Trying to find time to make changes?
The changing times may be just what you need!

Try working on these organizing tasks if you encounter any of these common transitions this spring and summer.

• Change of season. Put the winter gear in the garage and make sure your "summer toys and tools" (including lawn mower, sprinklers and gardening tools) are accessible. Sweep out the garage and clear shelves of any unnecessary clutter.

• Family vacation - Come home with wonderful memories and photos and resolve to immediately get these most recent pictures printed and/or downloaded onto your computer for easy viewing. For digital shots, consider free services such as Snapfish.com, Shutterfly.com, or Kodak.com to store, organize and print your photos economically.

• Putting house on market. Clear clutter, limit personal photos on the walls, and get the whole family involved in keeping the house neat and tidy for easy showings at a moment's notice.

• At-home "vacation" due to job transition or job search. Devote time to making the home office a place that's orderly and effective for the person who uses it most. File away important documents, letters of reference, reviews and other papers from your previous job. Make a plan to spend quality time at the computer, and resist the urge to surf the internet or send unnecessary emails. Devote efforts to updating and sending out your resume instead.

• Upcoming wedding or merge of household. Tackle the "his" and "hers" possessions separately, purging as much as you see fit. Making room for "ours" will be easier when there's less "stuff" to deal with.

• End of school year. Go through school papers with child (if old enough) and find the true keepers. Keep them in an acid-free box (such as the Schoolfolio) and store them out of the way of current work or play items.