When all these “to do’s” are spread out everywhere, they look more overwhelming than they need to. My number one suggestion for getting a handle on your life’s task items? Put it all in one place.

• This place can be an electronic gadget or paper. The only exception I make to this rule is if you have an electronic calendar and can have a paper notebook with your task items. Back up your calendar in another location. My calendar is in my phone and synced to my Google account.
• Your shopping lists, volunteer project notes, gardening lists, notes from a recent job hunt should ALL go in this one notebook.
• Cross out items as they get done and recycle pages after all tasks are complete. Don’t bog down your mind with past items. Also, if something hasn’t gotten done in three months, cross it off your list. Chances are that it wasn’t a priority and you don’t need that guilt of the un-done task staring you in the face each time you open this notebook.
• As for aesthetics, this notebook needs to be attractive to you, and please get one of the new cute ones that’s made of 100% post-consumer product and recyclable. It should fit in a bag you regularly use or are otherwise comfortable carrying around.

We’re all busy, but we need to manage life’s tasks. By having everything in one place, it helps evaluate how full your plate really is (or isn’t). Do you need to say no if an acquaintance needs help mopving? Do you need to volunteer more? You can better judge this because your priorities are now in this one place.

Again, it’s all about conquering the little details of life and not letting them rule your life.

1. Throw away any cosmetics, lotions, hair products, hair tools, etc. that you haven’t used in 6 months. (I discovered that I still had a curling iron from when I had long hair…5 years ago. I was a little embarassed!) You shouldn’t store medicines or cosmetics in the bathroom. The humidity and temperature fluctuations wreak havoc on them.
2. Place those items you use every day in an area of the bathroom cabinet/counter that is easy to reach. I have just a couple items on the bathroom countertop and the rest go in the cabinet above the sink. **Here’s an opportunity to really evaluate how many items you use on a daily basis. Do you really need a specialized product for every area of your face or 13 slightly used hair products?
3. Place those items you use once-a-month or so in an easy to reach, yet out of the way location: under the bathroom sink, in a separate container in a closet, hallway closet, you-get-the-idea. Again, evaluate all of your items. Do you need 3 different scents of lotion, 2 salt scrubs, five different kinds of hairbrushes and two straight irons?
4. The best thing you can do while organizing these item is to group items: hair products, body lotions, cleaning supplies, etc. Also organize by height with taller items in the back. The point is to always be able to see what you own so you don’t keep buying more when you don’t really need something or if something spills, you can see it and clean it up.
5. All of the items you no longer use don’t need to go in the trash. Depending on the item, you can give them away to friends or co-workers. Also, be careful about what unwanted items that need to go to a ToxDrop site and not just in the trash, e.g. old bathroom cleaner.
6. As with all cluttered areas, the key is to be honest with yourself about what you actually need, want and use.
7. Make a commitment to yourself to put items back where you got them after each use. You won’t have to worry about what you have out in the bathroom if you have a surprise guest.

I moved a couple of weeks ago and this time I think I have found a process that works for me.

1. I moved all of my stuff to my new home
2. Put most of it away and organized it
3. Finally I went back through and cleared out my unwanted/unneeded items.

I admit this was not the most efficient process. However, it stirred up emotions that I didn’t know I had. By the time I fiddled with everything, I was so irritated at moving things around that I was able to be really honest with myself. I could look at an item of clothing I hadn’t worn in two years and simply Goodwill it. I could let things go that I previously had a sentimental attachment too. I’m not talking about heirloom china here; I’m talking about books from grad school and a music festival pass.

This frustration with this stuff I have hauled from house has allowed me to break through to a new level of simplicity. It has allowed me to truly set up the simplistic home I have been trying for for years. My boyfriend will tell you I still have a lot of stuff, and I do. But I have learned to let go of the sentimenality I attach to useless items. These memories are still with me (my wonderful grad school experience and how much fun I had in Nashville, Tenn.), but I don’t need to haul around all the physical items associated with it. A weight has been lifted. I hope you try it too.

Take 20 minutes this evening to clear up all the confusion contained in one tiny space.

1. Dump the contents out so you can see everything. Oh! Did you find something that you haven’t seen in a really long time? Sweet!
2. Take the items out that belong somewhere else. Go do that now.
3. Group the remaining items by usefulness and common category. Pens and pencils; screwdrivers and other small tools; adhesives; loose change; hair bands; weird things that you have no clue what they are; expired coupons and new strains of penicillin should be thrown out and the draw cleaned thoroughly.
4. Put a piece of the waffled rug pad on the bottom of the drawer so things won’t slide around anymore…deterring mass chaos in the future use of the drawer.
5. Put your small groups in plastic baggies, preferably the ones that seal shut.
6. If needed, purchase a few small bins for the drawer to hold larger items. When purchasing these bins, don’t forget to measure the depth of the drawer and the depth of bin.
7. Ta da! No more 10 minutes searches through the junk drawer.

Obviously containers and coordinating decor are good things, but there are three things I always consider before purchasing a new organizing device or tool. First, do I really need to keep what I’m trying to organize with this new gadget? Second, is this the right place for it? And third, am I trying to split up my life into too many areas?

1. At one point in my life I had more than 100 pens and pencils and wanted to store them somewhere. I had just graduated from grad school and knew I really wouldn’t ever need more than a few writing devices at my home at any given moment. I could have bought something to organize all those pens and pencils. But better yet I could give them to someone who would actually use them. I also had to let go of the idea that I would really never need many more pens or pencils because I will never be in school again as intensely as I was in college and grad school.
2. I find myself sometimes trying to store everything in my house, even though I have a garage. I could organize all of my tools, painting supplies, etc. in a closet in my home. But more realistically I need them once a year (if not less). Instead I organized all of these supplies on an unused shelf in the garage.
3. Sometimes we try to keep everything…just…in…case. We could create a file folder for every aspect of our lives. Instead be more realistic about what you actually need to keep and what you can research later in case you need it. If you can find it on the internet, chances are you don’t need to keep the paper version.

I’m all for some of the cool new organizing toys. However I’d encourage you not to buy more stuff to organize your stuff because you think it will help. You first need to evaluate the three steps above and then decide to organize those materials around you that are truly useful to you.

The easiest way to help clear the clutter is to take time to REALLY look at your stuff. Take 15 minutes each day to focus on one room. Really pay attention to what is in your office space or your bedroom or on your foyer table. Does it need to be moved? Then do it! Right now!

Evaluate if each item needs to be where it is placed. Half the battle to getting organized is getting items where they are functionally helpful so you don’t have to think about them. Hairbrushes shouldn’t be on the kitchen counter. Your purse shouldn’t be on the dining room table. Your month-old pile of recycling shouldn’t still be sitting by the door.

Taking time each day to move things to their proper place will help you get organized. Take another half hour at the beginning and end of each week to go through your piles that are now in their right places. Just create four piles:

• Toss: it no longer has any value to you
• Refer: you need to pass to someone else
• Act: it requires a response
• File: store for future use of 3 months or more

Step one is to take the “toss” pile to the trash/recycling right now. Step two is to call Organize It. I’ll work with you to develop a process that applies to your life and business. You’ll move forward by staying organized. Call me: 317-504-4600.

I have found in my own life lately that I’ve used my stuff to create this image of busyness to other people. I keep all my projects on my desk at my full-time gig and people walk into my office and say, “Wow! You’re busy.” And it’s true…I do a lot of work and have some major projects at work right now. But don’t get me wrong, this organizing guru’s piles are organized.

However, I also use this as a way to keep my mind cluttered too. By looking at all my piles all day long, all I repeat in my head is, “Wow. I’m busy.” This doesn’t free me to do my best work or be as creative as possible.

I saw the above quote from my favorite yoga studio’s e-newsletter, BreathIn Yoga, and it’s inspired me to think about how being organized leads to stillness and movement. A few months ago I cleared off my desk and put projects into binders and created better task lists so I could move through projects faster and more creatively. By being more productive, it’s created in me a sense of excitement and love towards my work again. Which in turn makes me more excited about life in general.

My desk is still. Yet I am moving faster than ever and being more productive than ever. Have you seen the same thing in your life? Where does your mental stillness lead to more physical movement…and love?

Up until last Fall, I wasn’t sure how long to keep old bills, taxes, contracts, medical records, etc. etc. So…at the ripe old age of 28, I had every utility bill, cell phone bill, medical bill, IU tuition payment, credit card statement I had ever paid in my life. That’s a lot of paperwork!

I did some research and found out how long I really needed to keep this stuff and conducted the Great Purge of 2008. Of course I didn’t just throw away this old paperwork; I shredded it.

Based on my research, here’s what I’ve found:

Utility bills, credit card bills, bank statements:  Verify they are correct when you receive them and then shred. Better yet: Sign up for e-bills and pay them online. If you are using one of these to verify residency or apply for a loan, then keep 1-3 months on hand or print as needed.

Check stubs: Keep until the end of the year and verify the accuracy of your W-2.

Tax Returns and accompanying verification docs (1099, etc.): the IRS can audit you for any reason for up to three prior years and keeping these returns for seven is the general rule.

School records: Keep an official copy of your transcript and diploma.

Medical Bills: Keep for seven years if you can claim as a tax deduction. Otherwise, five years.

Insurance Records: Five years past the life of the policy for medical and life insurance; and ten for homeowners.

Keep these items forever: Personal health records, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, birth and death certificates, adoption records, wills and records of paid mortgages.

Ideally these documents should be in a fireproof safe or safe deposit box. By keeping better track of these items, it also helps me (and it will help you), manage my finances better. I have to deal with all of this paperwork or e-bills every month and decide what to keep or shred. And now my file cabinet has a manageable amount of paper in it.

If a company has your info or bill available online, then use it. It’s better for the environment and easier on your sanity than looking at piles of bills and paperwork.

Final tip: For other paperwork: if you look at a piece of paper and think, “I might need it.” But then don’t touch it for 3 months: recycle it or shred it! Just let it go.

“Going green” is all the rage these days, and rightly so. I am implementing alot of steps in my life to be more green and have a smaller carbon footprint. But we can also commit to BEING green and STAYING green by getting a handle on what we currently use and how we use it.

1. Reduce the amount of stuff you purchase and use.

Just think…if you already know what you currently own, you don’t need to go buy more. You can use what you already have. How many times have you searched in vain for some glue for the kids’ homework or for a pair of scissors? You couldn’t find it so you ran out and bought more glue, another pair of scissors, or tomato sauce that you just know you purchased at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago.

Tips for your home: In your pantry, group products together that you tend to cook with together: tomato sauce and pasta; cereal, oatmeal and pop-tarts; soup; white sugar, brown sugar, cake flour and regular flour. Use older items first and put those with the nearest expiration date nearest to you.

Tips for the office: the key is to group supplies together. Keep them on one side of your desk if possible. If you have too many pens, get rid of some of them. Use a three-hole punch, once a year? Give it to someone who could use it and then just borrow it when you need it. By clearing off your desk, you clear your mind to do better work.

2. Reuse

You can’t reuse it if you can’t find it. If you still get those plastic bags from the grocery store, do you place them all in one spot so they are easy to find? You could then reuse them as:

• A liner for small trashcans, the kitty litter box or small diaper pails
• Carry your lunch to work
• Use them to carry anything in the rain (work files, your purse, etc.)
• Packing material (instead of using bubble wrap)

3. Recycle

At home: Setup a distinct spot for all of your recycling, just like you do now for your regular garbage. Get in the habit of rinsing out food containers and putting in recycling right away. If you have to sort your recycling, get bins for all the ways you have to sort your recycling. Don’t sort later…sort it as you throw it away. That way it never becomes overwhelming or stinky.

At the office: Setup bins to recycle aluminum cans, plastics and paper. Make these accessible to your employees.  Depending on the size of your company, encourage employees to ask around for supplies before purchasing new. Order recycled and recyclable products (I just found binders made entirely out of paper product that are recycled and recyclable. The metal rings can then be removed. Environmentally-friendly and organized in one product! I’m in love.) Make recycling as easy as throwing stuff in the regular trash can.

Be green by being organized. By controlling your stuff, you can better choose how to use it, where it comes from and where it goes. We are all becoming better aware of our impact on the planet. And now is the time to get a better handle on the contents of your home and office so you can make greener choices in the future.

Many of us have images of who we want to be when we grow up. Some of us strive for perfection: the perfect parent, the perfect partner, the perfect cook and perfect housekeeper. Others strive to create an atmosphere of creativity for ourselves and others, which can often fly in the face of “being organized”.

There is a balance. Being organized does not mean you’ll suddenly have time to do everything you want to do in life. Being organized does not stifle creativity either. Instead organization helps us be our best selves and focus on our priorities.

I have found that when I am organized, be it in the kitchen, the garage, office space or at my full-time gig, I get more done and I am more creative. I can make routine those things that are routine: paying bills, putting away dishes, fixing the sink, managing a large long-term project.

When I get done with the “admin” part of my life, I can think more clearly about the good stuff. I can design a special event that is truly energizing. I can think more about the task at hand, like writing a blog posting. Because I can find things faster (like a screwdriver) I can get the boring stuff done faster and make more time for the fun stuff. For me that’s getting lost in the city on my bike or rowing out at Eagle Creek or starting a weird craft project. Right now I’m soaking glass jars in hot water to remove the labels for a project tomorrow night.

Don’t let organization or the lack thereof be a hindrance in your life. Get organized in your home, in your life and in your business and have more fun, make more money and spend more time with those you love! That’s what it’s all about.