FUNCTION FIRST, LOOKS SECOND That means that when you buy bookcases or other types of furnishing with shelves, make sure these items have five or six shelves. Two or three shelves per item are just wasted space. When it comes to home organization, you want to buy furnishings based on criteria of function first and then looks second.

So if two items are both of acceptable appearance to you, always purchase one that is most functional. If one item is slightly prettier than other but other item has more vertical shelving, cubby holes and nooks, choose that second item. The peace-of-mind you'll get from having a more organized home will be much more valuable to you in long-run.

DON'T FOLLOW YOUR EMOTIONS Always remember that stores want to sell to you based on your emotions. That's a fact. Most marketing research agrees with that statement. If seller can hook your emotions, they're closer to a sale. For example, you see a pie safe cabinet that's outrageously priced but beautiful. So you say to your spouse who's shopping with you: "Oh, look at that pie safe cabinet. It's gorgeous. Look at that blue color. It's a little a high priced but maybe we can get it on credit..."

Stop right there!

As a smart shopper (and a smart home organizer), you want to buy based on what your brain tells you. So for example, now you look at that same pie safe cabinet and say: "Oh, look at that pie safe cabinet. It's gorgeous. What a pretty blue color. But we need something a bit more functional. That cabinet only has four shelves and one next to it has six shelves and is cheaper. The second one is maple stained, not blue. But that's okay. It's still a handsome piece of furniture and it's more functional. We'll get more space to use in our home and more product for our money."

Use your head, not your heart, to make decisions about furnishing items for your home. Then you'll have functional home furnishings that double your home storage space. Think like a home organizer versus a home decorator. Think function first.

They say flu started with a cough in summer of 1918 and by time it ended 120 days later, it left 22 million people dead worldwide. In Philadelphia after just 28 days there were 12,191 reported deaths and 47,094 reported cases. This flu targeted mostly young and robust, Jeremiah was just 32 years old.

My Uncle Jeremiah was one of approximately 800 people who died in Philadelphia on Saturday, October 19th, 1918. New York beat that number by 851 deaths in one day.

Jeremiah was one of my family heroes. Not only was he a very respected priest in a very Irish Catholic family, but when Spanish Influenza came and 67% of Philadelphia's nurses were off ill or scared, he volunteered to help tend to ill in a local hospital. That's how he caught flu.