Ten tips to get you organized this fall

Fall is the perfect time to get yourself organized and here are a few simple tips to help you get started. (Courtesy of SingleEdition.com)

There's a whole lot more to organizing yourself than keeping papers neatly filed. In fact, with proper planning and the right set of tools you can improve everything from your social life to your diet.

So, what are you waiting for? Fall is the perfect time to get yourself organized and here are a few simple tips to help you get started from SingleEdition.com!

1. Start Keeping a To-Do List: Keeping your thoughts in order is a key to becoming self-organized. While it may seem simple, keeping a daily To-Do list is probably the best way to increase your personal productivity. If you want to go the electronic route, there are some web-based task management tools such as "Toodledo" and/or "Remember the Milk" that will help you automate and maintain your To-Do list seamlessly.

2. Slash and Stock Supplies: Unfortunately, according to the Miller Brewing Company, even those cans of beer goes bad after about 4 months. So take some time to go through your pantry, fridge, freezer and medicine cabinet, and throw out expired or spoiled food products and/or medications. As you do your sweep, be sure to keep an inventory of items that you will need to replace.

3. Do a Safety & Repair Sweep: Take an hour, walk around your home and jot down a note about anything that needs to be fixed or replaced. In doing so, be sure to test smoke detectors and other safety products such as window guards and house alarms. Fix those first and make a plan that suits your budget to tackle the other items. Remember, you can get lots of great steals on small and big ticket items at the end of each season. So whether you need a new air conditioner or water hose, now is the time to pick one up!

4. Set Up Special Reminders: Take the time now to organize your calendar and set up alerts on BirthdayAlarm.com for each special occasion. It's also a good idea to get a stack of birthday cards and a few simple gifts so you don't have to run out to get them on last minute's notice!


5. Organize Your Social Life: Ensuring a lively social calendar requires a forward approach mindset. Snatch hard-to-come by dinner reservations in advance through Open Table and send out invites to your friends ahead of time. Pick some special events or classes and be sure to get your name on the list before they are SOLD OUT!

6. Lock Down Reservations: To avoid last minute charges and lonely long holiday weekends, start booking flights, hotels and cars for Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays now! Once you do, go to TripIt.com, the site helps keep travel details in one master online itinerary, so you don't have to. When the date comes around you'll be glad you planned ahead.

7. Consolidate and Preserve Photos: If your pictures are piling up or in need of restoring, then send them off for scanning. There are some fantastic services out there like ScanCafe that will scan, restore and consolidate your photos so you have a personal image library at your fingertips!

8. Make Meals Ahead: Don't fall prey to poor eating habits because you're pressed for time. Take advantage of assemble-your-own meal stations that are cropping up all over the nation. Companies like Super Suppers, Dream Dinners and Lets Eat, provide everything you need to prepare delicious dinners in advance that you can store in your freezer and serve in the weeks ahead.

9. Plan to Power Up: Give yourself incentive to keep true to your healthy living commitments. Start by programming new workout songs into your iPod, booking sports massages (even 10 minute shoulder rubs will do the trick), treating yourself to a session with a personal trainer and trying new classes. If you are tired of your gym, be on the look out for promotions and incentives from other fitness facilities, you will most likely find a good deal on registration in September.

10. Make Short and Long Term Appointments: Why wait till the last minute to get a flu shot or have the oil in your car checked when you can cut waiting time? Consider all your check-up needs and those of your kids, pets, and car, and try to schedule those visits all at once so you can do them on a single personal day off from work.