When it comes to organizing, there are many different reasons people say it’s just not for them. However, the reasons stem from misconceptions about what it means to be organized. Let’s take a look at the seven most common organizing myths and the truth behind them.

1. Organizing is only for type-a people.

One of the most common misconceptions people have about organizing is that it’s something only high-strung, type-a people do. While it’s true that it might come more naturally, or even be fun, for those of us who fit that description, getting organized is a valuable tool for anyone. Not only does it allow you to be more efficient and more productive, but it also saves you time and money.

2. Organizing takes too much time.

Of course, some of you might be wondering how an activity that takes so much time can actually save you time. In reality, getting–and staying–organized doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Depending on the current state of your home, it can be overwhelming to figure out where you should even start. The answer is to start with one small room or area at a time. Investing an hour to organize your pantry, or an afternoon to sort through your kids’ toys pays off when you don’t waste minutes every day looking for certain ingredients or a half-hour trying to find the pieces to a specific game your children want to play.

3. Getting organized is frustrating.

Getting organized can be frustrating, but it doesn’t have to be. I recommend a three-step method to organizing that starts with pulling everything out of the room or area you’re tackling. Next, sort everything into three piles: keep, throw away, give away. Then start putting things away that you’re going to keep, thinking about what you need to be able to access, what you use most often, and what will work best for you. Start with a small area so you don’t become overwhelmed, and put as much in the throw away or give away piles as you can. The less stuff you have, the less frustrating it will be!

4. Organizing has to be expensive.

I’ll admit that I sometimes drool over all of the home organizing accessories and doodads that are available these days, all to make organizing easier and prettier. But the truth is there are plenty of ways to organize that don’t cost anything, and if you’ve got a creative streak, you can still make them just as pretty. Be creative and think outside of the box about things you can repurpose or recycle in your quest to get organized.

5. Once you organize your home, it just stays that way.

In many ways, this myth can be the most discouraging of them all. If you’ve ever spent a weekend organizing, only to look back three months later and find everything in shambles once again, you know what I mean! For other people, the idea of having to organize again and again in order to keep your home in order just takes you back to myths number one and two and reinforces that organizing isn’t for you. But the important part of this principle is not that you have to invest hours upon hours in organizing each week. Once you have a system in place, take just a couple of minutes each day or each week to either put things away, throw them away or give them away so that your system isn’t overwhelmed by stuff.

6. A good organizing system will work for anyone.

I have a lot of admiration for women like the Flylady and Lorie Marrero, the creator of ClutterDiet. They’ve motivated so many people to get on top of their household duties and get organized. However, the reality is that most people who follow these systems end up tweaking them to work best for their own life, and you have to know that in advance, or you can easily become discouraged by your inability to follow the system down to the tiniest detail. We all have different priorities, responsibilities and lifestyles, and if your organizational systems don't reflect these differences, chances are that they won’t last.

7. There is a right way and a wrong way to organize.

The thing I stress most often to people is that there is no right and wrong way to organize. The right way to organize for your family is the way that works for you! Dorothy at Urban Servant, who is a mother of 10 beautiful children, recently shared her laundry method, which perfectly illustrates this principle.

“I don’t fold anyone’s laundry but daddy’s. We have shelving with 12 laundry baskets in three rows, and I can toss clean items into anyone’s bin without too much effort. I sort a large load in about 3 minutes and move on to the next thing. Of course that means we don’t own anything that wrinkles or needs much special care, but I don’t miss them.

This is a perfect example and one that I’ve used in the past myself. You should not feel guilty if the way you do laundry is to simply sort the clean clothes into separate baskets and call it a day. I’m a little too type-a for that system, and because it would drive me nuts, it’s not the right system for me. But if it’s the system that works for you, then stop feeling guilty about it and consider yourself organized!

Beyond simply writing things on your calendar, here are seven great ways to optimize your scheduling that you may not have heard before:

1. For phone meetings, always establish who is calling whom at the appointed time, and on which number. If this is not clear, you can waste 5-10 minutes of your meeting time each waiting for the other person to call! And with so many phone numbers that we all have now (home, work, cell, conference line), it may not be readily apparent which number to use. I write the title of my appointments based on which person is doing the calling. If I am supposed to call, I write "Call Larry- cell." If Larry is supposed to call me, I write "Larry calling."
2. If you have established a day with someone but have not yet finalized a time, make sure you still put it on your calendar during the time slot that is mostly likely going to occur. Use the prefix "Time TBD" ("To Be Determined") to title the appointment. Otherwise, two things might happen: (1) you might not remember to reserve the time for that person and something else takes its place, or (2) you might not realize the time was never confirmed and show up at the wrong time. Example: "Let's have lunch on Friday." Is it 11:30, 12:00, 12:30...? Put the appointment in for 11:30-1:30, "Time TBD-Lunch with Sally." Then when she confirms and you set a time, change the appointment to its confirmed and correct time slot.
3. If you have set the meeting date and time and not the place, you can write "Place TBD" in the title of the appointment to remind you. Sometimes you want to choose a lunch place the day before, or you don't know which meeting room will be available. This can trigger you to figure that out and notify the other person, instead of looking at it and scratching your head wondering if you had set the place or not!
4. If someone is in a different time zone, OVERCOMMUNICATE about the time zones when scheduling with them. Never assume the person knows where you live and will figure it out for themselves, even if he or she really is aware of your location. Always state the time in both places when confirming. Example: "I'll call you on your cell phone at 2:30 Central, 3:30 Eastern."
5. If you have only a couple of possible dates and nothing has been finalized yet, put the appointment(s) on your calendar anyway with the prefix "TENT" for "tentative" in the title. You may want to remember that the "big cheese" customer might be calling you on either this day or that day, especially when other demands are being considered for those days.
6. Remember to schedule everything on your calendar that might possibly be relevant to other appointments. For example, if you work in a home office, you will want to write down on your calendar the range of time that the exterminator is supposed to arrive so you'll remember to be home during that time to let him into the house. You can still schedule phone meetings and tasks on top of it, but you need to know not to be gone.
7. Remember transitional time between appointments. Whether you're driving from one appointment to the next or you need time to prepare, change clothing, or just breathe for a minute, make sure you schedule that time in appropriately. You can use the prefix "TRANS" for transitional time if that is helpful. This is particularly useful if you have an assistant who might be scheduling for you and doesn't understand where everything is being done or what your exact needs are going to be.

If you calendar electronically, use the notes field of your appointment to paste in all relevant details such as questions to ask the person, driving directions, numbers to call, ideas for the meeting, and other information. There are so many ways to be more efficient with your time by just being smarter with the tools you already use. Do you have anything to add? Share in the comments!

When someone takes the time to give you a gift, you should take the time to show your appreciation by putting pen to paper. A handwritten note conveys something that a card, a call or an e-mail just can’t. The most important thing is that it's written. Note that most of these thank you card steps can be adapted for your littlest letter writers as well.

1. Start with pretty paper. Note cards are easy to find and allow you to keep it short. A gracious thank you doesn’t need to be a lengthy letter.
2. Greet the giver. Dear Aunt Helen/Grandma/Miss Brown is fine.
3. Say thanks. Name the item that you received.
4. Show enthusiasm and discuss how the gift will be used. For example, if your gift was a book, you might write something such as, “I’ll enjoy the novel on my vacation next month.”
5. Show interest in the giver. State that you look forward to seeing the person soon or can’t wait to catch up on his or her life.
6. Say thanks again. Really. It never gets old.
7. Sign off. Use “love” if appropriate; for something more formal, “regards” or “sincerely” works well.

It’s nice if you can write your thank you notes within the week. But during the busy holidays, within the month is acceptable.

A car pool is a great way for busy families to help one another save time and fuel. But you can run into problems if the drivers don't agree on shared duties, schedules and safety procedures. Here, a step-by-step checklist to get your car pool up and running, ensuring you an easy ride.

Do some research. Call the school or activity center to learn procedures for dropping off kids, and have parents make sure their auto insurance coverage is sufficient for shuttling groups of children who are not their own.

Make a schedule. Give each driver a copy of a calendar that includes the current and coming months and has squares big enough to write in. After a schedule has been agreed on, write down everyone's responsibilities on a master calendar and appoint one person to keep the master schedule.

Gather vital information. Assume the unexpected will occur from time to time — a sick child, a car breakdown, a last-minute conflict. Draw up and distribute a phone tree, and use it to find a backup driver under such circumstances.

Discuss safety. Agree that drivers will make sure their cars are in safe condition and are each stocked with a first-aid kit and road-emergency equipment, including a spare tire, a jack and jumper cables. Confirm that each child will be securely strapped in with a seat belt before the driver starts the engine. Also, if there's no one to receive a child at his home or drop-off point, agree that the driver will not leave him and will try to contact his parents.