Want to Get…and Stay Organized? Use These 6 Simple Techniques
As we spend more time at home, many of us are anticipating using the time to get, and stay, more organized.
Sounds simple enough – more time at home, more time to organize, right?
Not always so! As much as we want to get organized, there are many obstacles that can get in our way, including time, energy, a clear starting point, and motivation.
However, there are definitely ways to manage these challenges through the adoption of a few key organizing techniques. Try some of these ideas and notice how they affect your organizing progress:
1. Put Things Away As You Go
This may seem so obvious, but many times we don’t put things back after we use them.
In order to carry through on this “simple” task, we must be willing and motivated to make a change in our habits and actions, which take time, effort and focus. Living with other people’s stuff makes this even harder. Picking up items that are not in their proper home, and putting them back, is a small first step to organizing success. With small success comes greater confidence, which leads to success with bigger projects. 2. Daily Timed Tidying Up (adapted from Time-Management-Success)
This technique encourages you to do a little bit of organizing every day using a timer. Set your timer for a certain amount of time, perhaps 10 min to start, and in this time, focus on tidying up or organizing one small category of items (i.e.: all cans in your pantry, all pens on your desk). The key is to use the technique regularly in order to make daily (or weekly/monthly) progress.
3. In with One, Out with One
To effectively manage your physical and mental clutter, you want to eliminate the old when bringing in something new. Whether this means donating your old coat once you buy a new one, consolidating packaged goods into one box when you buy more, or deleting digital files when they’re unnecessary, the key is to do this consistently to decrease clutter, and be better prepared to organize effectively.
4. Touchdown Station
Usually, where we enter and exit our house is a busy zone! One of the best ways to manage this area is to create a drop off/pick-up “Touchdown Station” where essential items (keys, sunglasses, lip balm, etc.) are kept.
Whether you choose to use a basket, box, shelf, or tray, putting your important items in one place makes coming and going more streamlined. The key is to make it functional and easy to use!
5. Limit Your List (adapted from Mark Forster)
If your to-do list continues to get longer, try this technique to help you focus on accomplishing key tasks. After a certain number of tasks (10 is often a good number), draw a line after those items. As more items come up, add them below the line, but do not do them until the items above are complete. Anything above the line that is not completed can be recycled to your next list of 10.
6. Plan Organizing Time
When we don’t plan our organizing efforts, we often react to what is going on around us and start haphazardly putting things away and cleaning up. Although workable, this approach can often lead to feeling stressed out, pressured and guilty.
By scheduling time to organize (daily, weekly, monthly or seasonally), we can prepare ourselves mentally for what is coming and use our time more efficiently.
Whatever you choose to focus on during your scheduled time, break it into small chunks. For example, if your goal is to organize a closet, start with items on the floor, then the hanging ones, followed by all shelf items. Breaking down your organizing actions into smaller steps can prevent you from feeling overwhelmed or frustrated.
Taking small steps is key to forming new organizing and decluttering habits. By incorporating these six techniques into your life, you will likely organize more efficiently, accomplish more from your to-do list, and stay motivated to keep making organizing progress. If you would like organizing support, visit: https://simplyhomeinc.ca/ or contact us directly at 416-819-1576. Happy Organizing!
