Get all the spaces your need organized. Drawers are Key!
With the New Year comes new responsibilities and new possibilities. Without direction and order, we can find ourselves mired in 2010 without the clear path and direction we need to move forward. If we have a pile of things we have left from the previous year, we can find ourselves challenged to take action and have energy and enthusiasm for what’s next.
The key is to start making decisions. Take down the tree, recycle the greeting cards (do you really need to hold onto another year’s worth of holiday cards–more on that later), put any new clothes into the closets (getting rid of an equal number of old things that are outworn and dated), recycle the old wrapping paper (unless it’s something special that you really have to save), get rid of ANY and ALL boxes you can (kids toys don’t need them, the giant plasma screen TV box, if you must save it, can be flattened and placed up high in a garage or behind a standing shelving unit).
Maximize your Space. We hold onto more than we need. It’s the 80-20 Rule: we use 20% of what we own and the other 80% just takes up space. Look closely at what you are saving. For instance, some of us are sentimental and feel compelled to keep all of our greeting cards from holidays and other occasions. One idea, keep this year’s Christmas cards and toss previous years and keep them for one year. Or, keep only the most precious and special ones. The covers can be reused for art projects which keeps the memories alive. Space is a premium and hence, we need to be ruthless and judicious with the things we keep. I am continually maximizing space for clients who don’t know how to effectively use shelving units and other storage places. Taking things out of unnecessary packing and grouping things together or placing into existing containers, saves precious space and frees it up for other uses. I recently worked with a client in her home office and we emptied 8 containers full of stuff. I cleared a shelf in her closet and got the remaining things placed there and freed up her futon for visiting guests.
Creating Zones. Know where your things are by creating designated areas for the things you have that you can easily access and locate. Most of us know we have certain things but can’t find them when we need them. When we establish zones for what we own, we can go to that area and find what we need. Things are in clearly marked bins or containers and we can use what we need and return them when completed.
Systems Work. By establishing systems for specific spaces, we can more easily and readily maintain order in these various places. Mail comes in and is either recycled, open, filed, paid, etc. We have a place for tools in the garage, we have a place for holiday decor, we know where our kid’s homework is and we can find our important tax information when we need it. Our lives become more balanced and sane as a result.
Overwhelm and Fear. Most clients are in overwhelm when they seek my help. By working on this together and getting into action, we move beyond the fear and overwhelm and make progress and create solutions for what the client needs. Overwhelm is created by seeing this bigger-than-life-problem and making it bigger. It feeds our fear and resistance and causes us to run from the situation. Once it is chunked into bite size pieces, the client can see that it is doable and that order can be restored.
Trust Yourself. Take the action to seek the help of a professional organizer and restore the order, clarity and sanity you need in your home, home office and work office to increase productivity, balance, peace of mind and order to have the 2011 you desire and deserve.