34. Keep A Donation Box Handy

Keep a "donation box" in a designated place in your home. Encourage all family members to place items they no longer want or need in the box. When the box is full, take it to the charity or recycling center of your choice.

Don't forget to get a tax receipt.

33. Create A Babysitter Information Sheet

Peace of mind will come when you are prepared for the babysitter. Create a standard babysitter information sheet to use when you are hiring childcare in your home. Give this to the sitter prior to leaving the home. I like to place it by the home phone since this is where they would probably run in an emergency.

The info sheet should contain the following items:

- Names of children and their ages

- Home address and phone number

- Contact numbers for you and your spouse

- Pediatrician name and number

- Name of your destination that night

- Name and number of a neighbor in case of emergency

- Special instruction: bedtime, food allergies, is your child on any medication, bedtime routines, etc.

Here is a template for you to use.

32. Un-clutter Your Email

Are you receiving too many emails on a daily basis? Unsubscribe from all emails that do not bring you value or your usually delete before reading. This will remove you from their distribution list and keep those annoying emails out of your inbox.

31. Organize Your Bills

Keeping track of your bills is a huge task that many people hand off to their spouse. It is important that both the husband and wife have a grasp on what bills need to be paid, when to pay the bills, where to find important documents, and where all the investments are for the family.

If you would prefer to have your spouse handle the day to day bill paying, you should have them keep a record of all transactions so you are able to take over without any problem.

Make a list of all monthly bills, investments, passwords. Keep all important documents in one location and show your spouse where you keep this list. Make sure to include any instructions or addresses of safety deposit boxes, names of account/financial advisor on your list. Keep a copy of your updated Will with this list would be beneficial.

30. Organize Your Schedule

With Back-To-School in full swing, it is essential to get your family's schedule organized. The best way it to keep track of all your activities, appointments, birthdays, holidays, etc is on a family calendar. Pick ONE calendar for the family to use. Having multiple calendars creates too much room for error. It would be easy to double book yourself unless you are using one system.

There are many types of calendars to choose. Wall calendars, desk calendars, electronic calendars, pockets calendars or even magnetic dry-erase calendars. Each variety offers day, week or month at a glance options. Pick a system that would be easy for you and your family to update.

I found this great FREE online calendar that would be perfect for a busy family. www.cozi.com It can be updated and viewed from any computer with internet access. Some of the features include sending reminder messages of upcoming events, sync with Microsoft Outlook, add shopping or To Do list, add photos and keep a family journal. I love this idea since mom can add/delete appointments and dad can easily view the calendar from work. No more missed communication.

29. Organize Your Past Tax Returns

The IRS will challenge you up to 6 years on any past tax returns, so keep these returns and supporting documents on hand. Anything beyond that can be shredded and discarded. Free up your filing cabinets from unnecessary paper work.

You can learn more on IRS.gov.

28. Organize Your Warranties & User Manuals

Deciding on what to keep and for how long is the biggest hurdle when dealing with warranties and user manuals. You should save all valid warranties and discard the expired ones.

As far as user manuals go, you can easily discard all of them as long as you are savvy on the the computer. Most manuals are available online with downloadable versions for reference if needed. Try using www.usersmanualguide.com and www.download-manual.com. If you must keep manuals and user guides, go through all of your current guides and discard any that belong to items you no longer own. Once you have purged, you can organize by type, alphabetical order, size, or by group. Find a system that will be easy for you to access and retrieve at a later date.

27. How To Fold A Fitted Sheet.

OK! I've found the answer to one of our home organizing biggest mysteries. How to Fold a Fitted Sheet? If you correctly fold your fitted sheets, you can double the space in your closet.

Watch this step by step video on the process. The sound is not the best quality so make sure you turn up the volume on your computer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i77Duz-VLMU

Enjoy!

26. Have a Copy of the School Lunch Calendar Handy

If your kids are like mine, then they are PICKY eaters. I never know what they like since they are constantly changing their minds on what types of food they will eat. Once I think I've figured it out, it changes again.

I found that if I hang a copy of the school lunch calendar on my fridge, I can simply ask them each morning if they will eat that days lunch. If the answer is yes, great. If not, then I can make them a lunch to take. Having the school lunch calendar easy to access makes the mornings go so much smoother. If you don't want it displayed on your fridge, you can:

- hang it on a nearby cork board

- take a photo of it with your phone and view when necessary

- mark the lunches in your calendar

- have the kids keep track of it and let you know when they need a lunch to take to school. If you don't hear from them, then school lunch it is. This will teach them a little responsibility too.