With so many things around the house, how do you remember what needs to be cleaned? Prior to your designated cleaning day, you should make a list of all the rooms in the house and list all the things that need to be cleaned.

Making a List, and Checking it Twice

If the kitchen needs to shine, list the places specifically on your house cleaning checklist. “Counter, Microwave, Stoves,” should be specific enough areas.  Don’t forget it’s best to clean from the top down. If your house has many rooms, list all the rooms but start with one floor at a time. Efficiency is the key here, and you want to make sure that you move in a logical order through the house. Don’t set your priorities on the bedroom on the second floor and then switch to the living room on the first floor. Once you finish a problem area, cross it off the list.  If you have family members helping, have them each be responsible for a room in the house, and give them their own checklist.

You may want to make your house cleaning checklist on the computer, print it off and then laminate it.  This way, you can use a dry erase marker to stroke things off your list and then wipe it off and reuse it next week.

Make Sure You Have Enough Cleaners!

One of the most annoying things about cleaning is how much running around you have to do to pick up the cleaning sprays and wipes.  Carry a little tote with you, or a bucket, of cleaning supplies. As you move around the house, you’ll have you cleaning tools right beside you. This saves time running around the house. If you have family helping, make sure you have enough cleaning supplies for them as well. Before you know it, your house will be spic-and-span in just a few hours.

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The answer may no longer be in books or folders, since there are so many family members you may want to share them with to keep the recipes alive. Books and paper also fade over time, take up a lot of room and have a tendency to become disorganized.  This is why recipe organizing software may just be the answer you’re looking for – simply download it from the net!

So many Free Recipe Organizer Software Programs – Which is the Best?

Since the programs are free, we can’t expect them to be the full package. However, it will store your recipes for you and that’s what we’re looking for, right?  For example, a popular demo program of a frequently downloading recipe organizer called the “Cook’n’Receipe Organizer” is available here for free download: http://cook-n-recipe-organizer.cooking-recipes-software.qarchive.org/.

It will store all your recipes for you and even tells you what you can make if you enter the ingredients you have on hand which is always handy when you need to clean up the leftovers. Additionally, inputting the recipe and printing it out to share with family and friends is also easy. Simply push the print button and you have the recipe ready to pass out on 3×5” cards. Entertaining guests is also simple as well, with the meal planner. Just enter the number of guests that are coming and the software will do the calculation for you. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

Too Complicated? Try Something Simpler

Here is another free recipe organizer software that is simple and easy to use.  It’s called Regi Dean’s free recipe software and available for download here: http://www.homeplansoftware.com/recipe.htm
This software is a lot more simplistic and stores your recipes for you. It can also export it so you can send it to your friends when you like. It may not calculate your meals for you, or have a meal planner, but it will save your recipes! His website also has many recipes stored as well, if you like them you can download his free software and make them yours.

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Some Essential Items to Help Keep the Office Organized

The most obvious, but still important of all office organization tips would be to make sure that you use a variety of desktop organizers to keep the papers that come your way.  Desktop organizers will help you file the incoming and outgoing work.  This will help when you sort the mail as well. If you have extra organizers, you can also create subcategories if you need them, such as “follow up” or “re-route.”

Another item that you will need is storage boxes.  Things become outdated quickly but you can’t throw them away because they may still be a reference. Get some boxes and label them by date and what is inside the box so you can always find what you put in there when you need it down the road.  Your coworkers will most likely need to do this as well.

Paperwork is the Messiest Thing!

In an office with many people, loose papers are the major annoyance, so here are a few more office organization tips that deal specifically with the clutter of disorganized paperwork.

This can be solved by color coding your folders and filing the papers into each one. Do not stick too many papers into one folder. You may just have to create a second one.  Also, make sure you keep the tabs hanging on the front of the folder, so that you can easily put them in order according to name or date.  If your office has an empty shelf or filing cabinet, gather up these folders and put them in there. Remind yourself, and your coworkers, that if they put thing away when they’re finished using it, they will save time for everyone.

Remember that a clean desk space and an organized office can brighten your day. With these simple tips, you and your coworkers can enjoy a more pleasant office environment!

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There’s no problem with wanting to pay them all at once, however, if you don’t keep track of where you put them, how do you know you have all the bills you need to pay?  This results in several missing bills and possible late fees, which we all know, leads to wasted money.

Some late fees may charge up to $40 a month depending on what it is, and that’s not even considering late credit card fees!  You should avoid giving this money away at all costs. Simple organization of your bills will help you keep track.

Keeping your Bills Looking Attractive and Less Business Like

Bills may not be an attractive thing to look at, but they still need to be paid. When you get your bills, first take them all out of the envelopes.  You will always lose your bills if they are still in the envelope since it’ll get mixed up with junk mail.  Once you have all your bills laid out, paper clip the ones with more than one page.  Put them together according to the most recent payment date, so that urgent bills are always on top.

Next, get an unused napkin holder and put the bills in there.  Find a designated spot to put the bills and always leave them there.  Near the phone is always a good location because you will frequently be in that area.  Make sure it’s at an eye-catching place as well so you’ll always be able to find your bills and know which bill you must pay first.

Remember that when you organize bills you don’t need a fancy solution.  You can pin them up on a post it board or use a paperwork rack that sites beside your home computer.  New bills go on the top, and paid bills on the bottom.

How do I File Bills that I’ve Already Paid?

The last step to organize bills is that after you’ve paid them, you’ll need to file them away somewhere just in case you need them for reference later, like during tax season.

Find an empty drawer around the house and get several folders.  Label the folders with the appropriate month and year, and start putting away all the bills you paid in the correct folder.  If you ever need to check when you paid a bill, you can always come to this drawer, and you also have a history of what has already been paid for so you don’t accidentally pay it twice.

If you want to take your organized bills one step further, you can designate different types of expenses.  Once you have created separate categories for your bills, you can file them by month.  If you are a home business owner this is especially useful, as when it comes tax time you can easily see how much you should be writing off as business expenses.

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Taking Advantage of the Extra Shelf with a Locker Divider

Most locker organizers can be put horizontally right in the middle of your locker. Having a long deep locker gives you no advantage when everything is just piled up on the floor. When you have an extra shelf, you can put your books and notebooks on the top shelf. In addition, now the bottom shelf can be saved for your larger things, such as gyms shoes, a basketball, and your clothes. If your locker is long enough, you can get another locker divider so you have 3 shelves to use.

Other Locker Organizer Supplies

You can also get some magnets that can stick to the inside of your locker. You can hang import notes or schedules up that way. Right when you open your locker, you’ll be able to see what you need to do that day and also check if you have forgotten to do anything.

A Pouch to Put all Your Papers

On the back of your locker door, you can also hang a pouch with several pockets.  You can put pens or rulers, anything that won’t fit anywhere else.  Most importantly, you can put important papers and reports that you need to submit.. With it hanging on the back of your locker, your assignments will be hard to miss, and you won’t have to dig through different folders in your locker to look for them.

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How do I Start the System?

If your garage is already messy, you may first want to get your whole family together to move things out so you can start over – remember that for your garage organization systems to work you will need your family to buy into the idea as well and working together can help start everyone off on the right foot.

After everything is cleared out, make sure the garage is clean. A cluttered garage starts when there is no designated area to put anything.  First, you need to put the things that you don’t need and don’t use into boxes or garbage bags. Don’t forget to label them.

Things that you only use once a year (Christmas decorations, Halloween costumes) should be stored in the farthest places. Since your garage is cleared, this time make sure you use the floor space wisely. Rearrange your garage as you see fit, by putting the items you need the most in the most convenient area. Afterwards, you can sort the rest of your things by priority in the rest of the space.

Giving Your Things a Home

The final step in creating Garage Organization Systems is that once you’ve got your things mainly sorted out, make sure you come up with a few rules and communicate them with your family.  For instance, the tool shelf on the left will always have hammers, nails, hoses, drills, etc. The shelf on the right will carry old photos, toys, and books.  The next shelf will hold only things that may or may not be given away if not used within a year.

Make sure that you label these things correctly so that everyone can follow the rules.  The next time something breaks, you will know to put it in your “discard” area so that you can either fix it or throw it away at a later time.  If your spouse buys some new tools to work on the car, you will know that those go in the tool designated area.  This way, anything new will find a permanent home right away, and you will avoid having to look for these things. If you follow these rules, your garage will be clutter free and easy to navigate!

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How Large and Where Would You Like to Play?

The first step in organizing a golf outing is to determine how many people are going and where they would like to play. After you know the party side, choose the location, and decide when would be a good time; spring, summer, weekend or weekday?

Once you have those decisions made, start asking around who will participate. If some people tend to flake at the last minute, you may want to ask for a commitment first before signing them up.  A good rule of thumb here to protect against no-shows, is that for every 4-some that is ready to go, book them immediately.

Once you have the number of people and the location set, make a call to the golf course and ask them for their availability and packages.  Depending on the size of your group and time of year you may be able to get a discounted rate.

Other Things to Plan For

Sometimes people have a different playing style – this may be especially true if you are golfing with family, and there are a few non-golfers in the group. Make sure you communicate with everyone to find out what their styles are. 4 hours or so for 18 holes is the usual preference; however, depending on the age and the size of the group, you may need to have several opinions.

Additionally, make sure that the amenities for your game will be provided. Beverages and scoring, the type of tees used is all important.  Make sure you ask the golf course their rules and policies.

After this is all done, you’re ready to go as soon as the day arrives.

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Create your Weekly Menu Planner the Week Before

If you know you have a busy week coming up, you may want to put pizza on the menu on those nights that you will stay at the office late.  For all other normal nights, you may want to plan out a balanced diet. Roast Chicken for Monday, Pizza for Tuesday, Chicken and Rice on Wednesday (to use up all the chicken you bought) Roast Beef for Thursday, Battered Fish for Friday, Spagetti for Saturday, and Lasagna for Sunday (again, to make sure all your ingredients are used up).

This way, not only do you know clearly what you and your family will be consuming the week before, but you will also know if all your groceries are used.  This should keep you from wasting any food and money! Once you have that planned out, go to the grocery store and buy what you need. If you have ingredients that may spoil, make sure you buy them later in the week.  Knowing exactly what you’re looking for should mean you’re in and out of the store in just a few minutes, and you’ll also save money by avoiding impulse buys at the grocery store.

Additional Benefits to the Weekly Menu Planner

Don’t forget that having a meal planner each week means you have a great opportunity to keep your meals balanced and healthy.  For those of you who would like to change your eating habits, this is the perfect time to try and incorporate healthier and less greasy or fattening meals. For those of you who would like to lose some weight, maybe incorporating more vegetables throughout the week will do the trick.

A weekly menu planner is the best solution for those of us with messy lives, unhealthy eating habits, and a strong desire for change.

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Naming the Files Correctly

One of the messiest folders for all people will be your photos folder, so let’s look there as a prime example of how to start organizing computer files.  There are so many photos from so many different people and different times that after a year or two, you have no idea when or where that photo was taken.  We can start by creating a main folder, “My Photos.” Afterwards, for each event, create a separate folder. For example, if it’s your Mothers Birthday, remember to create a subfolder within the main folder that is named accordingly.

Keeping the Dates in Order

Just because you name the subfolder correctly, how do you keep track which year or date it was? You should probably put the date first.  For example, a folder named “081210_Moms_Birthday” will tell us that this folder contains pictures from Mom’s Birthday in 2008, on December 10th.  Never use slashes or other symbols in the name, always use the underscore.  This way, no matter what year or what date the event occurred; it will always fall in order in terms of year first, then month, then date.

Just a few rules can help you keep your files organized. Organizing computer files doesn’t need to be hard once you start following a system, so always remember how much time and energy you save from correctly naming your files.  Hopefully this should give you enough incentive to spend a little time to always name them the efficient way!

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Custom closet organizers help you separate your closet space according to what kind of clothes and accessories you have, and most importantly, according to the space.  When you are a person with many shoes, you may need more space for them. Or, if you are a person with many t-shirts, you may prefer more drawers.  The best part about designing a custom solution is that you can tailor it to exactly fit your own needs and lifestyle.

My Spouse also Needs to Use the Closet, How do We Split It?

If you happen to share a closet with your spouse, a custom organizer may be the best choice for you. You can design your closet to split the space depending on each of your specific needs.

Because you are the designer, if your spouse has few shoes and many shirts, you can design it so that the shoes and drawers are on your side and the long spaces to hang the shirts and jackets for your spouse are on the other side.  This way, you won’t be stuck in the situation where your clothes are mixed together.

A custom closet organizer also can have many smaller shelves for purses and other accessories.  You can go to your local hardware depot or even order them online.  It’s worth the investment so that you can save time and stop rummaging through your closet and making things a mess!

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