| Print |
Share

Choosing to Live Organized
 

Was one of your New Year’s resolutions to “get organized?” If it was, you’re not alone. “Getting Organized” is one of the top three resolutions consistently set each year.
 
Setting a New Year’s resolution is great, but “keeping” the resolution and acting upon it is even better!  How are you doing with your New Years Resolution?  Rather than setting a resolution, perhaps what we should set are “intentions. ” For example, the “intention to live an organized life. ”
 
Organization is not a “one size fits all” approach. In fact, there is no right or wrong way to organizing. Rather, organizing is about creating and maintaining systems that work for you – each day. Living an organized life is a lifestyle choice and you can choose the style that works best for you.
 
Organizing is a process, not an event. The chaos and clutter you may be experiencing did not magically appear yesterday and unfortunately it will not disappear tomorrow. The good news is – the clutter and chaos that was acquired over many years can be eliminated quicker than it was accumulated! Because organizing is a “process”, you will need to work at it each day to help keep the clutter away. Organizing is not going to be a “quick fix” to a lifestyle of chaos and clutter. Instead the daily maintenance that you work at will be the most important step in any organizing system. Without it, the system will break down and your once organized kitchen, closet or garage may quickly become cluttered again. 
 
It is often helpful to compare “losing weight and getting in shape” to “getting organized. ” You “chose” to loose weight because you will look better, feel better and overall, it is just better for your health. You go on a diet, you work out and the weight starts to come off. You feel great and you look great.  But, in order to maintain that new weight and stay healthy, you need to maintain this new weight, otherwise the weight you lost, finds you again. Guess what? Clutter is really no different. You organize your home and you begin to feel less overwhelmed and more in control of your life. Just as with the weight loss, if you do not maintain it, the clutter can begin to reappear.
 
Often times people are so overwhelmed by their surroundings that they simply do not know where to start, so they never begin. It is much better to start small and do something, than to do nothing at all.
 
So, where do you start? I offer two suggestions. 
 
You may want to start with something small or start in an area that has been bothering you. Either way you chose, you want to be able to see your progress and have a feeling of accomplishment. 
 
Starting small is a great way to feel a sense of accomplishment! You can start with one junk drawer, a stack of papers, one shelf or even your sock drawer. Or, if you prefer to start in an area that really bothers you, the project may be larger, but you can always break the area down into smaller pieces that you can work on over a period of time.
 
Either route you chose to take, you may want to use the following 10-Step Process. 
 
  1. Dedicate time
  2. Gather supplies
  3. Establish a staging area
  4. Sort
  5. Purge and Eliminate
  6. Group “like” items together
  7. Examine your space
  8. Shop
  9. Install product
  10. Maintain
 
Notice that shopping is step 8. This is where a lot of people get into trouble. It is difficult to shop for product until you know what it is that you really want to organize and you know how much space you have for the organizational items you purchase.    The other area where this process tends to break down is in not keeping focused on the task at hand.
 
Here is a brief description of each step.
 
Dedicate time: If you simply say, I’ll get organized “someday,” someday will never come. You need to plan for this and schedule the time.
 
Gather Supplies: No, this is not the shopping step, it is the step that you gather the garbage can, recycling bin or boxes for items you will be eliminating!
 
Establish a Staging Area: If the area you’re working in is small, spread out into another area where you can temporarily use the space for the next step - sorting.
 
Sort: Your goal is to sort your items into groups of “like” items so that you can see the quantity in each area.
 
Purge and Eliminate: During the sorting process, you will more than likely run across items you no longer treasure and can eliminate them – either by donating, selling, recycling or pitching!
 
Group “like” items together: Most likely you started this already in step 4.
 
Examine your space: Is there enough space for what you are organizing? Do you need to take measurements of the area so you can look for organizing products or systems?
 
Shop: And you thought you’d never get to this step! The best part of organizing! Time to shop for products or systems that will be installed to help contain your groups of “like” items. Don’t forget to take a list with you, including measurements!
 
Install Product: This could be as simple as putting things in a new container, or slightly more time consuming when it comes to installing a new closet organizing system.
 
Maintain: The 5-10 minutes each day it takes to ensure your new organization systems continue to work for you and your family.
 
As you are working through this process, you want to establish a “home” for everything you have. Once you have done this, it is important to review your new organizational systems with all family members. After all, you don’t want your hard work to go to waste!
 
This process will work for you whether you want to organize one junk drawer, a stack of papers, one room or your entire home. When you are done, give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done, or better yet, treat yourself to something, such as a movie, lunch with a friend or a massage! Notice I didn’t list anything that would add any additional clutter!
 
Tips for Maintaining Your Organizing Systems
 
  1. Dedicate time daily.
  2. Involve your children at a young age and let them participate.
  3. Spend time at least twice a year going through each room in your home and eliminate items you know longer use or treasure.
  4. Set a policy with yourself that when one new item comes into the house, one existing item leaves the home.
  5. Purchase things that serve a purpose in your life and that you have a place for.
  6. Resist feeling guilty because you are letting go of something – it served a purpose for a period of time and the clutter may be costing you more in other ways than the actual item.

© Eliminate Chaos 2000-2011. All rights reserved.
 
© Eliminate Chaos 2000-2012. All rights reserved.