Dear   ,    

April is Older Americans Month, so congratulations to all the Older Americans who get this newsletter every month!  I love working with seniors, who are often dealing with a long lifetime's worth of "stuff", but also a lifetime's worth of wisdom and memories.   

On a separate note, this Saturday is "Drug Take-Back Day", so if you have expired or unused medications, Saturday is the day to dispose of them easily and appropriately. See the Recycling Corner below for more information.

Finally, all my regular subscribers should have received an email by now announcing that my new 28-day success program, "Putting Paper in its Place", is now available for purchase online.  If you didn't receive the email, click here to be taken to the sign-in form.  This program will help you manage your paper by focusing on one type of paper per day for 28 days.  This is a $60 value, available now at the introductory price of $28 - just $1/day!  I'm really excited about this product.  Please let me know what you think.  

- Maryann Murphy, MSW

More Organizing Ideas from the Murphy Clan 

One of the most popular goals I hear when helping people organize their homes is to create (or uncover) space for guests to sleep over, while still keeping the room available for arts, crafts, a home office, or exercise room.  I'm proud to share the name of one of the most creative pieces of furniture ever invented to help save space for just such a use - the Murphy Bed!

As you may know, the Murphy bed is a regular bed by night, but by day it folds up into the wall, opening up significant floor space.  Most Murphy beds are disguised as cabinets during the day, and you'd never know there was a bed hidden behind the doors and shelving! When I went on vacation this winter, there were 2 Murphy beds in the wall of our unit, and I only realized it when I tried to open the (faux) cabinet door!

I read an article recently about creative new ways to store these beds creating a wall with shelving or artwork, or to insert them into a newly created wall between sections of a room. They can be stored to mount vertically or on a side-mount, and there are even wall beds (the other name for a Murphy bed) that convert into desks and sofas.

These beds are available from specialty manufacturers online, including Boston Wall Beds, Inc. in the Boston area, and they can be ordered to fit just about any size room. If you want more floor space and less of a look of a bedroom for your everyday use of a home office, finished basement, or any other space, but still want the flexibility of a good, solid bed for your guests, check into the Murphy bed. We Murphy's are a clever lot!