This week’s mission is to make your bed each and every morning!

Believe it or not, the tidiness of your bed can either make or break your day! Get out of bed and take just a minute to pull up and straighten your covers (even if your significant other is still snoozing).

Check out the perks below…

• Your bedroom will instantly look twice as clean and organized.
• You’ll get a little ego boost from your first completed task of the day.
• You’ve created a clear, flat surface on which you can work (i.e., fold clothes, prepare luggage, read books).
• Your bed will be a wonderfully comfortable oasis to fall onto (or climb into) at the end of the day.

This week’s mission is to clean out your car.

As busy as our lives can get, it’s tough to keep the inside of our cars clean, especially with kids in tow! So, grab a trash bag, find a basket, get some cleaning supplies, and head out to the garage… it’s time for you to cancel car chaos!

Now, where do you start? Well, right here…

1. In your trash bag, collect any and all garbage from every nook and cranny of your car.
2. Gather all items that belong elsewhere (i.e., in the house, in the garage, in the yard) and put them into your basket.
3. Return all displaced items to their respective “homes” (i.e., stuffed animals to playroom, paperwork to home office, gas can to garage).
4. Vacuum all carpeted and upholstered surfaces in your car.
5. Wipe down all plastic and leather surfaces in your car.
6. Don’t forget the windows… Clean those too!
7. Wash (and dry, if you like) the exterior of your car.

That’s it! But… now comes the tough part… you must keep your car clean all week long! How? Aaaahhh… good question…

1. Place your (now empty) basket on the passenger seat of your car. Use it to collect items that belong in the house (or elsewhere) every time you get out of the car.
2. Keep a small garbage bag in your car for trash. Several options include the little bags made to hang from a knob on your car stereo, an auto organizer made specifically for this purpose, or simply a box or gift bag on the floor in the back seat. Of course, whenever your trash bag gets full, toss it and get a new bag. In fact, keep an empty paper towel roll in your car stuffed with plastic grocery bags to use as quick and easy trash bag replacements.
3. Kids along for the ride? Store some wipes in the car for quick clean-ups after take-out meals, playdates at the park, etc. And, keep a small bucket of “travel toys” for entertaining little ones on long car rides. Finally, if you’re dealing with potty training, be sure to keep a small portable potty and toilet paper roll in your trunk… just in case…

So, what about you? How do you keep your car clean and organized? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below to share your favorite tips for cleaning and organizing your car.

On Monday, April 28th… Apartment Therapy is giving away 2 copies of Sorted! The Ultimate Guide to Organising Your Life by Lissanne Oliver, Australia’s best-known and most experienced professional organizer. So, don’t delay… enter the contest today!

Using more than 40 “recipes” and illustrating each point with full-color photography, Lissanne’s best-selling how-to guide teaches any reader to get organized and live more efficiently and effectively.

Understanding that organization is an accumulation of small, individual decisions, sections include the cleaning up of a number of locations, such as work, on-the-go, paper, living spaces, kitchen, and kids rooms.

Organization is a skill that can be learned, and is crucial to personal and professional success; from finding shoes that match to ending the cycle of late payment fees, readers can use this book to simplify and better lives.

Courtesy of Jan Hayner from OrganizingAndCleaning.com:

The rule for cleaning a room is that if you can do a particular job in less than 2 minutes, get it done! It will be one thing that you won’t have to do later. After all, what is 2 minutes?

What jobs can you do in under 2 minutes?

1. Wipe the sink and faucet
2. Sweep the floor
3. Take out the garbage
4. Make the bed
5. Throw dirty clothes into the hamper
6. Unload the dishwasher
7. Pick up the newspapers
8. Do a fast clutter pick up
9. Put things away in the bathroom
10. Clean the mirror
11. Hang up your jacket
12. Sort the mail
13. Check your calendar
14. Pick out clothes for the next day
15. Throw a load of laundry into the washer

The ideas are endless! Sure if you do more than one project, it is going to increase time, but look at all of the things you could do with 10 minutes to make your life easier.

Courtesy of Nina Restieri, creator of momAgenda and mom of four:

What if, in the last week before Christmas, you decided to cast off all the stuffy responsibilities, and commit to trading tedious obligation for carefree celebration? Intrigued? For a truly joyful holiday finale…

• First, go through your day planner and cross out anything that looks more like a chore than a chance to celebrate. Spend the time with your family instead. Holding your children close and feeling the sloppy kisses bestowed reminds you that the best holiday spirits are found at home.
• Second, instead of worrying about how you’ll look in this year’s trendy holiday dress, skip the style-slaving and opt for something soft or sparkly instead: a snuggly cashmere scarf or a shimmery pair of heels will have you feeling festive in no time.
• Next, forget about turbo-cleaning before the out-of-town guests arrive, and focus instead on adding a few welcoming touches to make them feel right at home: orange-scented incense on the mantle, extra-luxurious towels, a cozy fleece blanket. For such elf-like touches, your guests will surely forgive the fairy layer of dust on the window sill, or the broken toy from last year’s booty adorning the floor.
• Remember, sometimes the best Christmas present you can give your family doesn’t come in the intricate Martha-Stewart packaging your husband and kids could care less about anyway. The gift they’ll truly cherish is a mother who is well-rested, beaming, and has enough energy to get down on the floor and play with their new toys. On that note, why not give yourself an extra hour of beauty rest to compensate for all the busyness of the last few months? You can thank us when the holiday pictures arrive.