A client recently related that she wanted to work with someone who had systems for organizing her office at which I felt offended and shocked that she didn’t think I have systems with which to utilize. I knew this was about her and not about what I am capable and competent at doing. My guess is that she wants someone to sort her files and papers so they can be put into her new credenza. Well, guess what? It doesn’t matter who she gets, with the best systems in place, she will STILL have to sort that paper and make decisions about those files no matter who works with her! NO ONE else can make those decisions.
Systems are key to organizing. Systems are what organizing is built upon. Without them,we would merely be cleaning up a space only to have it revert back to its original state. We can’t clean up an area once and put things away and hope that it will stay that way. That is naive and never leads to success.
The first part of the equation is clearing on a grosser level–getting the room, garage, office space so that the clutter is sorted, purged and contained into files or containers of various sizes and styles and then they are labeled. Depending on the size of the space and the level of disorder, this could take some time and persistence. It is a process. Yet once that is accomplished, then we can start organizing things into specific places or zones, places you can easily reach and access for things you use most often and need. We need to discuss the use of particular things and how they are used and when. Those things need to be accessible to you and it needs to make sense of where we put them.
Next, we need to consider the maintenance of that system so the room doesn’t revert to how it was. This means you have to USE the system that we set up together. Like getting in shape, you have to pick up the weights, eat different foods, etc. so you can have the body you intend. You need to stick to the system created so the order remains. Paper and mail are 2 challenging areas since we have so much of it and it keeps coming into the home and office We need a system of how to deal with the mail and how to deal with paper. It can’t be thrown into a basket and left to build and overflow. The best is to make a decision in the moment and take action on it then and there. Is it any wonder our horizontal surfaces are breeding grounds for clutter? When we have systems in place, they remain clear and we have a place to put our paper and mail. I contend with this on a regular basis–my printer is such a surface that attracts paper and junk that I have to keep dealing with or else it becomes unmanageable. My system is to make a decision about the slips of paper, the mail, the books and put them where they belong. The reason it gets that way is because I haven’t made decisions about those things and they pile up.
Systems are what keep the world running, from the bank, to the grocery store, to the department stores. We need to install and use organizing systems so we can have the order we desire and have the spaces we want to live and work in. Take a look at what systems or lack of them that are working or not working in your living and work spaces. Or call Creative Space Organizing and let us help you set up the systems you need at 510-501-1213.