Anyone who has worked with me knows what a fan I am of Julie Morgenstern.  If you want to read the best books on organizing, start with her classic “Organizing From the Inside Out.” It begins with a story about her “day of reckoning” when she and her baby daughter missed out on a beautiful day because she was (then) so disorganized.  I know from working with work-at-home moms that there always seems to be a nagging feeling of missing out, because of the tremendous challenge of keeping it all together.   I think there is no greater authority on the subject than Julie.  What follows is a great article she wrote for Redbook, another time-honored authority for organizing advice.

Julie Morgenstern is an organization and time-management expert, business productivity consultant, and New York Times best-selling author of five books, including Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life.

Michelle Forsythe, 37, a senior strategic sales specialist for FedEx and a mother of two, was thrilled when her supervisor okayed her request to work from home three days a week. What she didn’t account for was the tough time she’d have creating an organized work space for those at-home days. Her Byhalia, MS, home doesn’t have a spare room for an office, so Michelle writes sales proposals, takes conference calls, and supervises 1-year-old Rex and 3-year-old Reagan from a table in a corner of the kitchen. That “desk” became home to her kids’ toys, sippy cups, craft projects, library books, and her magazines. And as the clutter builds up, so does her stress.

Michelle and I both recognized that her frustrations weren’t limited to the physical state of the desk: As a working mom, she’s juggling a lot — and it’s wearing her down. For this organizational makeover, we’ll first find a way to tackle the mess on her desk, then we’ll create a system to make her working-mom life work for her.

Clearing the clutter

The first question I asked Michelle was what she felt the clutter on the desk was costing her. Immediately, she mentioned time; the last thing she needs when she’s trying to get herself and her kids out the door is to be slowed down by a frantic search for a file folder. Then, as we began to discuss the mess further, it became clear that the chaotic state of her desk was also robbing Michelle of her ability to focus — and chipping away at her emotional well-being. In the rush to pack up and get out the door on the days she heads to the office, she would occasionally hear herself snap at her children, starting the day off on the wrong foot for everyone.

To begin Michelle’s desk makeover, we needed to find a home for all those items that haphazardly land there. They seemed to fall into four basic categories: work-related materials, magazines, errands (mail, library books), and odds and ends, like her kids’ toys and drawings.

First, we’d focus on all the non-work-related items that have invaded her desk space — like the decorating ideas and recipes she’s clipped from magazines. We agreed that she would buy two three-ring binders: one for decorating, one for recipes. She can file and store the articles in the binders, then recycle the magazines. Library books, mail, and purchases to be returned can be stored near the door in a tote bag designated as the official “errand tote,” ready to go whenever Michelle or her husband leaves the house.

Michelle’s desk doesn’t have storage space, so I suggested that she purchase a small cart with drawers to place near her work area. Most of them should house her office supplies, with one set aside as a “belongs elsewhere” or “delivery” drawer. The reason: Michelle may not have time in the moment to place a toy back in her son’s room or decide where to put a project from day care, so this spot can serve as a temporary holding pen for these items. Note: A delivery drawer is not a junk drawer; it’s a way station of sorts for odds and ends. Once a week, Michelle can find 10 minutes in her schedule to put everything back where it belongs. This system will ensure that the desktop will always be clear for Michelle when she needs to work.

Easing the morning madness

To streamline her days and eliminate any frenzied What do I have to do today? moments, Michelle needs to consolidate her to-do list. Part of the reason her life feels overwhelming is that she uses so many tools as reminders: She has a paper page-a-week planner, to-do lists on scraps of paper, plus a stack of to-be-returned library books. These so-called visual reminders aren’t effective; as things pile up, Michelle will notice only what’s on top of the stack. What she needs is a single, consistent planner in which she can jot down all her professional and personal to-do’s — and one that, unlike her current system, won’t add to the clutter on her desk. Because Michelle prefers writing things down on paper (as opposed to using an online calendar), we determined that a two-page-per-day planner — which is big enough for her to write her to-do list, her to-call list, and any notes or thoughts that may come up for the day — would work best for her.

Because most of Michelle’s work is done via email, she doesn’t have a lot of files or papers to lug back and forth on the days she works at the office; a briefcase has ample room to store her laptop and current files. When it comes to her work papers, Michelle already has a good system in place: Printouts on current accounts are placed in separate blue folders, and papers to be filed are stored in a large accordion folder. I encouraged Michelle to think of her brief-case as her file cabinet, storing folders inside when she’s not working on them instead of leaving them on her desk to pack up during the morning rush. This change is a simple solution that will ensure a folder never gets forgotten in her transition from home to office.

Finally, to make a smooth exit on the days when she drops her sons off at day care and goes to the office, Michelle should think of the house’s main entryway as a landing/launching pad for her family. She can buy inexpensive cubbies and install some hooks so each family member has a spot to store jackets and backpacks for easy retrieval. And to guarantee that nothing is forgotten, I suggested that Michelle create and laminate a checklist of everything she and her sons generally need for the day (diaper bag, formula, cell phone, briefcase), and hang it by the door.

Designing the day

Though Michelle has a mother’s helper for a few hours on the days she works from home (a local homeschooled teen who loves spending time with the kids), she still regularly finds herself scrambling to come up with projects to keep her sons entertained. Currently, she’ll set them up with activities at the dining room table, but often the children become antsy and wander over to Mom’s desk, distracting her from her job.

I asked Michelle what her days would look like if she treated her sons’ daytime schedules with the same type of planning and intensity she brings to her work. She mentioned that she would like the boys to be exposed to music, crafts, reading, and outside play each day. I used the example of a kindergarten classroom schedule (music time at 10, reading at 11) and suggested that Michelle replicate that structure in her home. Each evening before a work-at-home day, Michelle can take just 15 minutes to plan and pull out activities, crafts, CDs, or games, then she can pass the activities and the schedule over to her mother’s helper. Michelle will still be available as needed, but she won’t feel the pressure to scramble on the spot for various activities to occupy the kids. That way, her children can have a rich, structured day while Michelle has the freedom to focus on her job.

To feel on top of her work and home life, Michelle simply needs to reclaim her desk space and incorporate a few simple systems into her daily routine. Once she makes these changes, she should be able to save as much as an hour or two a day — a huge gain for this busy mother of two!

MICHELLE’S REACTION: “I know that when I have a process, I can follow it. But because I didn’t have one, the junk piles — and my frustration level — rose. I love Julie’s suggestion of creating a landing/launching pad by the door, and I’m definitely going to buy a cart of drawers and designate one as a ‘belongs elsewhere’ drawer; I know I can find time once a week to clean it out. Thanks to Julie, I’m confident I can get — and stay — organized.”

Tame Your To-Do’s: 3 Secrets

These get-it-done ideas from efficiency expert Julie Morgenstern will help you feel on top of all your daily tasks.

1. Consolidate your to-do lists. The more random notes you have, the harder it is to plan your day. Choose one effective reminder system, and use that exclusively.

2. Put pen to paper. You don’t have to go digital to get things done. For lots of people, writing things down helps emblazon thoughts in their memory. If that sounds like you, find a planner large enough to fit all your to-do’s.

3. Ditch the paper piles. Instead, file those documents, no matter what their stage of completion, and keep an active to-do list — including exactly what needs to be done with which papers.

Want Julie to help you organize your home, office, time, or priorities? Email redbook@hearst.com (Subject: Organizing) to be considered for an organizational makeover.