It’s a new year and I am introducing a slight rebranding for Matt Baier Organizing. Our new tagline is “make life easier.” While the tagline is new, the practice isn’t. From the beginning, our organizing services have been all about how to make your life easier. Here are 10 organizing tips we recommend to make your life easier.

1. Clear your work surface daily

A clear work surface is your number one organizing tool. Why? Because it makes processing easy. So before you go to bed, be sure to clear off your work surface. That way, you have an easy runway to take off on, in the morning.

2. Sort your daily mail DAILY

Mail is the most relentless source of clutter. Divide now, conquer later. This makes it easier to keep your precious surface clear. Never squander your surface on storing mail.

3. Plan your week in 15 minutes

Prioritize the things you need to do every week, but don’t spend too much time on it. Why? Because if you think of it as a big project then it becomes a burden. The more something is a burden the more we tend to avoid it. This is too important a task to avoid, because this is where you convert your priorities into reality. Make planning easier by limiting it to just 15 minutes.

4. Pay bills weekly

I get a lot of pushback on this one, but again the idea is to ease the mental burden. I plan on just 20 minutes a week to pay bills. It’s not something I fear. It’s easy.

5. Singular focus

when getting organized, don’t start filling containers as soon as you start purging items. A singular focus allows you to move faster and makes your next steps easier. For example, start by focusing on just sorting all like items QUICKLY. That makes prioritizing easier. Then focus on JUST prioritizing QUICKLY. That makes finding homes for items easier. That in turn makes it easier to choose the right organizing product to stay organized.

6. Keep a donation depot in the garage

Stuff circulates in to our lives way too easily. You need a competitive plan for it to circulate out too. You’ve got the trash bin and recycling bin, but I also recommend a donation depot.  Keep it at eye level, inches away from the trunk of the car. Now actually getting your donates to a donation center couldn’t be easier.

7. Reveal, don’t conceal

Make it as easy as possible to find things. Choose a container that is clear and give it a label to remove the guess work. And remember, sometimes the easiest container is no container at all.

8. Be kind to your future self

How likely is it that you are going to act on an illegible note? When you scrawl this note, you think you are safe because you have gotten an idea out of your head and onto paper. The problem is, a sloppy message doesn’t inspire action. What does inspire action is a message that is clear, bold, and specific. This is compelling. This is easier to act on because I have been kind to my future self.

9. Dedicate a clear Exit Zone in your home

This spot by your front door is prime real estate for staying organized. I have what we call a “leaving ledge,” but you may have a small table or shelf. Dedicate this spot exclusively to items heading out the door. The less you keep here, the easier you make it to move things out.

10. Circulate

Your circulatory system has a plan for movement in a series of manageable, reliable stages. Your home should too. You may have a place for everything, but you can’t always get everything in its place in one step. You can however move things forward in manageable reliable stages. When you dance to the rhythm of reality it is easier to stay organized.

So that’s ten of my favorite ways to make life easier with organizing. If you’d like to hear more, there are two things you can do. First, be sure to get a copy of my book. It’s called The Circulation Solution: The Ultimate Approach To Lasting Clutter Relief. You can order the paperback version from Amazon or you can download the e-book version for FREE at mattbaier.com. Second, be sure you subscribe to my You Tube Channel for new organizing videos every week.