3-minute organizing tips

Here are some tasks that you can accomplish in the time it takes to brew your morning tea or coffee:

• Empty the dishwasher
• Clean out a shelf or drawer in the refrigerator
• Sweep the kitchen floor
• Load the dishwasher
• Go through your coupon holder/drawer and weed out expired ones
• Straighten up your junk drawer
• Clean out a shelf in the pantry
• Write out your grocery list, or “to do” list
• Return a phone call/make an appointment
• Read the front page of the newspaper and then recycle it
• Take out the trash
• Refill salt/pepper/olive oil containers
• Call to cancel an unsolicited catalog (click here to see video tip)

Tips for Moving

[featured in the Sacramento Bee,
July 21, 2008]

• Mark boxes for which room they are going to, not where they came from – try color-coding.

• Mark boxes of items that will be used immediately in the new house. Make sure they are loaded last on the truck and unloaded first.

• Reduce children's anxiety by ensuring their new rooms are set up quickly and as similar to their old rooms as possible.

• Give each family member a "personal box" to keep track of items important to them during the move.

• Keep all important paperwork with you during the move.

mover | caretaker | piler | collector | harried parent | estate handler