April

• As you do your spring cleaning and decluttering, leave room to grow. You know some new things will come into your life so don't fill or crowd areas as you declutter.
• The third week in April is National Organize Your Files Week. Take this opportunity to make your file drawer more user friendly. Have at least 2 inches of unused space so that you can get into your files with out tearing or cramming. Put all major heading tabs on the left at the front of the hanging file and sub headings in the middle of the file. This will make it much easier to find papers and easier if you want to switch your file order.
• When cleaning a closet put the clothes back into the closet with the hangers facing the “wrong” way—when you use an item correct the position of the hanger—at the end of the year or season you can easily see what you have not worn because the handers are still backwards—seriously consider getting rid of these items.

March

• Each season has different needs for outdoors. Hang a shoe bag on the back of your closet door and put sunglasses, sunscreen, insect repellent, and rain hats, for everyone in the spring. At the end of the summer season roll up that shoe bag and hang another one with gloves, winter hats, scarves, etc. You won't need to take time to stuff and unstuff the pockets.
• The second Tuesday in March is National Organize Your Office Day. Take this day to organize your desk. Keep only daily supplies on your desktop. Only keep papers in your in box that have not yet been looked at—as soon as you look at an item put it where it belongs—ex. bills to pay, calls to answer, items to act on, etc. Develop a paper flow system for all your incoming documents.
• Does the idea of spring cleaning overwhelm you? Instead of attempting it all in a few weeks, try dividing your home into 10 zones (e.g., garage, kitchen, bathroom), and then tackle one zone a month. Give yourself a month off in the summer and during the winter holidays.

February

• There are lots of reasons why people hold onto clutter. One I hear a lot is because "it's still good." Yes, the margarine container, the old bags, the toys and crib your child outgrew may all still be good, but are they good for you? Unless items are useful to you right now—pass them on or get rid of them.
• Every time you go to the store to buy a greeting card take a few minutes to look over the selection. Buy extra birthday cards, congratulation cards, or condolence cards when you see one that looks right for you. Keep a box in your desk drawer along with some nice stamps to look through when special occasions occur. This will save extra trips to the store and post office.
• Emails and phone messages can take a lot of your time—set aside a scheduled time to respond to these—do not feel you must stop whatever you are doing and respond to “noncritical” messages immediately.

January

• Many of you have some new Christmas items and toys. It might be new cookware, books, clothes, or electronic gadgets. Be sure all of these new items have a logical "home"—a place that they belong. Consider getting rid of something similar that you no longer need or enjoy.
• Now is the time to take your new calendar, day timer or electronic device and write in all birthdays/anniversaries, recurring events, long range plans (e.g., January: clean office, February: clean living room, etc.), and known appointments for the year to come.
• If you don't already have one, consider creating a filing system for the storage of important papers such as birth records, passports, insurance, etc.  If this project seems too overwhelming, start by putting important papers in one place.

December

• As you bring down your holiday decorations take a good look at them. Are there some you have not used in a while but are still in pretty good condition? Right now take them to a charity that can get them out for others to use this holiday season. Do you have some that are not in good enough condition to put out? Unless you have a strong sentimental attachment, toss these now. This will make packing up at the end of the holidays a lot easier and will use less of your storage space.
• To keep clutter at bay, ask for gifts that don't clutter. Drop hints for items like movie/theater tickets, homemade food items, Spanish lessons, a gift to charity, or doing a special holiday event together.
• You can't read everything so set a limited amount of space or a limited amount of time for keeping periodicals.

November

• It seems like this time of year all organizations are asking for donations or renewal of memberships. Rather than spending a lot of time flipping through your checkbook, records, or folders trying to see when you last sent them money, each time you send an organization money write who you sent it to and why on your calendar or daytimer in the notes section. Then in January when you work up your new calendar, transfer this information. Ex.: In Sept. I have "last year pd. National Geographic, pd. NPCA membership."
• When starting with the decluttering, begin with the most important area to you—a place you can return to and see how good it makes you feel. You might want to start with your bedroom. A cluttered bedroom with messes and unfinished projects in them will disturb your sleep.
• Store things close to where you use them—if you give yourself a manicure on the couch then keep those materials in a drawer or basket near the couch.

October

• This is a nice cool time of the year to work on the garage. First, determine how you want to use the space—Parking for the car? Workshop? Storage center? Sporting goods center? Pull out the items from the garage—if you plan to park the car, pull it in and mark how much room it takes. Now, determine what other zones you will have and make a floor plan. Purge.
• We are now entering the holiday season—Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa. Take some time now to decide what you want to accomplish from these special days. Make a list of these goals and keep them handy. Use this to help you decide how to use your time. Are there family traditions you'd like to change? Will you limit how you spend you time in activities outside of your home? Be proactive with your time and don't get caught up in stressful obligations.
• Does your work area feel like a stressful area? File or toss those piles of paper all over your desk. Add a picture or poster, shell, or toy that makes you smile. Add something in a vibrant color to give your body an energy boost. Make your work area a place that is attractive for you to work in.
• Get rid of things that are too old to be good or safe or have expired like spices, food items, and medications-schedule a time at least once a year to check dates on such items.