Organizing Lessons From Your Bathroom
It’s very rare that Read More
Keep the Ball in Play
Keep the Ball in Read More
The ABC’s of Storage
Here’s a multiple choice Read More
Organizing Your Living Room With Purpose
The biggest challenge with organizing a living room is to get clear Read More
Bungle in the Bundle
Bungle in the Bundle
There Read More
17 Minute File Diet
A couple weeks ago in my May Tip of the Month I recommended transferring your old taxes, old statements, and old tax supporting material from your file cabinet to a more remote location. I said that it should only take 15-20 minutes if you had a user-friendly file system set up. This weekend, I followed my own advise and I’m happy to report that I clocked in at just under 17 minutes.
What’s Your Clutter Trap?
What’s Your Clutter Trap?
Any Read More
Hazardous Clutter
I’ve been organizing a Read More
May Tip of the Month
The most important annual organizing habit is to PURGE YOUR FILE CABINET AFTER TAX SEASON. You’ve accessed all the tax-supporting material you need for 2009 and yes, you will still want to keep it, but there’s no reason it needs to occupy the valuable real estate of your desk file drawer. Last year’s statements fall under what I call Sleeping Files, files you are keeping just-in-case. I recommend transferring these to 2 inch file jackets inside remote file cabinets or banker boxes (or plastic file boxes in a damp basement).
The End of the Mail Trail
When does mail stop being mail? The second it comes out of your mailbox. That stuff piled up on your dining table is not mail. It’s bills to pay, solicitations to toss, statements to file, magazines to read, and material to review. Each envelope contains paper that requires action. Because those actions are hidden inside those envelopes, one fears the worst, but expose them to the light of day and you realize that your necessary actions are either a. easy or b. unnecessary (for now).
April 2010, The Mattmobile
The “Mattmobile” gets outfitted with company magnets fromRead More
Tickle Your Memory
Ever wonder what a “tickler file” is? It’s a collection of 43 labeled folders, 31 days and 12 months, that helps you organize time-sensitive documents. It has been around in various formats since the early 20th century, but has probably been most notably covered in David Allen’s 2001 classic, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity. To me the most valuable message from Allen’s book was,
