1. Your Paperwork

One of the most important things to always keep organized is your paperwork. Paperwork such as tax returns, bank statements, copy of wills, etc... are so important because most of the time some type of financial-related business is associated with them. Not only is it important to keep them organized but it’s also important to keep them secure. Home safes are easily available and come in different sizes, shapes and prices.

2. Your Receipts

Ever since the recession, I’ve noticed that prices of clothes and electronics have gone down. However, so has the quality of most of these products. At least 2-3 times a year I have to do a return or an exchange for quality issues or a factory defect for products that I buy. That’s why it’s important to keep your receipts. For every 15 things you buy, at least one thing will need to be exchanged, returned or have a warranty attached to the receipt so it’s important to always keep your receipts in an organized and chronological order... especially if receipts are required for tax returns.

3. Your Clothes

Excess is waste. There’s nothing worse than having unworn clothes hanging around when there are the less fortunate who could really benefit from your old garments. Take time to organize your closet to see what is still in good shape, what still fits your lifestyle and what still fits your body. Everything else can be donated, thrown away or sold at a garage sale.

4. Your Friends

You CAN have too many friends. It’s time to get rid of those friends who you haven’t spoken to in a year or are always sucking you in to their drama. The kind of friends you keep around you says a lot about yourself so take time to evaluate your friendships and who’s worth keeping and who’s worth saying goodbye to.

5. Your Desk

Your desk can have a lot of important paperwork as well as a lot of unnecessary paperwork. Spend a day to remove the clutter from your desk - keep your important paperwork somewhere safe and your unnecessary paperwork in the recycling bin. Remember - a clear desk equals a clear mind.

6. Your Purse

Crumpled napkins and fragrance samples have no business being in your purse - if it serves you no purpose then toss it. We’ve all been in that situation where we put our phone in our purse only to think we lost it 20 minutes later. Then we have to create an entire scene by finding a place to put our purse down to frantically search only to find our phone hidden underneath a landmine of receipts and wrappers. Save yourself the trouble and clean that baby out.

7. Your Kitchen Cabinets

I remember one time I was starving and had nothing to eat so I had to resort to a lonely box of Kraft Dinner. After I had finished boiling the macaroni I then noticed the expiry date had come and gone months ago. Not only did I have nothing to eat but the only edible thing left in my house had expired. That’s why it’s important to keep your kitchen cabinets organized at all times so you’ll never find yourself in a situation where you: A. Have nothing to eat B. Resort to Kraft Dinner C. Have nothing to eat except for expired Kraft Dinner. In my defense, I didn’t know Kraft Dinner even had an expiry date...

It can be hard to find time to organize your life since it’s so tedious and time consuming. My advice is to devote at least one of your days off every week to organize one thing. In a few weeks you’ll have a better grip of your life and how to manage it. What else should always be organized in your life?