homeofficeTip #1: Establish a home for everything and stick to it. Just think about it…if you always put your keys in the exact same spot every day or those papers you want were already filed away where they should be or the bills were located in one convenient spot – would you be wasting time looking for them now or paying late fees because you overlooked that bill and its due date?

Tip #2: Label things whenever possible. Things are more likely to find their way back home when everyone knows exactly what goes where and labeling helps with that.

Tip #3: Form the habit of “Now”. Put things away each day. This may take a lot of time and effort in the beginning – but it will make your life so much easier and so much more “clutter-free” in the long run. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, so you will have to be vigilant about putting things back those first 3 weeks, but it will get easier. Once it is a habit, you will see how much better your life is and how nice to have things in their place instead of collecting dust and creating visual “noise”.

Tip #4: Insist the kids put away toys they are finished with before dragging out new ones. This is a practice which should start when they are young, but which can be enforced at any age. Make it a habit. Where possible, shelving is a good idea for storing younger kids’ things. You can label the spot and they will always know where it goes. For “pre-readers” use pictures to help them.

Tip #5: Consistency is the key to making any system work.

Tip #6: Mail. 80% of the mail we receive is unsolicited, junk mail. Open your mail every day by the trash can and/or recycle bin and/or shredder. Don’t keep what you don’t need. Open bills and discard the outer envelope and inserts. Recycle catalogs, magazines and newspapers. Shred credit card solicitations or things with personal information. It takes 5-10 minutes if you keep up with it on a daily basis, but can get so out of control if you don’t!!