This weekend I am giving a seminar on paper management at the Newtown Hadassah Career Women’s Network brunch in Newtown, PA. I thought this would be a good time to pass along some Quick Tips for A Better Space relating to the topic of reducing your junk mail.  

Do you have piles of mail that you can never seem to get through on a daily basis?

These are some secrets you can use to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive in your mail box on a daily basis:

One of the ways to get through it quicker and more efficiently, is to have less coming into your mailbox in the first place!

First, ask to be removed from mailing lists. Write to Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735. Be sure to provide your name, street address and zip code. Request that they instruct their members to remove you from their mailing lists. Once you write, you'll remain on the opt-out list for 5 years, at which time you'll have to write again. The Direct Marketing Association estimates that listing with their mail preference service will stop 75% of all national mailings. You should notice a reduction of your junk mail within 6 months.

Second, ask for privacy. Every time you provide your name and address to receive a product, magazine or service, there's an excellent chance you're being added to one or more mailing lists. Whenever you have to give your contact information to anyone, always request that your information is not to be shared or sold. Most reputable companies will respect your privacy.

Third, watch out for the phone book. If you're listed in the phone book, your contact information for all practical purposes is public record. Consider an unlisted number. Or, at minimum, request that the phone company publish just your name and phone number, and exclude your address.

Fourth, return to sender. When you receive mail that is clearly junk mail that you don't want, write to the companies and ask to be removed from their mailing lists. Most will comply, as it's expensive to keep mailing to you if you're never going to buy. Envelopes with "Address Correction Requested" or "Return Postage Guaranteed" can be returned unopened by writing "Refused-- Return to Sender" on the envelope. The company will have to pay the return postage.

Fifth, don't register your new product such as electronics and major appliances.  Avoid sending in product registration cards, unless there's a good chance the product may be recalled on a safety issue. In most cases, when you register a product you purchased, the information you provide is used for direct mail purposes.

Sixth, contact your credit card company. They probably sell your name and address more often than any other company you deal with. Call and tell them that you don't want them sharing or selling your contact information with anyone. You can also call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. Your request will be matched up with the credit bureau’s records. Visit www.optout.com for more information.

Seventh, you can request that a company stop sending you catalogs that you are not interested in. A quick way is to go on line to a brand new site called Catalog Choice. Just visit www.catalogchoice.org. It was recently featured on the Today Show and it’s free! Just select the catalogs you no longer want delivered to your home. If the ones you are interested in stopping are not listed, you can suggest others. It will take approximately 10 weeks for it to take effect, so be patient.

Eighth, avoid contests, sweepstakes or sign up for free or trial offers. Anytime you fill out an entry form to win something or get something for free, your name and address are likely being sold to other companies, which will result in unwanted mail.

These quick tips will result in a noticeable reduction in the amount of junk mail that comes through the door. At the same time, you will be helping to save the environment by reducing the amount of mail that is sent out! It’s a win, win situation!

For more information and assistance on this topic or any organizing issue you might have, feel free to contact me. I will be more than happy to help you reach your goals for organization and make your place A Better Space.

This past week I was asked by a current client of mine to help get her relatively new blended family better organized around the house. Anyone who has a blended family knows how difficult this can be.

So I put on my "Super Nanny" hat and went to her home and conducted a family meeting to get everyone involved and provide the parents with some guideline to use in setting up a Weekly Responsibility Chart, not only for their five children but the parents as well. We discussed how to create a Reward Chart so the children would be able to see on a weekly basis how they are progressing towards their rewards. We decided that both charts would be prominently displayed in a corner of their kitchen. The goal here is to create an atmosphere where the entire family functions as a unit.

The parents will now get together with each child one-on-one and together they will discuss which chores they will be responsible for on a weekly basis and how the reward system will work. The parents will also have their responsibilities listed on the chart. It is important for the children to see that the parents have responsibilities as well and what they are.

While there are thousands of tips that families can use to get and stay organized, here are some Quick Tips for A Better Space that any family can use to get started on the right path:

1. Hold Family Meetings

One of the best ways to keep the communication flowing with your immediate family members is to hold weekly family meetings. Set aside one day each week to sit around the table with everyone to discuss upcoming plans, fill in the family calendar, review upcoming family vacations, decide on weekly meals, address school issues, etc. Make this mandatory, even if your kids sigh at the thought. Keep it positive. Try to keep the meeting under 30 minutes.

2. Give Everyone Things To Do

The household chores and errands should never fall on one single household member's shoulders.  Most often they fall on Mom. Make a list of everything that needs to be done each week. Then assign tasks among all of the family members. And remember, even toddlers can help in one way or another. The responsibilities assigned should be age appropriate. It's best to teach family responsibilities from a young age.

3. Get On The Same Page With Your Spouse

Children need consistency. If you're always telling your kids to pick up after themselves, and your spouse lets things slide and either picks up after the kids or doesn’t even pick up after themselves, then your kids are going to get mixed messages. When husbands and wives make rules that they both agree upon, then the kids must adhere to them also. You will find that there will be much less resistance and frustration this way.

4. Make It Rewarding

If there's never a reward for doing something, what's the fun in that? Some families give kids allowances for doing their chores. Other families clean and organize together and then celebrate with a pizza party or a movie when everything is complete.

Younger children are generally thrilled to build up "stars" or "stickers" for jobs well done. They can then turn them in for prizes, like helping Mom bake cookies or going to the park with Dad. Older children tend to work better with either an allowance or the promise to be able to do something special. It’s best to build up towards the reward as opposed to taking away from the reward. Remember, keep it positive!

Working consistently to keep the family unit working well together takes some effort but the rewards for everyone involved are so rewarding.

So, besides decluttering and organizing the physical space in your home, I can help you organize the entire family to function better as a unit when it comes to household management.  

For more information and assistance on this topic or any organizing issue you might have, feel free to contact me. I will be more than happy to help you reach your goals for organization and make your place A Better Space.

HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR HOLIDAY DECORATIONS

Some of you might still need to put away those holiday decorations. Your holiday decorations can quickly overrun your household if there is no rhyme or reason to their organization. An easy and visual sorting system will allow you access to your holiday decorations quickly and easily. This system not only applies to Christmas, but also to Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, etc.

I suggest either using clear plastic bins or color- related bins, such as orange bins with black lids for Halloween or red bins with green lids for Christmas. There are also pastel colored bins for Easter. You will find these on sale during the particular season, so stock up then. The color coordinated bins are a quick visual reference.

No matter what type of bin you use, I suggest placing a large label on the side of the bin that will be facing front. Not only title the bin by holiday, but list the basic contents it contains. By storing your decorations properly with labels, you can organize all of your decorations for the various holidays year round. Items will easily fit back in the same containers again when you are finished with them, as well. Personally, my family has about 10 to 15 bins of Christmas decorations which we store in our loft, but each bin is clearly labeled so we know immediately what they contain.

When it comes to Christmas lights and garland, it can be a frustrating mess if they are not stored properly. To avoid this chaos, invest in storage bins that are specially designed for these decorations. There are fantastic bins with spools you can snap on the inside that will allow you to wind your tree lights and beaded garland around. They not only save you the frustration of uncoiling, but also prevent knots from forming which lengthens the life of your decorations.

Now a days, there are many types of containers you can purchase either in your local store or on line to store your holiday linens, fragile decorations, tree ornaments, wreaths, artificial tree, outside lighting, wrapping paper and ribbon. And don’t forget the bubble wrap!

For more information and assistance on this topic or any organizing issue you might have, feel free to contact me. I will be more than happy to help you reach your goals for organization and make your place A Better Space.

Welcome!  This is my first of many blogs!  My intention is to provide you with updated information about what is new and exciting in the world of organization and provide you with Quick Tips for A Better Space.  My goal is to write a new blog on a weekly basis. If I come across something I think you would be interested in, I might blog more often, so check back often to see what's happening!   Feel free to leave feedback at any time.  I appreciate your input. 

This web site has been up and running for the first time this week and I am excited to be able to bring you information you can use in your daily life.

Today, my first Quick Tip for A Better Space is called: 

TIME MANAGEMENT 101

With the start of the New Year, now is the time to get control over your time, rather than have time control you. For both entrepreneurs and individuals with flexible schedules, proper time management can be an invaluable skill when attempting to reach your goals.

Using a weekly planner, look ahead to next week.  First, block off the firm commitments like school or work. 

Next, decide on two to three blocks of time during the week that will be spent furthering your career ie., business reading or researching, networking and making contacts, catching up on emails etc.  

If you are a stay-at-home mom (or dad), create a block of time to accomplish your household management goals for that week, whether its running errands, paying bills, taking Billy to soccer, etc. or larger projects, like cleaning out a closet, planning a party, trimming the hedges. 

Sometimes, the larger projects will require more than one block of time, so look to the next week or even the week after in order to complete the project.  If you are under a deadline, keep that in mind when blocking out your time to be sure you get it done on time.  Don't procrastinate!  Working on your project on a consistent basis will get the job done.

Next add in blocks for leisure and exercise.  These are just as important.  If you take some personal time for yourself, you will feel more energized and better able to handle your other commitments and obligations.

By making time for the things that matter most, you’ll have better control over your schedule and won’t waste time doing things that are not moving you towards your goals.

For more information and assistance on this topic, feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to help you reach your goals for organization and make your place A Better Space.