… I’m afraid my family won’t know who to call—or where anything is!"

The realization of destruction, chaos, and uncertainty hit home for many of us on Sept. 11, 2001. My inbox started filling up with inquiries and statements of, "I don't know where my important paperwork is to grab in case of an emergency," "I have no clue where I can put my hands on my important stuff. Can you help me?" "If a catastrophe should strike my work or home it would take me months to replace licenses, and birth certificates," and "My husband handles all paperwork at home. I don't have foggiest idea who to call or where anything is."

I think you'll agree usually one person in home or office is designated to handle phone calls if a vendor or supplier has to be called, or an appointment has to be made. That same person usually knows when any annual maintenance has to be done, and that one person usually files or puts away all incoming paperwork.

But if something should happen to that person, be it illness, death, or just out of town, would you be at a loss not knowing WHO to call, WHEN things get done, or WHERE things are kept?

After my mother-in-law died, after having to virtually search in every nook and crannie in her home for things such as her husbands death certificate, his military records, and her keys (we finally found her safe deposit box key in pinkie of a glove that was in back of closet), after watching my family UNABLE to mourn or celebrate her life because we were all too busy looking for necessary documents, and important papers needed to deal with her death, I decided to put together a little booklet so others would NEVER have to go through what we did!

It's very easy to make your own little booklet of WHO, WHEN, and WHERE's in your life. Here's how:

Create a notebook for yourself with three tabs. Mark three sections: WHO, WHEN and WHERE. You could also do this on your computer.

In WHO section, make a list of service companies that you call and do business with. Include security company, cable guy, your insurance agent, credit cards, your mortgage company, pool man, plumber, chimney sweep, you name it. Next to each company, write down their phone number and your account number.

Does it seem like your laundry is multiplying:

Fear not because you are not alone! Paper, toys, and laundry are usually on top of all my home clients’ list of causing chaos and frustration. According to The Tide Clothesline? at http://www.clothesline.com average household washes 7.4 loads – about 50 lbs. - per week and average load contains 16 items. They go on to say that in a typical household, more than 6,000 articles of clothing are washed each year!

I’d like you to ask yourself and answer following questions; I hope these will help you in evaluating your situation. I have added suggestions and some thoughts for you to ponder on after questions.

1. Who do you do laundry for? 2. Who can do their own laundry?

If you’re washing for everyone in home and you have children/spouse that can reach knobs on machines, ask them for HELP.

? Teach them to be responsible for their clothing and show them how to sort, wash, fold, and put away. ? Post washing and drying instructions near machines. ? Develop a schedule for family members that can wash their own clothes.

3. What kinds of clothes are piling up—children’s, towels, sheets, etc.? 4. What help can you get from others?

? Assign and limit 1-2 towels to each family member per week. ? Wear clothes more then once. ? If you have children that are too young to do their own laundry, teach them to sort clothes and/or fold towels, underwear, socks. Depending on their age, don’t expect it to be perfect but praise them for their help. ? Show children where “their folded” items go (make it easy for them by storing those items in bottom drawers).

5. When do you prefer to do laundry? 6. When do you have time to do laundry?

? Decide if you prefer to do laundry in morning, in evening, during week, or only on weekends. ? Pick a day and time that you’re not going to be constantly interrupted or tempted to “play”. ? Place yourself on a schedule and system if you can’t get help. ? Time yourself and your machines cycles; sort, wash, machine or line dry, fold, sort and put away to help you determine how much time you need for each load. ? Wash, dry, and put away by person or room.

Sample schedules:

Stay at home two loads a day schedule: If you stay or work from home try starting a wash load in morning while coffee is brewing, throw that load in dryer or hang at lunch time, and start another wash load. Right before or after dinner, take dried load out and put other load in. Fold while dinner is cooking, watching news, or waiting for pages to load on Internet. Get last load out and fold before going to bed. Make sure you put each person/rooms in a sorted pile to make putting away quicker and more efficient. (My mom use to use couch, bed, or a table to fold and sort onto, she would then pile piles into basket by person and room and distribute them on our beds for us to put away).