Every January thousands of people resolve to make changes that will improve their quality of life. Three of the top New Year’s resolutions are to “quit smoking,” “loose weight,” and “get organized.” It’s been said; if you want to change your life, start by clearing out your clutter. If you are feeling stuck and truly want to make a change in your life, clutter clearing and organizing is the way to start.
To be successful, set reasonable goals, acknowledge this is going to be a process and will take some time. Then, just do it!
If you want to get an area organized:
A. Make a list of what you want to organize. Be as specific as you can by going room-by-room. This will break down the concept of the total “get organized” effort into several manageable tasks.
B. Once you have your list, go back and prioritize the areas/tasks. What’s the most important area/task on which to start? (What will make the biggest difference in your life?)
C. Having selected a starting point, schedule appointments with yourself (once a week or twice a month) and block out one to three hours each time.
D. Now “just do it” drawer by drawer, closet by closet, room by room, and keep doing it little by little until you are satisfied with the area you are working in. Then move on to the next area. Be sure to finish one area before moving on to the next. Do not jump around!
E. If you follow your plan, at the end of 2010 (or sooner), your home and/or office will be totally organized and you will have taken back control in your life!
For those with paper as the main organizing challenge, start by:
A. Getting off the junk mail lists. We are all so inundated with unsolicited ads, coupons, catalogs and credit offers that we are constantly swimming in a flood of paper.
B. To extricate yourself from this flood, call 1-888-567-8688 and follow the prompts to opt out of receiving certain junk mail for five years.
C. You may also want to go to the website for the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) at http://www.dmaconsumers.org to have your name removed from mailing lists, telemarketing lists and email lists (this website also has other valuable information for consumers).
Good luck on your 2010 resolutions!
Barbara Ricketts is a Certified Professional Organizer (CPO). If you need assistance to simplify and organize, contact her at MessDoctor@Mac.com or call 661-263-0124.