colored one ends up on the spool, you know it's time to buy more.
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Cut down on paper towel use.
Put that box of old rags and T-shirts to good use and put them next to your cleaning products for easy access.
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Organize your bathroom reading.
Just accept it: Place a small basket for magazines and books next to the toilet.
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Empower your kids to get organized.
Give kids their own alarm clocks and post morning checklists of things they need to get done before heading off to school. It'll teach them responsibility and you'll have less stuff to organize yourself.
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Make it easy for kids to make their own breakfasts.
Move kids' cereal boxes, bowls, and cups to an "I can reach it!" lower cabinet. You can also put juice boxes, milk, and other snacks in an accessible place in the refrigerator.
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Put shoe baskets or shelves around the house.
Leave a cute shoe basket or shelf by the front door (or the kids' bedroom doors) to avoid those excruciatingly long searches through the house.
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Use two-compartment hampers.
Have a two-compartment hamper in the bedrooms so everyone can sort lights from darks as they undress.
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Mark storage boxes.
When switching between kids' summer and winter clothes, mark boxes with the date and sizes so you don't have to paw through them to know if they'll fit.
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Install hanging shelves.
No room for a dresser? One or two sets of plastic or canvas hanging shelves in the closet make choosing clothes much easier.
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Get an outdoor toy storage box.
Leave a weatherproof, bench-style storage box outside for the kids' outdoor toys.
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Keep toy spillover in lidded baskets.
Keep some toys undercover in the living room with decorative, lidded baskets.
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Use a mesh laundry bag for ball storage.
Gather all balls and sports equipment into a large, mesh drawstring bag.
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Keep kids' toys and books in baskets.
Stand kids' paperback books in rectangular plastic or wicker baskets so they're easy to sift through.
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Preserve kids' artwork with photos.
Photograph your child's 3-D creations and save the pictures instead, suggests Stacy DeBroff, author of The Mom Book.
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Streamline grocery shopping.
Post several weekly dinner menus on the fridge and alternate among them for easier grocery shopping and meal planning.
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Donate cookbooks.
Don't keep space-hogging cookbooks. Photocopy favorite recipes and slip them into plastic sheet protectors inside a binder, find the recipes online and pin them to your Pinterest board, or save them to a digital cookbook on your Google Home Hub.
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Organize (or toss) your takeout menus.
Tape an envelope for pizza and other takeout food coupons inside the cabinet door nearest the phone. Or photograph your favorite menus and keep them on your phone.
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Keep your kitchen supplies in a flower pot.
Use a mini flower pot with a drip tray near the sink to stash sponges, steel wool, and food scrapers.
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Keep canisters on a slide-out cabinet shelf.
Put countertop flour and sugar canisters on a lower slide-out cabinet shelf. You could even use a sturdy baking sheet or plastic tray as a makeshift slide-out.
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Make your cabinet space work harder.
Double cabinet space with two-tiered turntables.
RELATED: 15 Cabinet Organizers Under $20
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Skip the round food storage containers.
Trade round food storage containers for more efficient, stackable square and rectangular ones, says DeBroff.
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Borrow special-use kitchen appliances.
To free up kitchen space, borrow — don't buy — things you rarely use such as juicers, waffle irons, melon ballers and rolling pins. Already have them? Sell 'em.
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Consider a second freezer for your garage.
A second freezer offers more storage, plus it makes you walk farther for the ice cream.
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Make a morning checklist.
The kids aren't the only ones who forget things when they're in a rush, so jot down your own list of to-dos that need to get done before work.
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In fact, keep lots of checklists.
Create other essential checklists: what goes in your gym bag, what joint-custody kids need to take back and forth between houses, what to pack for trips, information for babysitters, etc. Keep them on your computer for updating and print copies that you can put in a folder near the phone.
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Set your calendar for the year.
Set your computer or phone calendar's alarm for the week before dates you need to remember, whether it's an anniversary, birthday, or the day you need to change the furnace filter. That way you have plenty of time to make appointments and buy what you need.
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Get organized for the year ahead.
Organize future events with a monthly accordion file. Put birthday cards, directions to a baby shower, a note to check on furniture deliveries, even vacation brochures in the appropriate months.
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Stay on time.
Put a clock in every single bathroom. It'll help, trust us.
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Have a backup plan.
Always have backups: a spare set of car/house keys, a second deodorant, and another way to get kids to school.
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Make all your hair appointments for the year at once.
Make a standing hair appointment, so you don't have to keep bumping it down on your to-do list.
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Plan ahead for date night.
Designate every Friday or Saturday as date night with your partner, and book a sitter for several weekends at a time.
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Put reminders around the house.
Don't assume he'll keep those Honey-Do projects in his head. Post them on the bathroom mirror. (Bonus points if you add a cute drawing or love note.)
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Keep a list of family activity ideas.
Keep a wish list of fun activities on hand, so you don't waste precious weekend time figuring out what to do.
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Keep all your important info in one binder.
File copies of important documents (birth certificates, car title, passports, proof of immunizations, insurance information, etc.) in a three-ring binder with zippered plastic pockets. If disaster strikes, you can grab it and go.
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Sort important contact info by category.
Add address book pages sorted by category: kids' friends, gourmet food club, tennis friends, etc., DeBroff suggests.
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Keep bedside essentials in your nightstand.
Stock your nightstand drawer with pencils, notepads, and a flashlight for easy access.
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Keep bedside books organized.
Corral an unwieldy bedroom reading pile with a small bookshelf next to your nightstand so you can read all night long.
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Plan tomorrow's outfit the night before.
Allow only one outfit — tomorrow's — on the hook outside your closet door.
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Get that closet organizing system you've always wanted.
Go on and buy that closet organizer instead of just dreaming about it. It'll be well worth it.
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Figure out which clothes you never wear.
Start each season by arranging clothes hangers so the hooks face out toward the room, says Kim Cosentino, owner of De-Clutter Box, Inc. in Westmont, Illinois. When you wear something, turn the hanger the other way. At the end of the season, get rid of anything that hasn't been turned.
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Rotate out seasonal clothes.
Vacuum-sealed storage bags are about to be your new best friend.
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Get slip-on shelf dividers.
Free up drawer space by stacking jeans, sweaters, and gym clothes on closet shelves. Slip-on shelf dividers keep them from falling over.
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Keep a step stool near your closet.
Keep a foldable step stool in or next to your closet so you can get to those hard-to-reach shelves.
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Keep stacking bins in your closet.
To free up your dresser, put stacking bins inside your closet for socks, underpants, and bras.
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Make an accessory ladder.
Bring order to scarves and belts with an "accessory ladder." Set up a chain of shower curtain rings — one for each item — trailing down from the top of a hanger, says Donna Smallin, author of Organizing Plain and Simple. Clip purses to a second ladder.
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Organize your ponytail holders.
Keep ponytail holders on shower curtain rings or stash them in a bathroom vanity canister.
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Organize jewelry.
Hang a flat jewelry organizer with transparent pockets inside your closet door.
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Get rid of makeup you don't use.
Pare down your cosmetics so that it all fits in one portable bag.
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Keep your bath supplies in a single caddy.
Make a Just for Me pampering kit so lotions, scented candles, nail polish, etc., aren't scattered across various rooms.
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End key confusion.
Make decorative keys that clearly stand out from one another. Example: you could use stars-and-stripes for the house, flowers for the garden shed, and a psychedelic pattern for your office at work.
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Make multiple key sets.
Removable key rings let you leave work keys at home on weekends, the car key with the valet, and the house key with your pet sitter.
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Get organizing pockets for your car.
Line car-door map compartments with shallow, narrow organizing pockets to keep pens, notepads, and hand lotion from sliding around.
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Clip reminder notes to your purse.
If the Reminders app on your phone just doesn't cut it, use a clothespin to clip to your purse strap those "Can't Forget" notes: Get allergy shot. Pick up kids early. Tell mechanic about squeaking brakes.
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Keep physical errand reminders in the car.
To avoid "senior moments" with the dry cleaning, library books, or packages to mail, put outgoing items on the passenger seat of your car, not on the kitchen counter.
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Keep a pen in the car.
Kooky pens with feather tops or fuzzy animal heads are easier to find in the car.
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Keep a Swiss Army knife in the car.
Get a key chain-size Swiss Army knife to keep on hand for emergencies.
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Make use of your glove compartment.
Stock your glove compartment with napkins, a nail file, car registration, tire gauge, a first-aid kit, and a roll of quarters.
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Stow manuals in the pocket behind the front seat.
Free up that precious glove compartment space by stowing owner's manuals in the passenger seat's back pocket.
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Keep a just-in-case box in the trunk.
Create a "just in case" box for the car trunk: umbrella, cheap rain ponchos, scissors, a big black marker, tape, paper towels, plastic bags, extra kids' socks, a one-size-fits-all T-shirt, a sweatshirt, and a pair of sweatpants for adults, another for kids.
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Keep a charity box in the trunk.
Keep that box of stuff you're donating to charity in your trunk, not your closet. When it's full, drop it off.
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Keep an emergency kit at your office.
Keep an extra pair of glasses, contact lenses, pantyhose, and other emergency gear in your desk.
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Sort your work day by activity.
Sort your day by activity, not project. Check the stack of phone messages only twice a day. Tackle the correspondence pile right after lunch, and head to the printer just once.
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Use an actual datebook.
Use your datebook to keep projects on track, and block out times to tackle each bite-size segment so you don't overbook yourself.
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Get rid of non-essentials cluttering your desk.
Rule of thumb: if you don't need it every day, get it off your desk.
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Get through your to-do pile faster.
Don't just shift remaining papers around your desk. Flip the stack — oldest papers now on top — for a fresh perspective and quicker action, DeBroff suggests.
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Streamline files.
Tame the file frenzy with broader file names, such as one for "Employees" rather than two for "Personnel" and "Evaluations," Waddill recommends.
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Use a binder for projects with lots of paperwork.
When you have a project with a lot of paperwork, stay organized by using a three-ring binder instead of flimsy file folders. List everyone involved and their contact information on the first page.
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Use file folders for smaller projects.
To organize smaller projects, write contact details on the front of the file folder.
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Store old project files.
Move finished project folders from your office into storage. Don't wait, do it right away so stuff doesn't pile up.
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Cut down on credit cards.
One credit card per grownup, period. Having one card allows you to stay organized and keep track of your bank statements and spending habits.
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Create a "receipt depot."
Keep a folder near the door that everyone can drop receipts into as they come home. At the end of the week, organize it into a long-term folder as needed.
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Prepare for computer fails.
The only way to ensure that your data stays protected is to back it up. Use an external hard drive and a service like carbonite.com, which automatically copies files.
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Stick to a budget.
Then you'll never have trouble covering those unexpected expenses again. Try a budgeting app, like Mint, to help you stay on track.
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Stay on top of your bills.
Slip incoming bills, a pen, and a thin calculator into a three-ring binder's inside pockets. Make a list of all your usual bills and expenses, and print out a fresh copy each month for your binder. Then mark the bills off monthly as you pay them. If a creditor isn't crossed off, call for a duplicate statement to avoid late fees.
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Don't forget about automatic withdrawals.
Make sure your list includes automatic withdrawals for utilities and bills you pay online, so you don't accidentally pay a bill twice or lose track of how much money is being taken out of your account.
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Ask creditors to shift your due dates.
Creditors will shift your payment due dates so that you can lump them all together, or split them between the two pay periods of each month. Oh, and make sure to shred your statements, don't just toss them in the trash.
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Keep a screwdriver in the kitchen.
Keep a flathead screwdriver in a kitchen drawer to avoid an annoying trek to the toolbox.
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Affix baby food jar lids to the bottom of your workroom shelf.
Sort nails, screws, and bolts into the baby food jars, and twist them onto the lids.
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Get rid of expired beauty products, medicine, and coupons twice a year.
When you adjust your clocks each spring and fall, also weed out expired medicine, sunscreen, food, coupons, and smoke detector batteries.
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Use your walls for storage.
Hang a spray-painted Peg-Board for tools, coats, baseball caps; use wall hooks for blow dryers.
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Store all car wash products in a bucket in the garage.
Now you can just grab and go when it's time to clean the car.
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Keep your car trash-free.
Keep a large, sturdy garbage can on wheels next to your car so you can easily toss candy wrappers and other trash, Waddill suggests.
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Make lawn equipment easily accessible.
Shift your tools the same way you shift your clothes: in the winter, put the snow shovel in front and the rake in the back.
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Borrow gardening supplies.
Save space on rarely-used equipment by coordinating a borrowing system: You'll have the fertilizer spreader, one neighbor will have the extension ladder, another will have a chainsaw, etc.
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Install a hook above the kitchen sink.
Place just-watered hanging plants on hooks over the sink, so they can drip without making a mess.
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100+ organization tips and tricks that'll make life a whole lot easier.