Home Organizing
Better organization can be a powerful tool toward creating a healthy and happy home, says Ellen Zucker, organizing consultant and owner of EZ Organizing. A disorganized home is hard to keep clean, distracts those who live there from achieving their true goals, and creates stress when things can't be found, for example. "Managing a home properly is very important to making a happy, healthy home," she says. It takes time and effort to set up systems that work for you, but if you maintain the systems, you'll reap long-term benefits.

Here are a few of her suggestions:
  • Start with simplifying and decluttering your home. "Decluttering is the beginning of everything you do," she says.
  • Teach the system to everyone in your home. Ask - with caring and respect - what you need to do to help each family member get on board with a new organizing system, and be willing to compromise. Consider scheduling time each week to maintain the system, and keep the routine and organizational system consistent.
  • Delegate chores you don't want to or cannot do.
  • Set realistic goals in reorganizing. Don't overload your plate, and schedule daily tasks. This will keep you from getting overwhelmed, which is a source of disorganization.
  • Keep a planner around 24/7, update it and make sure you read it each day.
Written by Kathy Carlson and reprinted with permission from The Jewish Observer, Nashville, Tennessee, May 23, 2008