It's Time to Organize

I was asked to write an article on organization… do you have any idea how funny that is? When it comes to my business life I’m pretty put together, although my workspace is always cluttered… it’s rarely out of control. In my home life it’s a whole other ball of wax… I am the image of disorganization! (Case in point, I was asked to write this article for January…and here we are in February!) So when asked to write this article, I had to laugh… then do some serious research.

What is Helping Me
There are two links I found most helpful one is from the editors at Real Simple Magazine, a true gem of a publication in my opinion. http://simplystated.realsimple.com/simplystated/2010/01/get-organized.html. This link contains real ideas and plans from real readers on how they are planning on getting organized this past month and for this year. The second is http://www.lifeorganizers.com/ which I find quite helpful for tips on everything from getting rid of clutter, to time management tips for both home and office.

Hard Choices
So, after I found these links... what is one of the world’s most disorganized people to do? Well… try and apply some of this new found knowledge of course! I wish I had taken “before” shots of my apartment, but then I’d be way too embarrassed to show them to you. My place was borderline ready to be a candidate on A&E’s new series “Hoarders” seriously! So.. I took a look at my situation, decided I needed to be more in control of my home environment, and made some hard choices:

1. If I haven’t used it in 6 months or more… I probably don’t need it… get rid of it or donate it.
2. If things have to sit out, they have to be in a container or some other organized fashion.
3. Break down the process, don’t think about cleaning the WHOLE apartment or office… think about cleaning one room at a time… or if it’s really bad... one section of one room at a time.
4. Set a deadline… I decided on a Sunday that my place would be clean enough for visitors by Thursday at noon.

Now I am Organized
That’s it.. that’s what it took for me to take control. Do I still have messy closets and a few things sitting out? You betcha! I’m an “out of sight out of mind” kind of person... so I’m constantly afraid if I put something away, behind closed doors... I’ll completely forget that I have it and probably go out and purchase a duplicate…wasting money. However… now that I’m organized? I can actually SEE what I have, nearly ALL of what I have simply when I open a cabinet or closet. It’s amazing! It was hard, and I had to make some hard line decisions about some things, but now that all that extra stuff is gone? I have to tell you that maintenance cleaning is a TON easier than overhaul cleaning.

I’m still working on the “every drawer is a junk drawer” problem though :-) I’ll address that another time.