CTR Organizing Team

We would all love to have an extra hour every day. I know I would! Read on for a few simple ways to save time and give you that extra hour.

#1 – Use the address book method to keep all of your many on-line passwords and log-ins organized and easily accessible. Start fresh with each account as a “new contact” in your book. Accounts like frequent flier miles, banking and loan logins and your multiple email accounts all need organization! Under each account, in the notes section, list the URL, password and username and any other important information. For added security, create a code where only you can decipher your own passwords. Add two numbers or letters to the end of every password. That way your real password is what is in front of the last digits or letters.

#2 – Simplify Your Email Inbox! There are three types of email: 1. Junk mail. 2. Emails that require an immediate response or action. 3. Emails you want to read or are interesting in content (but do not require immediate action).

You know what junk email is, so immediately delete it and then open and read the urgent emails, if you can. Make a “To Read” folder for the emails you find interesting but are not urgent in matter. Use email folders to continue the organization and make it your goal to clear out your inbox at the end of every business day when possible. If you can’t respond fully to an urgent email, make an “Urgent” folder and make it a priority. Delete forwards and don’t feel obligated to read or even open them. If you are interested in reading a certain email forward, but don’t have time at the moment, use that “To Read” folder. Don’t put urgent emails in that folder, better yet, send a personalized response right away and stop responding when an interchange has served its purpose. Diligently go through your “To-Read” folder and clean it out at the end of the work week.

#3 – Make the next two weeks a trial period to schedule your to-do list into your daily calendar. Say there is an item on your To-Do list that requires you to “find a party equipment rental service”. So schedule that task into your week-day schedule: “Wednesday, 11:00am-11:15am, find party equipment rental service”. You’d be surprised to find that many things on your To-Do list will take less than 15 minutes, but make a point to schedule each such item for 15 minutes anyway. This leaves you with about 12 “to do” items scheduled in a 3-hour time block. You will most likely accomplish everything on the list early and will have had time to handle unexpected interruptions, like bad traffic and family issues. As a rule, the time frame in which you allow yourself to complete a task is usually how much time it will take. Give yourself two hours for your To-Do list and you will probably get the list done in two hours. Plan it to take you all day and it will most likely take you all day.

Think back to college when you figured out how to write a 5-page research paper in one night and remember that when you focus on a task and give yourself a deadline, you will get more done in less time. Not only will you complete the task in less time, but you’ll do a better job.

Heidi DeCoux is the publisher of the Life Made Simple E-zine and a professional organizer in Minneapolis specializing in home organization. Heidi energizes her readers’ by simplifying their homes & schedules. For more info, free tips, and to receive her FREE Report: The Fast & Easy Way to Get Organized and Stay Organized Forever, visit ClearSimpleLiving.com.

Kids hate cleaning their rooms and often things end up in piles on the floor. Sometimes the closet becomes a place for dirty laundry and toys that are no longer used can be thrown in. Parents who want to teach their kids about neatness, cleanliness, and taking care of things might want start with teaching them how to use a closet.

Kids love sports and movies and you might be able to make some sort of a themed closet around their favorite player or movie. It won’t cost too much other than some creativity and elbow grease. If you turn your childs’ closet into a fun place, they will like opening it up and be less likely to mess it up. Kids, like adults, treat the things they value with more care and respect. If you can get them to think of their closet as being fun or cool, it might go a long way towards them keeping it cleaner.

You might also try some colorful lighting in your childs closet. Children love lights and the right kind of lights can enhance any room as well as any closet. If you take a look at all the trendy restaurants and nightclubs, you will see that much of the atmosphere that is created is done through lighting. Putting in some interesting lights in your childs closet will get their attention and make them want to open it. The right kind of fun lights will help your child become interested in their closet.

If your child is in a room with a walk in closet you have more options to make a fun space for them to store their things. If you have the money you could splurge for a custom closet that is build by a professional company. The custom closet business is big now and there are many companies that will come to your home and design something just for you. Having them design and install something fun for your child might be a bit expensive but it could be worth it to teach your kid about being neat and respecting their things.

No matter how hard you try, some kids will never learn to be neat. Other children though, are neat and clean naturally and do it without any prompting from their parents. Most kids fall somewhere in between these two extremes and if you take the time to try to build a fun closet for them, it will grab their attention. An interesting closet will help teach them to put their things away and learn how to use a closet.

Please take a look at my website Closet Ideas where you will find many more ideas including some closet lighting ideas.

Shedding off a part of your budget for garage and home renovation is not easy and could be a headache if you think that this is an extra cost to the already ballooning expenses that you have. The great thing is putting some sense o f style in your home and garage space need not be expensive. There are five simple ways to achieve this.

First, you do not necessarily need to build extensions. If you want more space in a particular are of your house, you can convert infrequently used rooms to accommodate stuffs that you do not often use. For instance, if you desire to widen your kitchen space and have an adjacent room you do not use, you can turn that room into storage for your food supplies or kitchen wares. This would give you more space in your existing kitchen area and allows you to move around more comfortably.

Secondly, repairing the whole space when only part of it requires it is not practical. If your kitchen counter looks terrible with the old tiles chipping off, try checking first if you can replace just the worn ones. This would cut the costs as you do not have to buy more tiles to replace the others. Do not worry about it looking odd, it would not be a striking difference as you think it would be.

Thirdly, consider about applying new coat of paint to the area you want to improve. Painting your garage, for instance, can make it appear cleaner and more presentable. There is a wide variation of colours to choose from. Choosing the perfect colour could set a nice mood in the area. It is also something you can do yourself so you can cut on labour costs.

Fourth, add ornaments that you could avail at very cheap costs or even at no costs. For instance, you can plant some herbs and keep a mini kitchen garden. This definitely would add to our kitchen style and the aroma of the herbs will add freshness and great scents to your kitchen ambiance.

Fifthly, clean the space. You will be surprised by how easy it is transform an ugly sight into a visibly pleasing area by just putting a more well-organized structure. A great way to organize things is to group them according to function and making the readily available if you are using them frequently. This would prevent you from searching and disrupting the order when you are searching for in a hurry.

As it is more often considered as an extended part f the house, the garage is often forgotten for regular maintenance. It then can be shocking to look at it after long period of not cleaning it. Cleaning your garage can maximize the space plus, it takes away all the visibly annoying stuffs that you can throw off right into the basket.

Home is very important place for us as it is our constant refuge from the harsh world outside. It is our private space where we hope to feel comfortable after a long day at work. Improving it is definitely a huge investment as it is beneficial for wellness. One can do it for free, low cost or huge costs as it depends on the amount and extent of changes the owner wishes to make.

Wendy Racklave writes for Garage Opener Shop which has details of Craftsman garage door opener 53681, Genie 912 garage door remote and much more.