Quickie Tip!

In the October issue of Real Simple, there was a collection of tips in an article titled "What is your best easy organizing tip?". Right up my alley, of course. Included here are what I thought were the best tips:

• wrapping holiday gifts in groups by paper -- "silver for my sister, gold for my brother, and red for my in-laws" was the example by the reader; this is also helpful for stocking stuffers if you wrap some of them like I do


• "I bought a shoe holder to store charging cables and the small accessories for my cell phone, MP3 player, digital camera, etc". I hang it over a closet door and simply label each pocket". I LOVE this idea and use shoe holders a lot, making use of underutilized space in an orderly way.


• Here's a dose of common sense: "Don't move stuff around. Put it away, take it out, file it, whatever. It takes the same amount of time to put it in the right place as it does to put it in the wrong place."


• Another tip that I try to suggest to clients: "My advice for the easiest way to stay organized is to communication your organization method to those who share your living space. What's the use of having separate laundry baskets for whites, darks, lights, and delicates if your husband throws his hiking socks in with the delicates?" Same goes for kids. Let them know the routine to avoid frustration!