Don’t pile it somewhere to do later, don’t throw it in the corner of the office desk. Here are some easy steps to conquer the dreaded mail clutter.

Solution:

1- Try to go to online billing as much as possible. It will reduce the amount of paper and erase the need for filing papers.

2- The golden rule: Get in the habit of getting the mail and opening it daily.

3- Sort the Mail immediately:

-Junk mail goes to shredder or recycle bin right away.

4- Have a folder ready or a box where you can put your bills and other mail with a needed action to take.

I bought a shoes rack that hangs over the door for one of my clients. She hung it over her office door and we labeled each pouch with the name of a bill that needed to be paid. Before, she was known to lose everything, but with this easy and cheap trick she was able to pay her bills on time and to manage her mail easily and effectively.

5- Have a folder or a box for family letters and/or holiday cards with a label to answer, call or email them back.

6-For invitations or special events, use one of the pouches in the shoe holder, or attach them to the family calendar for a more visual reminder. I use the trick of the door hanger so I can easily remember when the event is and where the tickets are. It can be hung anywhere for your convenience (garage, entry way, etc.)

Don’t forget: it’s all about making your life easier by knowing where everything is.  Good luck with the creation of your new mail station!

There are two very important areas in a nursery, the closet and the changing table.

So let’s talk about “The Closet”

The real challenge with newborns is that they grow so fast that it’s difficult to keep the closet from overflowing.  Before baby arrives, sort all gifts that you have received and the clothes you bought by size. My advice is to hang everything that can be hung and use drawers for smaller items.   It’s always easier to visualize what you need when you can see it in front of you.  Use color hangers or tie colored ribbons around hangers to separated sizes.  I hear too often: ” I didn’t even know we had this cute outfit and now it’s too small” .  Use double adjustable rods to expand your closet (especially if you have to share your closet with baby!) Adjustable rods are an easy and inexpensive way to create more space in your closet.  Make good use of all the space in your closet to store everything related to baby. Use baskets and place them on closet shelves to store small items like socks, hats, washclothes or little toys. Have a sealed plastic container with baby  medicine, a thermometer, nail clippers etc… right there available when you need them. Believe me that will save you a lot of time and aggravation when baby is not feeling well.

At the bottom of the closet place a clothes hamper for clothes that are too small. You can also use a extra basket or bin if you preferred.  Label it “To Sort” and then when the time comes you will have everything ready to sort to donate or to put into long-term storage in a vacuum sealed bag.  Here again you will be so happy to have a dedicated space for all the outfits that your baby has outgrown.

Now let’s talk about ” Changing Table”

Use colorful boxes or baskets to store one week’s worth of diapers, not more. The rest should be stored away in the closet. Buy diapers in bulk to save money. Use these same boxes to keep baby lotion and everything you need for changing baby without leaving the room.  Get in the habit of putting some diapers back at the end of the day so you don’t end up without diapers at the worse possible time.

A lot of my clients and friends use the top of a dresser as a changing table, allowing them to plan for the future and also have extra storage.  Have a little bag dispenser attached to the side of the changing table to dispose of dirty diapers right away (no sticky diapers in the nursery!) and have a clothes hamper near the changing table that will allowed you to avoid clutter. If you don’t have space for a clothes hamper just use a cloth bag on the side of the changing table.  Baby clothes should be washed  by themselves for the first few months so having a dedicated hamper for baby will save you a lot of laundry sorting time.

Finally, for toys and books, have a little basket right next to the crib, or even better a cloth bag, to have easy access and to collect them at the end of the day.  Don’t overdo it with toys and books (but that’s another room we have to talk about later!)

Remember that having everything labeled will make it easier to return the items where they belong and will allow other members of the family or friends to help without disturbing your well organized closet.

Organizing your nursery will give you so much satisfaction, is very rewarding and will help you in the long run to save a lot of time and enjoy baby.

A lot of people I meet need my services but CAN’T find the time to set up an appointment so I decided to be more pro-active.

My company offers a new service for those of you just CAN’T get organized, A Well Organized Filing System, we get all your files, organized them for you and send them back to you ready to be put away.

Call me or email me for more information.

Also for those of you, who are traveling and or just CAN’T take care of your mail, we also offer a forwarding system that allowed you to view online all the piece of mail you received. Just let us know what to do with your mail and we deal with it.

So stop thinking about it, just let us help you get organized!

If you are planning on hosting Thanksgiving dinner you should first have an idea of how 

many people are planning to attend and what you would like them to bring. You should prepare a menu and use it to create your shopping list. You may also want to create a to-do list to help you stay on track of everything that needs to be done. I use a color system identifying what I must buy now, what I can buy later and finally what can be bought at the last minute.  The same technique can be used with the to-do list by using  different colors to prioritize what needs to be done. Put the two lists up on 

your refrigerator or somewhere with easy access – you want to see the lists each day to make sure you don’t forget anything.

The Menu 

Creating a menu is a great way to make sure you buy exactly what you need. Once you have created a menu you should purchase some items in advance, items such as canned goods and baking supplies. Many supermarkets will have good deals on flour, sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, etc. if you buy ahead of the holiday season. If you plan on ordering a Turkey then you should get it several weeks in advance and freeze it. Produce such as onions and garlic can be cut and frozen ahead of time. You can also prepare pie crusts and baked biscuits in advance and freeze them as well.

Three days before start defrosting the Turkey 

Couple of day before shop for fresh produce that you may need for the dishes 

One day before make the gravy 

Bake dessert and prep. all the dishes, cut potatoes and let them in the fridge covered 

with enough water for them to not get dark. 

defrost any dishes that you need 

The day of Thanksgiving 

Prepare the dish you could not before, chill beverage 

Prepare the wines and chilled beverage 

•   Preparing the house 

 What to start doing a head, 

1- Clean the house way in advance and have the family help you to keep in clean 

2- Get the decoration out and check if you have enough chairs, table, napkins 

If you want to have paper goods make a list of what you should get 

3- Start collecting container where your invitee can bring home for left over 

4- Clean the fridge and make room in the freezer for the items that are in your menu 

5- Make sure you have all the tools you necessary to prepare your meals 

 Couple of days before 

1-  If you plan on having a formal dinner set the table and cover it with a white clothes 

Otherwise make sure that you have all your china out or the paper goods ready to be 

used. 

2- Plan on some activities if you are having children, so they enjoy thanksgiving with 

some crafts to do.  My favorite is the paper tablecloth that kids can draw on.  Arrange a 

couple of crayons on the table and they will enjoy staying sitting for a longer period of 

time. 

3- Make sure you have camera ready and enough battery 

 The day before 

1- Make sure your guest are coming and call to remind them kindly if they have to bring 

a dish. 

2- Prepare the flower arrangement 

 The day of Thanksgiving 

Give yourself enough time to be ready, have someone to help you with the preparation 

of the dishes and with welcoming your guest. 

Make sure you take an hour to take a good shower and take time to apply make up.  

Don’t stress everything is under control you are well organized! 

If you decided to have a Thanksgiving Potluck make circulated a list of the items that 

you wishes people brings according to the menu that you have decided upon. Don’t let 

people just brings whatever otherwise you end up with a chaotic thanksgiving. 

Remind kindly your guest a couple of days before what they are supposed to bring.