In addition to my favorite products, I commonly problem-solve on the spot with organizing supplies. Below are six products (old favorites and one-offs) that solved six organizing problems within the last few months. I encourage people to first use what they have before turning to new products, but occasionally we do need something new. Buying products usually comes later in the organizing process, once we're 100% certain about what we need. Enjoy!

One thing that most of my clients have in common is that they are out-of-sight-out-of-mind. This means that we can't just throw more filing cabinets at the problem. Cabinets and drawers are helpful for archives, but to-dos and anything else you can't forget about absolutely should not be hidden inside them.

If you're not a "paper person," you might be surprised to know how many people in these modern times still receive statements and hold on to paper for various reasons. In the case of the photo here, my client is 90, but I've created systems just like this for people in their 20s. Sometimes, it's actually a crucial step in a journey towards digitizing more.

So many of you reacted to my post on the pain of putting together my wedding photo album with an “Amen!” The problem is that folks tend to equate “organized photos” with “perfectly polished photo album,” so they stall on doing anything in-between. There is SO much that can be done in-between these two points!

This time of year many of us are reminded of how disorganized our greeting cards are, and this is a twofold problem: blank cards AND the cards we’ve received. When I first meet a new client with these problems, the cards they’ve kept might be thrown in a box at best, or at worst, scattered throughout the home, mixed in with current and important documents.

I’m surprised it’s taken me so long to do a video on a system that I have created dozens of times over the years.

The BIGGEST problem many of my clients have is that of incoming mail. Most of the mail they keep is bills and statements.