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Keeping Your New Year's Resolution to Get Organized

image By Professional Organizer Lea Schneider

Disorganized?

You should know that you are not alone. Following the Season of Giving in December is the unrecognized Season of Too Much Stuff in January.

How to Get Organized

1) Avoid Unrealistic Expectations: Sure you’ve seen Clean Sweep and Mission Organization on TV. That is the important thing to remember. It is just a TV show. On those shows, that rescue a room in an hour, there is an entire crew of workers. Be realistic and know that it will take time to get things the way you want.

2) Avoid The Big Mistake: Don’t rush out and start your project by buying organizing products first thing. You simply cannot organize clutter, no matter how hard you try. If you place your clutter in plastic tubs, you will still have too much stuff and too much clutter. If you need storage products, that is the very last step to your project.

3) Achieve Success Don’t give into temptation to change everything at once. You know that as much as you want to do so, you won’t be able to keep it up. Make an exact list of rooms and then of areas within each room; be specific- clean clothes closet- sort photos- get paperwork to one spot. Then pick one area of your life to work on or one room of clutter.

Write your goal down. Be positive. Be very specific. Do not just write, for example, organize the garage, but make a step-by-step list, such as put the tools together, put the gardening supplies together, take a load to charity and so on.

Post it where you have to see it. Over the sink on the bathroom mirror is a good spot.

Don’t start more than one project at a time. Finish that project completely before beginning a second. (Ever pull everything out, create a huge mess, get tired and sit in the mess and wish you had not started? Avoid that. Stick to your goal!)

Reduce your clutter by purging out things you do not need. Ask yourself if you love it, use it or need it. All items must fit those categories. Why would you keep something you do not love, never use and don’t need?

If you truly are honest and reduce your clutter, you are now ready to organize. You will find you have closet space, shelf space, cabinet space, and garage space. See, you did not really need ten plastic tubs!

4) Keeping the Resolution

Make a promise to: Allow less stuff to come in to my home. Have a place for everything. Say no to more stuff, from hand-me-downs to bargain sales.

Make sure to: Continually remind yourself. Place notes on the kitchen window over the sink, your bathroom mirror and in your calendar. Stick to your task to complete that first goal.

Get an organizing buddy. Find a friend or family member and tackle your goal and their goal together as a team. You will stay on task with someone along side you and get done twice as fast!

Look for email reminders. You will find some good websites that remind you of things for free in my links section of this website.

Remember, getting organized frees your time and allows you to do the things you really want to do. Wouldn’t that be great for the New Year?