Start Your Year By Getting Organized

January is GET ORGANIZED month...  so start a new mantra....  "I WILL GET ORGANIZED".

You don't need to go overboard and make a lot of lists or promises that you won't keep. You don't need to go out and buy a lot of organizing products. You don't need to throw everything out of your house.

All you have to do is try!  That's all!  Just try! Take it slow. One small space at a time. One small change at a time.

One rarely worn article of clothing or one rarely played with or outgrown toy or one never read magazine.  Put it in a pile to donate. Watch the room suddenly become less cluttered and more organized. One small pile at a time.

Write down all of the things that bother you in your home or office. Then pick the thing that bothers you the most and make a real effort to try and change it. If you don't know how or can't do it by yourself....there is help available.

The key is to just start somewhere. One step at a time.

If you make the project too big you might get overwhelmed and stop before you even get started. Or you might start and then get overwhelmed when you realize that it won't get done in an hour like on T.V.

Getting organized takes time. It also looks worse once you start and get into the project. You usually have to take everything out of a room (or closet or desk....) and that makes things look a lot more cluttered than when you started. But remember..... getting organized is a process.

It will get better if you keep at it. Don't give up! GET ORGANIZED!  One step at a time.

Remember....   Less Clutter  =   Less Stress....

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Clutter - Chronic Disorganization - Hoarding

Everyone has a different definition of clutter. To some people clutter is anything that is out of place.  If a coffee cup is left on the kitchen counter - it's clutter.  To other people, clutter means you can't walk through a room.  Everyone views clutter differently.

 

Just as the saying goes "one mans trash is another mans treasure. Or some people would define that person as a hoarder.  

Who's right ?

According to the dictionary, clutter is a “confused or disorganized state or collection”. 

A confused state? Yes, you can have clutter of the mind. But most people think of clutter as just “stuff”. A collection of random objects scattered all over the place. That’s a nice and simple definition. It could just be that you hadn’t bothered to pick up after yourself and have stuff everywhere. 

Then we get to a more serious and a more cluttered situation and we could end up with chronic disorganization.

Chronic Disorganization also has a definition:

• Chronic disorganization is having a past history of disorganization in which self-help efforts to change have failed
• an undermining of current quality of life due to disorganization
• the expectation of future disorganization.

This means that you have been disorganized for many years. And it has started to affect your quality of life. You can’t find things. You are constantly late because you can’t find things. You are embarrassed by your mess.

It’s a little more than just basic clutter.

A person can be organized in one area of his life but not in another. They can be organized at work but be disorganized at home. They can be organized by how they manage their time but not with how they manage their stuff.

Then we go up another level and get to “hoarding”.

What exactly is “hoarding”? According to “Frost & Hartl’s (’96) definition of clinical hoarding:

1) the acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value

2) living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designated

3) significant distress of impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding

Some people have an obsessive need to acquire things. They tend to develop an emotional attachment to things that many of us would consider trash.

Family and friends of hoarders don’t always understand that “hoarding” is an “illness” and that the hoarder needs professional help. They sometimes feel that by just going in and cleaning out the house (sometimes even when the hoarder doesn’t know that they are going to do it) that everything will be “o.k.”.  Once the mess is gone, problem solved. But that can actually make it worse.

Hoarding is a complex issue. An issue that not even the mental health community can agree on. An issue that there might not be a cure for.

It’s a problem that many people won’t admit they have and one that might cost them their family or even their life.

A problem that is more common than you think.

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Organizing on a Budget

I love organizing gadgets. Nothing makes me happier than looking at the variety of organizing gadgets on the market. But, unfortunately some of them are expensive.

Being organized and organizing has nothing to do with gadgets. It's about "order" and "functionality". Plain and simple.

There is not only one way to organize a room.  Each person has to organize their space to reflect not only how they will use the space but also how their mind organizes things.

Everyone is different. There is no "one size fits all"  in organizing.

I never tell my clients to go out and buy a bunch of organizing gadgets and then organize their space to reflect how I would do things. In fact, when I first talk to a client I very specifically tell them to "buy nothing" until I know what they want to do with the space and we figure out how to best accomplish their wishes. And then I try to utilize the things that they already have, re-purpose their existing belongings before we even consider any other options. 

You can be organized without spending any or very little money.  Just look around your home or look at some of the inexpensive containers at the Dollar Store that might work for your project.

Use Ice Cube trays to contain your jewelry or craft supplies. Or re-use glass jars to contain a variety of things. Contain the kids puzzle pieces in Zip Lock bags.

Organizing doesn't have to be expensive. Learn to "think outside the box".

Now get started.... you know you want to !

Happy Organizing....and remember .....  Less Clutter  =  Less Stress....

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Organizing for the New Year

It's New Years Eve....and tomorrow is the start of the New Year!  It's the day that everyone makes New Years Resolutions.....  What is yours going to be?

Why don't you start the new year off right by promising to try and GET ORGANIZED.  The key word is try.  Make a real effort... to at least think about it.

Don't make big promises that you can't or won't keep. Don't say that you are going to organize your entire house....when you probably won't.  Make a commitment to think about changing your life by becoming more organized.

One step at a time.......   You can't rush organization.  You can't change your habits in one hour or one day. It takes time.

Making a commitment is scary to a lot of people.  But once you do....and once you start the actually organizing process..... you will wonder why you waited so long.

And it is a "process".  Having an organizing coach....a Professional Organizer.... just like your workout coach.... will help keep you focused and going in the right direction.

So..... make a plan. Any plan. How about "organizing your office".  Or "organizing your kitchen".

Break it down into manageable pieces. One drawer at a time. One hour at a time.

Once you have accomplished one task and can physically see the difference....you will be inspired to continue.

So make that New Years Resolution....to GET ORGANIZED !

Wishing you a very Happy and ORGANIZED New Year !

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. May your day be filled with joy and happiness.

It's Christmas Eve - Time to Reflect on Family

It's Christmas Eve....and most of us are done with our shopping and ready for Santa. But for those of you that aren't ....don't stress....just try to be a bit more organized next year.

The holidays are not about presents. They are about family. The best present that you can give anyone is "yourself".

Time is a precious thing. It goes too quickly and there is never enough of it.

Picking up the phone and calling your loved ones....a real phone call...not a text....means more than you will ever know. Hearing a loved ones voice. Hearing the caring and knowing that you are loved....is a precious thing.

Reach out to your friends and family during the holidays. Let them know that you have not forgotten them. In this busy time where we are all working, struggling to make ends meet...the gift of yourself is more precious than anything that you can wrap up.

Wishing all of you a very HAPPY HOLIDAY and a more ORGANIZED NEW YEAR !

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

De-Clutter For the Holidays

It's getting close to the end of the year....that means TAX DONATIONS are coming to an end for the year !

In the midst of the Holiday buying craziness you should take a step back and clear out your closets.

There are many reason for this - and de-cluttering your closets and life is not the only one. With Christmas just around the corner I am sure (if you were good) that you will probably get some new clothes and the kids will get new toys.

Do you have room for them?  What about the things you no longer use or need? What about the things that your kids have outgrown?  Including toys.

Now is the time to clean our your closets and cupboards.  Have the kids clean out their toy box (let it be their decision on what toys to donate to other kids).

Not only are you de-cluttering your house - you are also taking advantage of the tax deduction that comes with donating things that you no longer need.

But hurry..... the year is coming to a close and so is your opportunity for last minute deductions.

By de-cluttering and donating you are not only helping others.... you are also helping yourself and hopefully teaching your kids a valuable lesson in giving.


Happy Holidays!

Organizational Consulting Services

www.organizationalconsultingservices.com