There's so much to remember these days—multiple phone and account numbers, passwords, not to mention things to do, buy, and places to go.

Our memories can fail and frustrate us. As a professional organizer, memory (or lack of it) interests me, as forgetfulness can be a time waster, stressor and roadblock to getting things done.

There is good news and bad regarding memory. The bad news is that by late middle age we are losing, on average, about 1 percent of our brain volume each year.

The good news is that it is possible to increase the volume of the hippocampus, the brain area important in forming new memories.

In my last column, I shared five ways to boost memory, one of which was the use of mnemonics. A reader e-mailed me that in high school he made up his own mnemonic to learn the classification of species in biology class. He said it worked and he still remembers it after 65 years!

Here are 10 more ways to embed and retrieve information from our memory banks:

1. SEE IT. In “;Brain Rules,”; by John Medina, rule No. 10 is vision trumps all other senses; the more visual the input, the more likely it is to be recognized and recalled.

Post a visual reminder. I bet that seeing something three times a day for eight days results in high retention after 30 days.

2. SPEAK IT. If you aren't sure you turned off the iron or stove or locked the door, just say aloud “;I'm turning off the iron”; or “;I'm locking the door”; as you do it. The brain listens to the sound of our voice. The more senses we involve, the better we remember.

3. WRITE IT. Writing things down crystallizes our thoughts and aids retention. There are some, like me, for whom the physical act of writing things down helps embed it into the brain.

4. ORGANIZE IT. Information that is organized is more easily remembered than if it were in random order.

5. STRETCH IT. Do at least one cognitive exercise each day. Crossword puzzles, Sudoku, board or card games, math problems, reading, writing, learning a language or instrument creates new connections in the brain.

6. MOVE IT. Exercise regularly. A study showed that the hippocampus (the brain's control center for memory) was larger in those who were physically active.

7. DE-STRESS IT. Anxiety makes it harder to remember, so deal with issues that stress you.

8. EMOTE IT. Emotions can deeply embed information into our memory banks.

I recently had lunch with two friends from Seattle. I happened to mention my elementary school's principal by name. One friend was so amazed that I still remembered the principal's name, saying she had no idea what her principal's name was.

I remembered him because he was a kindly but big, imposing figure who came to the classroom periodically to paddle troublemakers. Fear plus empathy for the disciplined children caused me to remember him.

9. HABITUALIZE IT. If you have a problem misplacing and forgetting where you put things, have certain places to habitually put them.

I automatically put the parking garage ticket under the sun visor. If I have to take it to an appointment, upon returning to the car, I immediately put the ticket under the visor so it's handy when I reach the attendant.

10. REST IT. Get enough sleep. Medina's brain rule No. 7 is sleep well, think well.

Although there is not yet a Viagra pill for the brain, It is possible to strengthen memory and keep it strong. Happy remembering!

See you in two weeks!

Ruth Wong owns Organization Plus. Her column runs the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Contact her by e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).