September 1  September is National Preparedness Month, this is a nationwide campaign aimed at helping households and communities evaluate how equipped you are to handle a potential disaster.

LifeOrganizers.com is participating by providing easy to use checklists to help you Get Ready by getting an emergency supply kit ; making a family emergency plan ; being informed ; and getting involved.

Stay informed with our INTERACTIVE EMERGENCY TOOL

Emergency Disaster Kit Checklist

Hurricane Safety Checklist: The Essentials You Need to Weather the Storm

Business disaster safety checklist

Keep your business operational after a disaster checklist

Click here to see many more checklists > Swine Flu Symptoms and Precautions, Home Security Checklist, Kitchen Safety Checklist,Garden Safety Checklist,Falls Preventions Checklist

September 2 Carrying your supplies with you in a bucket or tote can help you clean faster since you wont have to go searching for the next product when you need it - it will be right on hand.

September 3 Today is Labor Day; it’s time for grand parades and time to honor the workforce that contributed to the prosperity and strength of the nation.

September 4 Today's clutter clearing trick is to make a laundry rule - no clothes may enter our bedroom unless they are put away where they belong. This will get rid of chairs piled high with unfolded laundry.

September 5 Ground yourself by making a list of the 10 things that are most important to you. Now that you've reminded yourself of your main motivations you can realign your actions to suit your goals.

September 6 Plan a list of activities for the upcoming Fall Season for the family like hayrides, apple picking, local sporting events, plays and fete’s. Now that you have a complete list of the fun activities everyone would like to participate in place your fall calendar in a prominent place to serve as a reminder for all.

September 7 Label the linen cupboard today with a label maker or masking tape and a marker. Bath sheets, bath towel, hand towels, face towels, pillow cases, sheets – fitted/full or winter/summer, table cloths and table runners. This small space once complete will amaze you with its newly organized precision and will provide ample motivation to tackle the next cluttered space.

September 8 Set up Function Stations by keeping like items close together. Items that are needed for a single purpose. Coffee beans should be placed close to the coffee machine. Loose tea should be close to the strainer and tea pot. Function stations will help you save time on busy mornings.

September 9 A hamper in your bedroom is a must. Make it a rule that all dirty clothes go straight into the hamper.

September 10 Garage Organizing Tip - Place all your car washing items into a single caddy. 

September 11 Service your leaf blower and unearth the snow shovels today. Get ready for Fall by giving them their own prominent space in the garage.

September 12 Today is National Grandparents Day. Grandparents are our heritage and special members of our family. Take some time today to honor your Grandparents by spending some time with them.
Ideal Children’s project – Make a scrapbook together that illustrates the memorable points of their grandparent’s life.

September 13 Grocery bags make great bin liners for smaller trash cans.

September 14 Small appliances that are used only occasionally should be put away to avoid cluttered countertops. A good way to determine what should be put away is to test the surface with your finger for dust. If you have a thick coating on your finger it's time to put it away.

September 15 Kids can scatter the contents of their pencil boxes in a day of play. Make a dedicated stationary drawer in your home. Every person should have their own stationary box or holder in their room but this dedicated drawer will help you round up pens, sharpeners, calculators, rulers and a host of other bits that you come across during your cleaning. Now you won’t have to look for the owner, the owner can look here for their missing equipment.

September 16 Being a good host means making your guests as comfortable as possible. Make sure your guest toilet’s brush is easily visible to guests. A cleverly disguised gadget that disguises its use will only stump guests unnecessarily if a personal crisis where to occur.

September 17 Leave a ‘library return basket’ next to a bookcase or the front door for library books that have been read. This way when the basket is full you can drop the books off at the library and renew the ones you have unread.

September 18 Tonight play a board game or make a puzzle with the family instead of watching TV or going off on solitary activities.

September 19 De-clutter and wipe clean your kitchen counters today.

September 20 Do you have piles of unorganized material cluttering your sewing room? Let's get organized today. Each piece of different colored fabric can be placed into a gallon plastic bag for easy identification. Gather like fabrics together to be stored in a filing box or something appropriate. 

September 21 Take a look at your calendar and try to combine the errands you need to run during the week. You'll save time and fuel during the week if you implement this strategy.

September 22 Set a day of the week where you tackle bills and other desk based activities. Have a desk calendar to mark bill due dates and to mark bills as paid.

September 23  Autumn Begins Today. Review your list of Fall activities you made earlier this month try to fit one in today.

September 24 Clean your mattress every six months to keep dust mites and mould under control. Begin by vacuuming the mattress and the box spring base. A hypo-allergenic mattress pad can be placed on your bed for added protection from dust mites.

September 25 It's time to sort the pantry. With the aid of a large trash can - throw away anything that has gone bad. Place items to be donated in a marked carrier bag and place at the front door when full. Items with expiration dates approaching soon should be placed prominently so they are used. Throw away dented cans or those with missing labels.

September 26 The key to a home of organized and clean bathrooms is to ensure each bathroom has its own cleaning supplies. This will save you time and effort when all you need to do is give your bath a quick wipe down.

September 27 Lay out clothes the night before school or work. Now valuable time can be saved in the morning by not having to decide what to wear. This trick saves me at least 15 minutes when I apply it to the kids’ wardrobes. I find it’s the searching for little things like socks, recorders and sporting kits which steals away precious time in the morning. Once you’ve tasted the freedom of stress free mornings you may be tempted to laying out the children’s clothing for an entire week. This is an ambitious task that may drain you, instead start small – layout pairs of socks for the week.

September 28 Get a head start on organizing your media collection today: Pick up any CD's or DVD’s that are not in their covers around your home and place them on a CD spindle. Now starting from the top place each CD into their correct box.

September 29 Always fill your gas tank when the gauge hit's the quarter mark, This way you'll never have to worry about running out of fuel in a traffic jam or in my case getting lost on the way to work.

September 30 Keep your home organized by always having a dirty dishwasher. Clean dishes should be unpacked as soon as possible after a cycle is complete. A habit of dirty dishes going straight into the dishwasher should be automatic for members of your household. I found that dedication to applying this rule in week 1 was rather dismal but by week 4 it was a firm habit. In fact it feels odd now to have dirty dishes anywhere else.

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by Leanne Naidoo, LifeOrganizers.com Editor