Walking around the extended recliner, I jammed my “this little piggy had none” toe on the leg of the coffee table. Normally I don’t pay much attention to my toes. This little piggy changed that.

It also changed things like our next day's hiking plans. Fortunately, we were able to convert to biking in Yosemite instead. Another time it meant being dropped off with the older folks near the entrance at a concert. It still means deciding how badly I need an item from the other room before putting my toe through the pain of getting there.

It's often the little things in our lives and homes that cause angst and frustration. When it’s a toe—you wait it out. Here are seven quick fix Timely Tips for other subtle, or not so subtle stresses we face.

Timely Tips to fix your frustrations

1. Matching—How many containers and lids must you handle before finding a match? Are you ready to throw out the leftovers before you find one?

Store the lids on the containers. It takes more space, but by the time you eliminate all the containers and lids that have no match, there should be room.
This goes for sippy cups and water bottles, too.

2. New Stuff—Are you tripping over shopping bags and boxes of items waiting to be homed?

Before you put anything into your digital or physical cart, decide exactly where it’s going to be stored.
Unload bags and boxes immediately into their predetermined homes.

3. User-friendly Storage—Is it hard to find things or put them away in your closet, pantry or drawers?

One common culprit is bad lighting. Add a stick-on motion sensor rechargeable strip light to any closet, cabinet, or pantry that has no or poor lighting.
Fix closet doors and drawers that don’t open and close easily.
Purge drawers and shelves that are jammed full.
Use open-topped bins for things you use regularly.

4. Clothes—Tired of piles of clothes?

Place a dirty clothes bin in the closet.
Assign a spot on the bar for empty hangers.
Assign a bin or hook for frequently worn clothes.
Change clothes in the closet. Without having to move much, you can put your dirty stuff in the bin and hang up or put on the shelf your cleanish clothes and voilà! No more piles.

5. Bedtime—Is the kids’ bedtime a nightmare?

Create a bedtime routine chart with a start and end time
Establish “last call” for snacks so the bathing, brushing teeth, stories, etc. can be done without interruption.
Consistency is key to everyone getting the rest they need.

6. Location, Location, Location—Do you need to move other things or use a step stool to reach things you use often?

I relocated a client’s baggies and wraps to a top drawer from a lower drawer in her kitchen. She still talks about what a difference that made—small thing, big pay-off.
Pay attention to what frustrates you and consider where it might be more convenient.

7. Tasks—Are you frustrated with not getting things done on time? Is it paying bills, checking the kids’ school papers, laundry?

Schedule a regular time to do it and put it on the calendar with reminders so that, until it becomes routine, you won’t forget.
Calendar blocks of time for tasks that take several hours.

You might have noticed three common themes among many of these solutions—creating homes, limits, and routines. These are gold in the organizing world. Whenever you feel stressed, stop and consider—is there a home, limit, or routine solution for this issue?