How To Do Wednesday: Declutter Your Life!
Becoming an organized person is not something that happens over night; organization is a process. For those of you who have no idea where to start or if you are naturally disorganized, I am here to help!
Make To-Do Lists. Use your phone, tablet, or a pen and paper to make lists for everything. Keep post-its and pens in various places in your home so that you can jot down things as you go. Your list can be as detailed as what you are going to do each hour, to as general as things that you need to accomplish some time in that week or even month. And I know, sometimes you forget to take a list when you need it but you are more likely to remember something after writing it down.
Set a Deadline. While you can take your time completing the tasks on your lists, they should have an end date, which would mean that you complete them. I personally want to get my attic cleaned out before March so that I can focus on making some updates to my kitchen in April. By May, I will be outside working on other projects, weather permitting. You get the idea.
Remove Clutter. I am organized and I have clutter in places in my home, mainly my attic which houses a lot of things that I don't know if I want to keep or get rid of. Removing clutter will allow you to expand your space and create organization systems that continue to work.
Start Organization Systems. Again, do one project at a time. Maybe one weekend you will do your bathroom and the next weekend the closets. If you make your systems functional and don't over clutter your space, the areas should stay clean. And when items start to over-clutter, create another system! Even professional organizers continue to improve their own organization systems because there are so many ways to organize!
Store Your Needed Paper Clutter. If you have or can afford to invest in a filing cabinet, I would highly suggest it! If you cannot afford or fit a filing cabinet into your space, a cheap way to organize is with binders or folders. Keep all of your papers organized by category so that they are easily accessible. I personally have a filing cabinet but use the binder method quite often to organize at work.
Involve the Family. If you have a spouse and/or kids, make sure that they know about your system and how you would like it used. Banning items from your system will encourage your family to create their own systems of organization. An example would be keeping toys or shoes out of a certain area, etc.
Plan for the Future. Whether its getting ready for tomorrow, planning an organizing project, or even planning a trip you always want to start preparing as soon as you can. The best way to stay organized is to stay on top of things!
For lots more organization tips and ideas, please visit my Organization board on Pinterest. I also wanted to link one of my old posts, Budgeting Made Easy for those of who might also want to organize your budget as well.
**Thank you for reading! Are you going to get a head start on Spring Cleaning? Let me know in the comments below.**
I knew a woman years ago who would start spring cleaning in February. She had beautiful wood paneling in her house and would use an expensive oil to wipe down every panel during her cleaning. She always started in February because by spring, she wanted to be outside working in her numerous flowerbeds. And no, this woman was not me! She cleaned out every kitchen cabinet, every closet and cubby hole every year.
ReplyDeleteI like to start Spring cleaning early to get all of my gardening done in time. Where I live, it may not get warm until May or June so I always want to be ready to work outside if we get blessed with a good, warm day in April/ May. Smart lady!
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