Organize Your Life, Part 2
9. Carry a colorful wallet.
It's harder to misplace a red wallet than an ordinary black or brown one. The same goes for your checkbook.
10. Buy experiences, not objects.
There's nothing wrong with a little "retail therapy" to reward yourself for your accomplishments. But think twice before buying some new object (which may become just another bit of clutter in your home). Instead, use your money to buy a pleasant experience, such as a massage or a night out with friends.
CLUTTER CONTROL
11. Stop agonizing over insignificant items.
What to do with greeting cards you've received, batteries of dubious power, unidentified CDs and cassette tapes, orphaned screws, and so on? Toss them into a "ripening drawer." Once the drawer is full, quickly sort through it. Use what you can, and discard the rest. Then start the process anew.
12. Get a "clutter companion."
This is a (nonjudgmental) friend or family member who will help you get rid of all the stuff that's cluttering up your house. A few times a year, you and your companion should sort your clutter into four piles: "keep," "toss," "donate," and "age." Discard the "toss" items at once - before you have a chance to change your mind. Place "donate" items in heavy-duty garbage bags, and drive them to the nearest donation bin. Place "age" items in a cardboard box marked with a date three months hence. In your calendar, mark the same date as the time to "review age items." When that date rolls around, give those items another look. If you feel comfortable discarding them, do so. If not, renew the date for another three months.
13. Fight financial-statement overload.
Do you really need to keep monthly account statements? Ask your accountant if you can get by with keeping only quarterly or annual statements - and toss the rest.
14. Don't let unread magazines pile up.
If the next issue arrives before you've read the last one, place the last one in a small basket (measuring no more than six inches high and two magazine-widths across). Once the basket fills up, sift through the magazines. Read what you can, and discard or recycle the rest. (You might drop off the best magazines at a hospital or women's shelter.)
If you are habitually unable to keep up with the issues of a particular magazine, cancel the subscription.
YOUR DAILY ROUTINE
15. Make use of "wasted" minutes.
Don't wait to find long blocks of uninterrupted time to tackle organizational chores. In one minute, you can sort mail, remove lint from the dryer, or water the plants. In five minutes, you can empty the dishwasher or write an e-mail. While you wait for your laundry to dry, you can mate socks and gather clothes for dry cleaning.
16. Create a "launch pad" near the front door.
This is the place to stash things that family members need each time they leave the house - umbrellas, school backpacks, briefcases, pocketbooks, keys, scarves, and so on. The launch pad might have cubbies, pegs, hooks, containers - anything that makes it easy to find and grab things as you head out the door.
