Tidier, quicker and easier: that's a mantra for Susan Saxton, whose busy schedule includes much work, some travel, salvaged hours for jewelry design and lazy time with her cat, Sasha. Staying organized maximizes the minutes in her days.

"I was born organized," she said. "My mom, my dad and all the kids in our family, we're all that way."

Her work as the longtime business manager at Suzanne Sessions fits her methodical mind. She keeps straight the bid packages, construction documents and drawings, correspondence and travel schedules for the firm's complex design projects for amusement parks, exhibits and museums. She's unflappable.

When a beaded chain she loved broke 13 years ago, she took it to the designers at her office. "They were all into beading and making jewelry," she said. "I knew they could fix my chain." Instead of a quick fix, one designer showed Saxton how to make the repair herself. Saxton got stoked.

"I could not wait to do it again," she said. She's been designing earrings, bracelets and necklaces since. "I even shop for beads on vacations. When I went to the Grand Canyon, I visited 10 bead shops in 10 days." She favors a mix of natural stones and Swarovski crystals with sterling silver or gold-filled findings.

Jewelry-making morphed into a small business, Heartstrings by Susan Saxton. True to form, her jewelry studio is organized for maximum efficiency: tools in the center of the work table, projects pinned to boards, sorted beads and findings in plastic compartmented boxes. There's even a designated soft towel fluffed for the cat.

Cooking isn't a top priority, but she likes to eat good food. Saxton cooks using time-saving, efficient methods. She makes salads with washed and bagged baby spinach, mixed greens and lettuces, then adds ingredients to make flavors pop. She might toss in shelled edamame, grated carrots, feta cheese and homemade croutons, or dried cranberries and sunflower seeds with blue or goat cheese.

Cool-weather favorites include chilis, soups and stews, cooked on Sunday mornings, then frozen in single servings. Simple pastas are quick dinners summer and winter. She varies the roasted vegetable combinations and cheeses to keep flavors bright.

When the cooking's done, no matter how busy she is, Saxton recycles. "It's a sin not to recycle," she said. "It's a core value for me and has been for 25 years." Today, Saxton doesn't need to organize plastic, glass, cardboard and paper and tote it to recycling centers.

"When I moved to my loft, I opened my garage door, and it was a heart-stopping moment, like in the movies when the a bright light comes on and music plays. A single-stream recycling dumpster sat in the alley." For the efficient Saxton, the heavenly dumpster represented more time saved to spend living well.