Clutter Campaign - Select Your Tools

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. William Morris

What you love, you preserve There are so many tools available to support your Clutter Campaign. And what works best for someone you know may not work for you at all. This is the time to discover exactly the right items and equipment to match your style of thinking and operating. Once you have the perfect match of tool for each task you are more likely to continue your Campaign. There is, of course, no magic system or product that is right for every home or office. Devise a system you can love and you'll reduce clutter enormously. This magic comes not because you have increased the efficiency of the system, but because you have decreased your resistance to preserving, protecting, and maintaining it. You have made yourself an offer you don't want to refuse!

Here are six options for you to explore:

? Select what you need every day. Anything you use often should be within an arm's reach of where you need that item. Imagine that there's a video camera in the corner of each of your rooms and review your activities for a day. Identify 2-5 items that need to be moved to make your day flow more smoothly and conveniently. These items could be as small as your stamps, or as large as your desk.

? Contain those items efficiently and aesthetically. What storage item would best suit your way of arranging things? Do you prefer baskets, files, drawers, doors, canisters, open shelves? Look through some magazines or tour an office or organizing store and select the items you like to use. Picture, describe or sketch a few of them on this page.

? Arrange elements in a system that works for you. How do you like to arrange the storage pieces you like to use? What would your ideal garage storage area look like, your ideal closet, your ideal pantry? Pick one area and create your preferred system.

? Support your system with technology. Identify and list below 3-5 sources of Clutter Campaign frustration. Ask people you know if they have discovered any solutions. Take your list to one of the technology stores and see if they can offer solutions. Find your best way to keep an address book, a household inventory, children's school and health records. The best solution for you can range from simple to sophisticated. Just be sure it's right for YOU.

? Find tools you enjoy using. Add sleek styling or playful zest to the tools you select. If they make you smile or glow inside, it is more likely you will use them regularly. List below three of the most helpful tools you are using currently and three you have appreciated for many years. Remember tools can include methods, systems, bribes, motivation and support that help you get started and keep you on track.

? Let go of anything that fails the three-question test. Remember again the three-question test for any item in your life:

? Is it useful?

? Is it beautiful?

? Do you love it? List 2-3 items in your surroundings that meet each of the above tests.

Unless an item meets one of those standards, get rid of it. If it meets two of them, take good care of it. If it meets all three, treasure it, and appreciate it as a gift of good fortune.

? Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.productiveenvironment.com

detailed home cleaning Park Ridge ..

In The News:

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

Clutter Campaign - Select Your Tools

Get Organized - Organization