The question was recently asked to Real Simple Magazine readers “How do you get out of the house on time?” I loved Monica’s answer (to the left). Make sure you have a system for things that need to leave the house (or office) so that you don’t forget items when you need them.
Someone recently asked a few professional organizers to help her get her family out the door in 5 minutes or less in the morning. The overwhelming response was to have realistic expectations of how long it takes to get things ready and leave the house. Set realistic goals, create the system, practice the routine and you will make it happen.
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1. Do it—what are you waiting for? Don’t just open, read and close. Actually take action on the email.
Donations are a great way to clear your clutter while being able to give help to someone in need. This is a great time of year to clean out your pantry. Toss anything that is expired. Anything that is still good, but you know you won’t eat– donate to your local food bank. When putting things back in your pantry be sure to put them back in categories (fruits, veggies, snacks, cereals, etc.) You may also want to label the shelves in the pantry so that everyone in your home can help keep things neat and tidy. If your pantry is organized, you will spend less money on food purchases
Have you ever burned up a home shredder from hours and hours of use? There are many secure, reliable, inexpensive professional shredding companies.
According to Coinstar the average home has $90 in loose change… just lying around. My challenge to you is to find at least $10. Check your sofa, dresser tops, junk drawers, laundry room, kids room, desk, anywhere you might toss change. If you find a lot, go to a local grocery store and cash it in at a Coinstar machine– you can get cash back or receive it in the form of gift cards. If you email me how much you found I will post the highest ‘finder’ in my next tip! 
Do you struggle with hoarding? Do you know someone who does? There is a great show on the A&E channel called “Hoarders”. It profiles the struggles and successes of the ultimate clutter situation. Each client is paired with a therapist and Professional Organizer. Check your local listings (it airs on Monday nights) or visit: 
Recipes can come in many different sizes– you can print them off the internet, tear them out of a magazine, use recipe cards or simply write them on scratch paper. That is why this new product called Recipe Relish is great. It is a vinyl binder that has index cards, but can hold any size recipe. It is durable, washable and when you use it has a easel feature to prop your recipes up. It closes nicely to fit right along your cookbooks. If you don’t want to purchase this product, consider using a photo album or binder with sheet protectors. Take the time now to organize your recipes and you will save a lot of time later when it comes to cooking and shopping. 
The reason many people keep things is because they are afraid they will forget therefore using them as reminders. The tips below will help you to be able to ‘download your brain’ so that you know you have a system and safe place to keep things you need to know.
I know many people are very visual. I also know that many of my clients don’t know what to do with the business cards they get and need to follow up on. I usually recommend a card scanner (