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  Get Organized The Easy WayI've got a simple game plan to finally get your house in order. If you are overwhelmed and haven't a clue where to begin your de-cluttering, look no further.Here is a game plan you can easily implement to reach your organizing goals. It's geared for success because it takes into account your everyday life's schedule and your priorities while eliminating distractions. The main principle of the plan is to successfully organize one space each month over a year's time, simply using whatever time you have available. One month you might tackle the kitchen and/or pantry, another month a closet or two, and yet another month the garage. You simply concentrate on only organizing that one space all month long. You could spend an entire afternoon, day, or weekend organizing. You can very easily do a drawer, shelf, or box when you have an extra few minutes here and there. You simply take any given opportunity to work on your organizing project. You may need to schedule a de-cluttering session if it'll help you to actually do it. The key to this plan is to only work in that month's designated space. You won't be distracted by all of the other spaces that need organizing because you've already committed that month to its own project. By the end of the month, or even sooner, you will have a totally new organized space! So just how does this plan work? By devoting one month each to twelve of your top organizing priorities, you can actually achieve your New Year's Resolution to get organized! Follow these simple guidelines and enjoy the exuberance of a goal well accomplished! First, make a list of all of the areas in your life, home, office, and relationships that need to get in order. This may take a few days of serious thought. After you've made your list, narrow things down to the top 12 areas you desperately want to gain control of. Next, you will need to get out your calendar. When are your vacations planned? Do your children play on a traveling summer baseball team? Are the most stressful times at work during October? Think through the ebb and flow of your year, the busy/more stressful times vs. the more quiet and free times. After you've gotten a good sense of how your year flows, you will better know when to schedule the more demanding organizing projects on your list. For instance, if your company has you traveling a good deal in the Spring, save that huge garage project for the Fall when there aren't usually any pressing activities on your calendar. Next, look over your list of top 12 organizing projects, and with calendar in hand, begin assigning organizing projects to the months that seem most practical to get them completed. You may choose December as the month to organize your holiday decorations/gift wrap/card list. You could also choose to take the month of December "off" and only have 11 projects to do during the year. If you don't have 12 organizing projects to do, then take one of your extra months and use it as a "Finally Fix It" month. Concentrate your efforts this month on fixing all those items you've been putting off, or work on needed home improvement projects. It's very important to not sabotage your organizing efforts by neglecting to keep things maintained. Schedule maintenance time (daily or weekly) on your calendar, just like you would a doctor's appointment. When you build in this time on a regular basis, you will be more successful at keeping up with your newly organized spaces. By following this plan, you can successfully get organized in a year. Remember to stick to the month's project and not try to work on a different project until it's scheduled. Work on varying aspects of the project as you can all throughout the month. Each month work only on what's assigned to that month. At year's end, look back on all that you've accomplished and treat yourself to a nice pat on the back for a job well done! Free Article Source: http://www.za77.org About The Author: Nancy J. McGarity is a Professional Organizer, Speaker, Facilitator of local Clutter Clubs, and a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers. She is the author of the upcoming book “Organizing For Real Life”, creator of Tot Tags for organizing toys, and a distributor of The Hecht of an OrganizerTM. For more tips and to request your FREE copy of “25 Secrets of Clutter Prevention”, go to www.realsolutionsforliving.com. |