January 10- Messy Desk, Missing Papers- Lorraine will present one of her most popular talks on systems that help manage piles of paper to the Women's League of Canton.

January 20- Organize Your New Home- Learn techniques to get your most cluttered areas in your home organized. At the Denton Library.

Would you like help getting your home beautifully ready for parties and guests who visit during the busy Christmas season? Invite our elves to your home to create a plan, shop for new décor as needed, set up the decorations, and later take it all down, storing it neatly for next year. Our organizers are trained to help bring out your own style and make your home beautiful for the season. This video gives you a fun glimpse of their decorating process.

If you are ready to give yourself the gift of a stress-free Christmas, contact us for more information on our decorating services.

Can you believe we have less than three months until Christmas? Time marches on, but with a little planning, you can be in control of your schedule and reduce the stress of too much to do in December.

Lorraine's favorite way to get organized for Christmas is to use a Christmas Planner that can be reused year after year. If you set up your planner in past years, it is time to bring it out and start scheduling tasks and events on your calendar. If you have never done one before, here is a guide to get you started.

A binder designated just for Christmas will make your life simpler as a central location for all your Christmas planning. It helps you deliberately think through your desires for the season then work through that plan, setting aside an appropriate amount of time to do time-sensitive tasks. For example, in order to get a gift cross country in time for Christmas, you must backtrack to schedule time to mail, and before that, time to wrap, shop, and maybe even just think of a good gift idea. Putting all of these steps on your calendar will reduce your stress enormously so you will not be caught scrambling when the date is upon you. 

Let the Christmas Planner work for you as a tool to hold wish lists and receipts, the budget and spending for the season, pictures of room decorations that worked well last year, menus and grocery lists, Christmas card lists and traditions that your family enjoys. Best of all, as you use it and update it yearly, it will become a tool that takes much of the work out of getting ready for Christmas, so you have more time to enjoy the season.

Since most projects require managing a list, here is an electronic tool to help with the daily to-do list. Any.do is a free task-management and planner app that helps you stay on top of errands, phone calls, and other things you need to remember to do, and it can be synched across your various devices.

You can set it to remind you when it is time to start a task, and you can even have it nudge you at certain times of the day to check the list to see if you are completing your goals. As you scroll through each one, you can reschedule it for another time if you will not be able to tackle it right away. This app will help you establish the good habit of remembering to check your to-do list regularly throughout the day.

Does your bathroom feel cramped or look cluttered? Here are some of Lorraine's favorite organizing ideas for the bathroom:

• Use hooks inside the cabinet door to hold the hair dryer. Also, look for a dryer with a retractable cord so it stores neatly. If you are short on space, a wall-mounted hair dryer like hotels have is helpful.
• Keep a stain stick in the bathroom where your dirty clothes are kept. Make it handy to find by adding sticky Velcro squares to the lid or a wall inside the hamper.
• Store towels on a multi-tiered rack to increase space in the bathroom. This is an especially good use of behind the door space.
• Prevent mildew from gaining a foothold in the shower by keeping a spray bottle of bleach and water nearby. When you notice a spot of mildew beginning, spray it. This will save you time cleaning and scrubbing your shower. You can also use a daily shower cleaning spray to keep tile and grout clean and shiny with less elbow grease.
• Install mesh baskets on gliders in your lower cabinets to create easy access to items stored in the back of the cabinet. Just pull the basket out to find what you need.
• A wastebasket with a foot-operated lid is handy to have in the bathroom, especially if you have little ones or pets that like to explore.
• Keep cosmetics from scattering inside drawers with an acrylic drawer organizer. It comes in various sizes to fit any drawer.

Do you keep gifts that you do not like and will not use? 57% of American do and it's not ok. The fact is that keeping the clutter (unwanted gifts) is costing you something. Clutter costs extra time in the home to clean, takes up extra storage space, can cause arguments to breakout in the family, and it takes away from the beauty and function of your home.

There are two things you can do with the extra clutter that might make the de-cluttering process easier. First, regift the unwanted gift to someone else, making sure you placed a sticky note on the item with the name of the original gifter so you do not regift it back to them.

The second thing you can do is send out an email to your family saying you are going through a large de-cluttering process and through this process you are having to make tough decisions about what to keep. While you value all the thoughtful gifts they gave you, there are some you will have to let go. Odds are your other family members will think nothing of it and would love to do the same thing.

Of course, do not give away every sentimental item or something you would like to pass down to your children. As you look over your clutter, think about the show Hoarders, and do not let that be you.

Eeek! Occasionally even the nicest of homes can have a small home invader. They can be a problem any time of the year, but especially as the weather turns cool. Squirrels, mice, rats, raccoons, or opossums may enter your home uninvited. Once they are in your attic, they can do lots of damage chewing wiring, insulation, or air ducts. Prepare now to prevent the unwanted pests from ever coming inside.

Inspect your home's exterior, looking for these possible entry points: under the eaves, at corners where wood meets wood, along the gables, at the faucet plumbing, around the chimney, behind rain gutters, and at dryer and roof vents. Any place where you see a gap is an entry point and needs to be sealed. Just a 1/4" gap is enough room for a small mouse to enter, so look carefully. Even new houses can have these openings.

Caulk small open seams found in wood. Make sure siding sits securely against the house. Add concrete around plumbing openings or foundation holes. You can also use steel wool to plug up small holes if you hold it in place with caulk. For larger holes, use hardware cloth or metal sheeting.

If you suspect that critters have already invaded your home, try to remove them yourself using traps or bait, or you can call a professional. Once the pests are gone, work diligently to keep them out for good by keeping an eye year-round on your home's exterior.

Celebrate your birthday! Did you know that you can get an inbox full of free things on your birthday? Just by signing up on a company's website, they will email a coupon to you for something FREE on or near your birthday. Just click or print the coupon to redeem your free item on your birthday or in some cases, anytime during your birthday month. Here are just a few:

Sephora's Free Beauty Insiders Birthday Gift

Buca di Beppo's $20 off two entrees or pastas

The Container Store's 15% off a purchase

Corner Bakery Cafe's free pastry

Famous Footwear's $5 birthday gift certificate

Jason's Deli's $5 dollar off coupon for Birthday Club members

Starbucks' Free birthday food or drink

Kohl's $5 gift certificate

Panera's free pastry or a sweet

Benihana's $30 Birthday Certificate