Once again, many people have
made another solemn vow to de-clutter and become more organized!
- Rooms and garages are
filled with too much stuff.
- Desks are piled high with
business cards and junk mail.
- The pressure to meet
deadlines becomes worse when papers and notes are misplaced or buried in
mountains of paper.
- The general clutter and
chaos of everyday life feels like heavy weight on the shoulders.
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January is Get Organized Month! So get ready to
DE-CLUTTER and GET ORGANIZED!
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Ten tips to get started.
Now is a great time to honor your resolution! To do that,
you may want to create a plan to clear the path of cutter and chaos!
Here are ten tips to get started:
- If de-cluttering were fun
you wouldn't have clutter. Turn the task into a project with a deadline.
- De-cluttering takes a lot
of time. For every hour of de-cluttering, allow an hour to re-organize.
- Once you know how many
hours/days you can devote to the project, choose an area (closet? garage?
Desk? Child's room?)
- Ask for help. The work
goes faster when you don't work alone! Invite trusted friends or family
members to give you a hand.
- Calendar the project.
Emergencies and health concerns should be the only reason you do not do
the work.
- Step back and check out
the mess. In the days leading up to your project, take note of what's
there, how many and how much. Think about what you no longer need, find
useful, haven't used, can be donated, recycled, or trashed.
- When you have a sense of
what you've got, start the search for appropriate donation centers. Electronic
and flammable waste should go to special collection centers. This is a
good time to learn how to use E-Bay or craigslist if you want to make some
money from your good work!
- For nearly every project
have at least 5 receptacles for sorting. These can be boxes or bags, or
areas marked out on the floor or flat surface so you can sort. Sorting
categories should include: recycle,
donate, keep, trash. If additional groupings emerge add more boxes or bags
to the list of supplies. Also, gloves, heavy duty plastic bags,
- Hold off on buying
"organizing" supplies like plastic containers, drawer dividers, or office
supplies until after a thorough de-clutter.
- Schedule the pick-up date
and time with the donation center for the items not being kept. Schedule your
time to bring electronic and flammable waste to an appropriate
collection center in your community.
Next time: Get Organized month tips from Professional
Organizers around the country! You won't want to miss it!
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