Time flies when you're having fun - and even when you're not.  It's hard to believe that more than half of 2009 has already passed.  Kellie Gormley's recent Tribune-Review article on the current status of New Year's Resolutions (see link in block below) got me thinking about how frustrated people become as they get bogged down in their day-to-day tasks and subsequently lose sight of their organizing goals.

 

Summer is a time when you get the chance to do things you don't normally do during the rest of the year and to slow down and not be on "auto-pilot."  It's the perfect time to reflect on how you're progressing toward your goals.  So whether you're at home or at the office (or if your office is in your home), the following list can help you get back to organizing basics and on track for the rest of 2009:
 

1.  Clarify your vision and identify your goals.

2.  Use your goals as a basis for making decisions.
Goals are great, but they mean nothing if you don't refer to them as you make decisions during the sorting process.  Being clear about how you want your space to be provides a framework for figuring out what to let go of and what to keep.

 

Gather bags, boxes, markers, post-its, scissors, and any other tools and supplies you'll need during your organizing session.  Having everything you need for the job at hand will limit disruptions and help you avoid the temptation to go do other things.

 

Enthusiasm for tackling a project can quickly turn into frustration and dread if you think you're going to organize an entire house in a day.  Pick a reasonable number of tasks to accomplish within any given time frame based on how quickly you make decisions and on how much and what type of "stuff" is there.

  

Even if the unexpected happens or you feel as if you never make progress, stay focused on your goal and do something that will help you reach it.  Any task you do, no matter how small, is getting you there. 

 

If you use something once a day and you're keeping it across the room in a box on a shelf in the closet, you're wasting time and setting up the likelihood that you'll consistenly leave the item out, thus causing clutter.  Instead, store the item where you actually use it, along with other similar items.

 

7.  Give everything a home.

 

Just because a piece of furniture is "supposed" to be used in one room doesn't mean it can't be utilized somewhere else.  If a clothing armoire meant for a bedroom works better in your living room for storing media, go ahead and move it!

 

Would you hold off brushing your teeth once a day for an entire week, and then brush them for an hour on Sunday?  Hopefully you answered no. . . Remember, it's alot easier and more efficient to spend 10 minutes a day maintaining the systems you've put in place than it is  to spend three hours trying to get things back to normal.  You'll also avoid creating "clutter cavities" by doing a little bit every day.

 

  

Anywhere Travel Service