Backpacks and lunchboxes get washed on the last day of school. Three weeks ago, we started stockpiling non-perishables. Why? Coronavirus. We are a family of five and we consume a lot; a little extra, just in case, is probably not a bad idea. We are concerned, not so much about getting COVID-19, but about the inevitable disruptions. We want to prepare, not panic. I grew up in Guyana in a time when scarcity was commonplace. I remember the lines for everything - food, cooking gas, toilet paper! I have vague memories of sitting for hours at a clinic, waiting for vaccinations and, I think, powdered milk, or maybe it was another place, another queue. The run on grocery stores that we are experiencing now in the U.S. gives me flashbacks. I presume that the majority of shoppers have never seen anything as widespread as this in their lives, not here in the U.S. anyway. As it happens, we were living in Lagos, Nigeria during the Ebola outbreak in 2014. Social distancing, increased...

A well organized home should also be a clean home. It is important to grasp that clearing clutter and removing dirt are not the same. For optimum results, tidy first then clean. No matter the size of your home, cleaning will overwhelm you if you approach it haphazardly. Determine what needs to be done daily, weekly, or monthly, then create a cleaning schedule. If you are fortunate to have household help, this approach makes your expectations clear. It is easy to rate the performance of a domestic employee if your housework requirements are reasonable and do not exceed that which you could do yourself. I plan for two days of heavy cleaning and three days that are less structured. Here is an abbreviated version of my weekly cleaning plan: Monday - Laundry (clothing), general tidying and dusting Tuesday - Kitchen deep cleaning Wednesday - Laundry (clothing), general tidying and dusting Thursday - Laundry (sheets and towels), Bathroom deep cleaning Friday - Laundry (clothing), g...

Our family of five recently downsized from a four bedroom townhouse to a 1070 sq. ft. apartment and we have no regrets. We are committed to keeping only the things we need and love, and letting everything else go - a simpler life beckons. Our 1070 sq. ft. space We've sold, gifted and trashed a staggering amount of stuff this last year and our journey to a well organized, uncluttered life continues. Getting rid of things is not easy. Our best efforts to get started are typically thwarted by sentimental attachment, how much the item cost when we acquired it, what we perceive the current value to be, the thought of how much work is required to dispose of the items, and so on. We move a lot. My husband's job requires that we pack up all our worldly belongings every few years and move to a different country, possibly a different continent. Necessity propels us, motivates us, to start our cleaning out with the things that weigh the most or take up the most space. The ar...