Even if you dread cleaning, you can’t deny that it feels good after it's done. However, the benefits of cleaning aren't limited to that glowing feeling of pride you feel when you survey your spotless house. Cleaning and tidying have very real, very tangible effects on our physical and mental health. If you’re committed to taking better care of yourself this year, you should be committed to taking better care of your home.

Habits and routines are powerful - as anyone who's worked to break a bad habit can tell you. As harmful as bad habits are and as difficult as they are to change, good habits and beneficial routines are just as powerful. Creating routines that are meaningful and that you can accomplish, will help you create good habits and will lead to a happier, more organized, more fulfilling life. 

​No matter how much you love your home, everyone has those moments when they realize that their abode could do with a little sprucing up. However, you don’t have to break out the sledgehammer for big renovations to breathe new life into your home — even simple updates can do the trick when you want something new. Try one or more of the following decor tips before you call your contractor for a big, pricey project.

If you're reading this as it goes live, you may have just made New Year's Resolutions related to organization. If not, you still have goals, personal or professional, that are either related to organization or would benefit from a more organized space, home, or office. Once you've decided which space to focus on, how do you begin? What's the best thing you can do to set yourself up for success? We'll tell you. The best part: it doesn't cost a thing.

Jen, Founder and Lead Organizer at JAM Organizing, takes the time to sort donations before taking them to several different local charities.

This month JAM Organizing presents another informative post from a guest blogger. Enjoy!

​One of the greatest side effects of the modern, fast paced lifestyle is stress. With rushed mornings, long work days, and late evenings, many of us feel like we spend our lives in a state of chaos trying to keep up with our to-do list. But did you know there are specific ways we can foster a calming environment that will help us relax? By integrating soothing elements into your surroundings at home, you can transform the way you begin and end each day and create a space that promotes peace and serenity.

Having a home to call your own is a wonderful feeling, but let’s be honest here: there will be times when you find yourself nitpicking at certain details of your house. Is there a particular backsplash in your kitchen that you aren’t fond of? Does your living room and kitchen look cramped? Do you dislike the interior of your bathrooms? A lot of times, these little problems that you have with your house won’t go away with time, but there are lots of simple ways to revamp your old home that will have you falling in love with it once more. 

JAM Organizing will soon announce the schedule for two different educational series to help you get where you want to be. Join us for live classes in Wilmington, North Carolina and, in the near future, for webinars you can watch regardless of where you live.

Read on for more information on the why's, what's, where's and when's!

Accountants and the IRS recommend keeping your last seven years of tax returns and supporting documentation, and that's what I tell my clients. I was recently able to help a client purge over 224 lbs of well-organized tax documents spanning the last 46 years. 

Full disclosure: I don't enjoy lining my cabinets. Not even a little. I never buy enough shelf liner, it always takes longer than I expect, and before the project is over, I've been to the store MULTIPLE times to buy more. Why do I line my kitchen cabinets? For the same reason many women do much of what we do around the house: because my mother did.

​So, I decided to look into it. Is this necessary? Do the benefits outweigh the frustration? Turns out, they do.