Three Small Spots to Organize to Keep You Ahead

Do you think about big organizing goals and not so much about the little spaces that need organizing? Here are three small organizing spots that will make your life more organized and productive, and most importantly help your peace of mind.

Your purse, satchel or man bag

What you carry with you should give you peace of mind to know you have what you need when you need it. Often your bag becomes where everything goes without order to it at all.

• Divide your bag into useful categories and use organizing products to keep the categories together.  Use a wallet for money, a zipper case for medicine and makeup, and a glass case to protect your glasses. A small Ziploc can hold your receipts until you trash these or move them to your command center.
• Pare down to essentials in your bag. The less you carry, the less weight on your shoulders. Remember that carrying papers back and forth may not be necessary if you can find that information online.
• If you are carrying important documents or check books just so as not to lose these, purchase a small safe to keep at home and store these documents.

Once week clear out all the debris, paper and other items to keep your bag organized.

Your contacts in your devices

Communication with home and work is key in this new era of work from home and the uncertainty of daily life.

• Sync your contacts across all your devices including your computer so that you can access these from anywhere. Being automated saves you time.
• Determine a consistent approach to entering contacts. That includes entering the contact’s name, the company name, and the work of that business. You can enter multiple data to be sure you can find the information.  An example of that is Ellen Delap, Professional-Organizer.com, professional organizer. Or Professional Organizer, Ellen Delap. Choose the easiest way for you to find what you need.
• Use your device automation to add contacts from email.  It’s the easiest way to add information and it takes just a few minutes.

Spend a few minutes every day entering information as you receive it in email, in text, or from scraps of paper.

Your self care, morning and evening supplies

Getting ready for the day and your night time routine can be much easier when you are organized.  Many times we have too many supplies in these areas to be able to get ready quickly.

• Gather together what you use every morning and evening. You can store these in a caddy under your sink area or attractive tray on your countertop.
• Store loose items like cotton balls and qtips in attractive containers for easy access.
• Have a trash can that is very easy to access.
• Edit ruthlessly. Toss out items that are six months old and unused. Share your partially used items with friends or colleagues.
• Save the deep dive into bathroom organizing for a longer session. Keep everything else off the countertop.

Tidying your stuff daily gives you extra time to get ready and get to bed every day.

Each of these small organizing projects should take 15 minutes or less a day. Keep it simple and get it done.