Organizing Ideas That Work Immediately
Posted: Wednesday, November 05, 2008
by Marilyn Bohn
Get It Together Organizing
Someone said to me the other day, "I don't know where to start to get organized". This is a legitimate concern. She had taken the first step; she recognized that she needs to get organized.
I have worked as a professional organizer for several years and I have found it is best to start with something small if you are feeling overwhelmed when you start to organize or even to think about getting organized.
Look at each item and decide if it is in good repair, if you like it, or if you use it. If you answer yes to these questions then put them back in the drawer. If you answered no, donate them or throw them away. For things you don't know what to do with take a minute and decide if they are worth keeping and if they are; then where will you think to go and get them when you want them? That is the place you will put them after finishing the drawer.
Another organizing idea: Find more time in your day without any effort at all. Start using those little "pockets of time" that you already have in your daytimes you are waiting for someone, you are on hold on the phone, you are waiting for the cookies to bake, waiting for the meat to defrost, or waiting for a phone call just to mention a few. I am sure you can think of many other times in your day that you have just five to ten minutes that are little "pockets of time"
Use these little pockets of time to organize something in your home.
Straighten your coffee table and get rid of the clutter living there. Recycle magazines that are over three months old. Do the same for old newspapers. If you are saving them because there is something you want to read, rip it out and recycle the rest. Start a folder of resource reading material. You will be amazed at how much you get done by using your "little pockets of time".
An organizing idea to keep paper and pens near the phone where you need them to take a message during a phone is to pick a drawer near your phone and stock it with pens/pencils, notepads and sticky notes. If the drawer is large enough, keep the phone books there also. If you don't have a drawer to dedicate to these items use a small basket and put the supplies in the basket. If you have more than one phone in the house do this at every phone. It will only take a few minutes to set this drawer up and you won't be wasting time hunting for a pen and paper the next time you need one.
A simple organizing idea can lighten the clutter in your home and in your life. It will also save you time every day. By using little "pockets of time" you will get organized and you will stay organized.
Marilyn Bohn is the owner of Get it Together Organizing, a business dedicated to developing practical organizing solutions that help individuals and business professionals live clutter-free and productive lives. She is the author of "Go Organize! Conquer Clutter in 3 Simple Steps".
Marilyn takes the often stressful subject of organizing and breaks it down into a simple, easy to understand system. Her methods are both eye-opening and encouraging! Visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com
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