Five Minute Organizing Ideas

5 Minute Organizing to Get You in the Habit

Everyone thinks that you have to have an entire day or at least an afternoon set aside before you can start any organizing project.

WRONG!

You can get a lot done in a short period of time.

Pick one and ONLY one of the following challenges. Set a timer to see how much you can accomplish in just 5 minutes:

     1.     Organize your sock drawer

2.     Organize your underwear drawer

3.     Organize your bra drawer

4.     Tidy up your scarves, ties, belts or caps

5.     Take all the shoes from the foyer and put them away

6.     Load the dishwasher

7.     Unload the dishwasher

8.     Start a load of laundry

9.     Put away the dry-cleaned clothes

10.   Put away toys outside (or in the play area)

11.   Put away stuffed animals

12.   Make your bed

13.   Organize one bathroom drawer

14.   Organize your skirts by color

15.   Organize your pants by color or style

16.   Organize your business shirts by color

17.   Organize your tank tops or sweaters

18.   Tidy up your bathroom

19.   Tidy up a bedroom

20.   Tidy up pillows around the house

21.   Organize one shelf in your pantry

22.   Organize one shelf in your freezer (toss expired items)

23.   Organize one shelf in your fridge (toss spoiled items)

24.   Tidy up your desk

25.   Tidy up your kitchen counters

26.   Tidy up your car

27.   Tidy up your garage counter

28.   Tidy up your tools

29.   Tidy up the shed 
30.   Tidy up the front or backyard

31.   Prune a shrub

32.   Pick up some leaves

33.   Set up/take down holiday decorations

34.   Organize the mail on your desk (file, pay now, toss)

35.   File the mail in your ”To File” pile

36.   Pay your bills (online or write a few checks)

37.   Mail all your bills

38.   Empty your purse and reorganize it

39.   Organize and toss newspapers and magazines

40.   Organize your coupons (toss expired ones)

41.   Empty your Spam, Junk e-mail and Deleted folders

42.   Remove pictures from your digital camera

     43.   Plan meals for the week 

     44.   Organize your makeup – throw out old makeup

     45.   Organize your nail polish – throw out dried out bottles

     46.   Organize your coat closet – current season items only 

     47.   Organize your junk drawer

     48.   Organize under your kitchen sink

     49.   Organize one kitchen drawer

     50.   Clear off your coffee table

Congratulations! You have made your very first step toward a more organized home and a happier life. 

Sometimes, household organizing tasks seem so overwhelming that we don’t know where to begin.

By breaking things down into 5-minute tasks, you will soon see how easy it is to make some real progress.

Be proud of yourself and celebrate how much clutter and disorganization you have tamed in just 5 minutes. 

Take a coffee break, go outside, write your accomplishments in your journal, and share with your friends.  


Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Organizing - At Your Own Speed

Everyone has a different way of organizing. And that's OK! There is no "one size fits all". Not matter what anyone says. There are a ton of books out there on organizing and everyone has their own idea.
 
It's important that you know yourself - your style - and how your brain works. If you try to use someone else's method - and it is too complicated - you won't keep it up. You have to look at your lifestyle and how you use your home - before you can come up with an organizing solution.

Don't make things over complicated. Don't go out and buy a lot of "organizing products". 

Start slowly - start with the basics. 

As always - you start by decluttering first. This is a crucial step that you can't skip.

Then, the organizing process can take place. Keep it simple. It needs to make sense to "you" - not the Organizer.

Know yourself and your body. Be sure to take frequent breaks so that you don't get overwhelmed.

Know that it always gets worse before it gets better. When you start clearing things out - they need to go somewhere. Make sure that you have enough time - so that you can put things back where you want them (in an organized fashion). People tend to underestimate how long an organizing project will take. 

If you can't finish a project all in one session - know and understand that you might have a mess on your hands until you can get back and finish your project.  


Plan your projects out by scheduling them on your calendar. That way they might actually get done in a timely manner.

If you don't know where to start or are overwhelmed at even the thought of organizing your home - reach out to an experienced Organizer. 

We live to Organize!



Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Stashing Does Not Equal Decluttering

Families who are living in clutter may not realize the impact this can have on them – both individually and as a family unit. Research shows clutter to be part of the reason for stress and conflict in a family. It can even be the reason for physical illness. When it is time to do something about the clutter, it is important to realize stashing does not equal decluttering.

What is the difference between stashing and decluttering? Moreover, why is it important to do one and avoid the other? Keep reading to learn more.

What Is Stashing?

Stashing is the process of putting stuff inside of boxes. Drawers, closets, the bathtub and even the stove are common places you might find stashed items. Maybe you think, “out of sight, out of mind.” Things may look clean but the mess is still there.

The problem with stashing is that nothing has really changed. You may not see the things you have stashed, but you will still have to deal with them. As an added issue, when you need one of the things you have stashed, you will not have any idea where to find them.

If stashing is something you are guilty of, you might like to know that the root cause of it is usually indecision. If you do not have the time to make a decision about something, you may think it is easier to put it off, especially if your mother-in-law called and said she would be there in ten minutes. Panic sets in and the result is stuffing, cramming and stashing things to quickly get them out of sight. Unfortunately, you will still have to deal with them at some point.

What Is Decluttering?

Decluttering, on the other hand, is the process of going through your mess and choosing to get rid of things you no longer need or want. You have seen that things are overtaking your life and you are determined to do something about it. The problem with decluttering, however, is that it takes much more time than stashing things to get them out of your way.

Congratulations if you have decided to take control of your clutter! Start small so you do not feel overwhelmed by the size of the task before you. In fact, it is best if you start with something like a countertop or the dining room table. You want to work on an area that is small enough that you can complete the task once you have started it.

Make a conscious effort to declutter this one area and keep it clean for several days. You will be so inspired each time you see this one bright spot among the mess that it will inspire you to keep working.

Create a decluttering schedule and stick to it. You CAN do it! Yes, it is true you will not be able to get the entire house “shipshape” in one day. The mess took a while to accumulate, so you can expect it will take a while to make it go away.

If you feel you must stash something for that unexpected visit, use something like a laundry basket that you use regularly to stash things and place it in a closet. This will accomplish two things: you will have cleaned up an area to avoid embarrassment and you will have a reason to clean up your stash the next time you need your basket. The worst thing you can do is go out and buy plastic totes or boxes because chances are you will not open them again.

Stashing may be something you are accustomed to doing on the spur of the moment, but if you take the time daily to declutter and organize the things you keep, stashing will not be necessary. You will have the satisfaction of knowing that anyone could drop by unannounced or with little warning. You can welcome them into your home and smile because your house is presentable -stashes are not lurking in the closet and socks are not hanging out of the microwave.

Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Organizing Tips to last you All Year

It's spring and people are starting to feel like they need to Spring Clean their homes. Freshen things up. Shake out the cobwebs of being cooped up all winter.

So many things to do! So many projects!

It's sort of like New Years Resolutions - everyone makes them - but after a few weeks - they lose interest and go back to being couch potatoes!

So - let's give you some incentive, encouragement and accountability!

Sit down with a pad of paper and just start brainstorming all of the things that you want to do - if you had the time and energy and nothing was standing in your way.

Just start writing it all out. Don't overthink it!

Let's see what your list looks like:

Deep clean the living room
Organize the garage
Organize your kitchen
Organizer your calendar
Get rid of clothes you don't wear anymore
Organize your file cabinet

You get the picture......

Now that you have it all written down - will you actually do it?

In most cases - you might do one or two things and then get side tracked.

So - I have created  a years worth of Organizing, Decluttering and Cleaning Tips that might give you some ideas - and maybe even get you motivated to get your house and life back on track!

You can sign up for 52 Weeks of Decluttering & Organizing emails
and you will receive one (1) email a week with a tip around one topic. Each week there is a new topic. We will cover various organizing and decluttering issues. We will cover ways to get your family involved in helping around the house. We will even cover some cleaning tips.

The emails will automatically come to your email address every week.

You just have to read and then implement them!

Some of the topics include:


Organize your Bedroom
Organize your Kitchen
Reducing Your Stuff
How to Fold Fitted Sheets
How to Create a Realistic To Do List
What to Do In 1 to 3 Minutes to Declutter
Create Habits to Get Things Done
Why Your Calendar Can Make You More Productive
Every Day Laundry Tips

and many more tips to last you throughout the upcoming year....

At the end of the 52 weeks you will also receive a special gift.

Sign up today - it's easy!


52 Weeks of Decluttering & Organizing emails


*****  This series is only available as a subscription - it will not be posted on this Blog


Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com

Junk Drawers - Everyone Has One - Organize It!

You know that we all have junk drawers!  Someplace there is a space, a drawer, that has a lot of "stuff"!  

All kinds of stuff!  Pens, pencils, paper clips, rubber bands, batteries, scissors, flash light, bits and pieces of ....whatever. 

It's the place where we throw everything that we don't know what to do with!

That's O.K. !   Really it is!

But you can have an "organized" junk drawer.  Yes, you can!

Instead of just throwing everything into one drawer and never being able to find something when you need to - get some drawer dividers.  They don't need to be expensive or fancy. Anything will do.

You can find inexpensive dividers at the Dollar Store or WalMart.

You can be creative and use old check boxes. Or business card boxes.

Any small box will do. As long as you have something to divide up the space so that everything doesn't roll around.

Once things are contained (and like items with like items) - your junk drawer will look much better and function much better.

So - get creative and clean out your junk drawer. What else are you going to do in the next 20 minutes anyway?


Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life 

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com