World Organizing Day is May 20th - Let's Get Organized!

 May 20th is World Organizing Day!  

 Celebrate by getting Organized!

World Organizing Day is a global initiative founded by the International Federation of Professional Organizing Associations (IFPOA) to celebrate the work of organizing and productivity professionals.

Professional Organizers love to get Organized! I know that we probably like it a lot more than our clients! And some of us actually go home after an organizing session and organize some of our own stuff (yes, I've done that!).

Here are some inspirational quotes about clutter and organizing to help get you motivated!

     “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” (Walt Disney)

      'You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.'     (John C. Maxwell)

     'Organization begins with awareness of what doesn't work for us.' (Unknown)

     'Mess is an unnecessary source of irritation.' (Margareta Magnusson)

    'Clearing clutter, be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, brings about ease and inspires a sense of peace, calm, and tranquility.' (Laurie Buchanan)

     Clutter is anything that does not support a better you, even if it’s organized. (unknown)

      Being organized isn’t about getting rid of everything you own or trying to become a different person, it’s about living the way you want to live, but better.   (Andew Mellen)

    If you want to improve your life immediately, clean out a closet. Often what we hold onto holds us back.     (Cheryl Richardson)

    Clutter is the physical manifestation of unmade decisions fueled by     procrastination. (unknown)

    Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.     (Henry Ford)

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

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7 Hacks to Motivate Yourself to Make Progress

Are you ready to stop procrastinating and start making some progress? Try one of these seven simple hacks to motivate yourself into action. Give them each a try over the coming days and weeks and find the ones that make the biggest difference for you. Whenever you find yourself procrastinating, come back to this list and employ one or several of these hacks. Your productivity will soar. 

  

Tip #1: Pick Something Small 

One of the big reasons we procrastinate is because something feels overwhelming. There’s too much to do, so we choose to forget about it for a little while. It’s a coping mechanism, just not a very productive one. Instead, pick one thing, something small that you can do right now to move you in the right direction. This creates momentum and forces you to take action. 

 

Tip #2: Set A Time and Go 

Another hack that works like a charm is to set a timer. Your phone has one built in, as do most smart watches. Set it for fifteen or twenty minutes and chip away at a task you’ve been procrastinating on. This works just as well for decluttering your closet as it does for filling out those dreaded expense reports. If twenty minutes feels too long, start with ten. Again, the goal is to start and do something. 

 

Tip #3: Bribe Yourself 

There’s nothing wrong with bribing yourself if that’s what motivates you. Work on a home improvement project for an hour and then watch an episode of your favorite show. Or promise yourself a special night out when you finish painting the living room. Come up with something that motivates you and go for it. Remind yourself of the prize that is waiting at the end of the project whenever you’re tempted to put things off for another day. 

 

Tip #4: Find an Accountability Partner 

Find someone else who’s either trying to be more productive or beat procrastination themselves. Check in with each other daily. Share what you want to accomplish and what you will get done that day. Knowing you have to report to someone else makes you take action. It’s also motivating to see the other person do the same. Try it.

 

Tip #5: Measure Your Progress 

When you’re working on something long-term like losing thirty pounds for example, it can be tempting to procrastinate because it doesn’t seem like you’re making much progress. Instead, prove to yourself that you are getting closer and closer by tracking or measuring it. Make a chart, use a spreadsheet, keep a journal. Find a way to measure your progress and use it to motivate yourself to keep going. 

 

Tip #6: Remind Yourself of Your Why 

There’s a reason you’ve decided to do that thing you keep putting off. Think about why you want to get it done. Is it so you get your tax refund? So, you can run around with the kids? So, you can find the clothes you actually want to wear? Find out your why. Write it down and then keep it front and center. Look at it every day before you get ready to get to work. 

 

Tip #7: Just Start

I've saved the best for last. It might not be the easiest but it is the most powerful. Just get started. That's right, sometimes all you have to do is just get moving in the right direction. Do something. Do anything. Even if it's something super small or you only do it for a few minutes. Once you get over that initial hump and start to build some momentum you will be more motivated to continue.

 

You can do it! 

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

Organizational Consulting Services

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An Organized Home - Can You Envision It?

What vision do you have for your home? What do you want your home to look like - in your perfect world - with no limitations on time or money.

You do have a vision - right? If not, close your eyes and imagine your living room clutter free. There's nothing on the floor for you to trip over. The magazines are in the magazine basket. There are no dishes on the coffee table. There are no old take-out containers hidden behind the couch. There are no piles of books piled so high they might fall on your head as you pass through the living room. 

The room is serene and peaceful. Can you envision it?

So how does a room get that way? Well - you have to have a goal and a plan to make it happen. Don't say "it's never going to happen - so why bother". Bs positive!

Pick one area of your home and write down a step-by-step plan on how you are going to make it look the way you want.

Write down how long you think that it will take. 

Make a commitment to put X number of hours into the project each week. Figure out what the end date is based on your committed hours per week. 

Now pick a date and time each week that you will work on the project.

Next, make a list of anything that you will need for the project (garbage bags, boxes, tools....) and gather everything up.

On your organizing day - first pick up and discard all of the trash.

Decide which items in the room you want to discard (trash or donate or give away). 

Ask yourself a few basic questions: 

    *  Have I used the item in the last 6 months?

    *  Is the item in good shape (not broken or torn up....)?

    *  Do I really like the item?

(There are a lot of other questions that you can ask yourself - but this is a very basic list.)

Put those items into bags or boxes and when you are done with the allotted work time - put the bags/boxes into your car and take them to the donation center immediately (this guarantees that you will not pick through the bags and pull out things because you changed your mind about getting rid of it).

For each session - keep purging until all of the things that you want to get rid of - are gone.

Next - the organizing process. 

Come back later and we'll go over some basic organizing concepts!

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

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
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Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

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Old Habits Are Hard to Break - Accountability Is Key to Beating Procrastination

Beating procrastination can be hard. We do well for a few days, but then old habits set back in, or we get frustrated with our lack of apparent progress. Nothing goes fast enough. If you face a small setback at this point, it may be enough to stop working on what you wanted to accomplish in the first place. Thankfully, there’s something you can do to greatly improve your chances of success. Accountability. 

 

Track Your Progress 

Start by tracking what you do. You can do this via a simple habit tracker or by just using pencil and paper. Use a box for each day of the week, fill in what you want to accomplish each day, Check it off or fill it in when you do the task. Keep tracking it until it becomes a habit or until the project is completed.

For larger projects that you may or may not work on daily, it helps to write down your goal and then break it into milestones. Record your progress and how much closer you’re inching to each of your goals. 

 

Make Daily To-Do Lists 

Write out a list of everything you want to get done for the day. It’s helpful to do this the day before. Play around with how many items you put on that list. You don’t want it to overwhelm you, but you do want to challenge yourself to get more done. The list holds you accountable because you can see in black and white if you procrastinated or not. 

 

Tell Someone About Your Plans 

If there’s something you’ve been struggling to get done, tell someone else about your plans to finally tackle it. Call a friend, tell your spouse, or announce it on social media. Encourage the people you’re sharing with to check back with you on how you did. It may be the little extra push you need to stop procrastinating. 

 

Find An Accountability Buddy 

Last but not least, find someone else who’s procrastinating and start holding each other accountable. This could be as simple as checking in once in the morning to declare what you each want to get done, and then again at the end of the day to see what happened. Knowing someone else is right there with you can be super motivating. 

 

Give each of these procrastination beating strategies a try and see which ones give you the best results. Like anything else, procrastinating is a habit, and you can get out of it and turn yourself into the motivated and productive version of yourself you want to be. 

 

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

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
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Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

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What is Your Decluttering Goal?

With so many people still working from home the trend to declutter their home is still strong. Clutter causes stress. And stress causes people to say and do things they normally wouldn't say or do.

So - take a deep breathe before you yell at your family for the mess. Take a timeout before you decide to throw out everything that you own.

What is your decluttering goal?

You do have one - right?

Do you want your home to function better? A great goal - but break it down further.

Do you want to be able to find things? A great goal - but do you have a plan?

Do you want to downsize? A great goal - but by how much? What is your vision?

You need to start with a SMART Goal. 

*   Specific

*   Measurable

*   Achievable

*   Relevant

*   Time-bound

Coming up with a goal - a vision - for what you want your home to look like is the first step. The problem that most people have - is that they skip this step and just start purging. Knowing how you want your home and your space to look and function is crucial to your success.

What is your time-line for achieving your goal? Is it really achievable? If you can't physically accomplish your task by yourself - get help. If the time frame is not reasonable - change it. Decluttering is not supposed to stress you out - it is supposed to make you freer. 

Clearing your clutter helps to get rid of the "overwhelm" a lot of people experience when there is too much clutter. For a lot of people - it's very therapeutic and cathartic.

Is your goal going to accomplish what you really want out of your home and life? 

Don't rush into decluttering until you really know what your purpose is. 

Having an end goal - knowing why you have a goal - and having a realistic plan for getting there - will lead to your success!

Happy Decluttering!

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

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
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Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

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Tax Time is Almost Here - Do You Have Your Paperwork in Order?

It's getting close to Tax Time! I know that people are probably scrambling to get all of their documents ready to take to their accountant. But there are ways to make this time a lot less stressful - by being prepared ahead of time.

Start by having a folder dedicated to all things "tax related". 

During the year - anything that comes in that might in any way be tax related - any receipts or documents - put them into the tax folder.

That includes any banking or financial documents. Also - any mortgage or loan interest statements.

Tax deduction documents. Expense receipts. Donation receipts.  W2's.  1099's. Saving, investments or dividends. Any other income or losses.

And much more. Your account can provide a list of all of your needed documents.

What is helpful - is having a checklist that you can reuse every year - that lists all of the things that you are waiting for. When they come in - just check them off of your list! Keep a blank copy of this list in  your tax folder. If things change - you can always add or delete them from your list.

By having a system in place - and a place for your tax file - this time of year should be a lot less stressful!

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

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
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Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

*** check out the Products tab for self-paced workshops, planners and more....

How Can You Use a Professional Organizer in Your Life

A lot of people think that you can only use a Professional Organizer to organize your kitchen or garage.

I love kitchens and pantries - my favorite! But there are so many more ways that you can use the services of a Professional Organizer!

Besides helping you organize all areas of your home or office, a Professional Organizer can help you declutter and organize your home as you age. As we get older our lives change. Kids grow up and move out. You will probably not be hosting big dinners anymore - so the need for a lot of the things that you used to use - is no longer there. Rearranging your kitchen so that the things that you use are at a lower level so that you don't have to reach, is also a good idea as you age.

Most people wait until they are a lot older (70 - 80's) to start downsizing, purging, decluttering. And that is too late. People don't realize how long the process actually takes. They also don't realize the emotions that come with purging your stuff. a lifetime of memories - and they all tend to come flooding back when you start the purging process. And the number one thing that I hear kids say most often to their family is "we don't want that stuff and we will throw it out after you die". A devastating thing for a parent to hear. Because everyone thinks that their stuff is valuable and everyone should care about it. But it's not - and they don't. A hard truth to hear.

Start the organizing and purging process earlier so that your kids don't have to be traumatized and stressed out by going through your belongings. They will thank you for it!

***

If you wanted to downsize to a smaller home, an Organizer can help you purge and downsize, decide what will fit into your new home, and help you unpack and set up your new home so that you can walk in and be settled in a short period of time. Wouldn't it be great to be able to find all of your things the day after your move - instead of looking at boxes for weeks?

 ***

Another way that a Professional Organizer can help you is by sorting, purging and organizing a home or estate after a parent dies. The amount of paperwork alone is overwhelming. If you can find it that is! Most people do not realize the amount of time it takes to find and gather up all of the documents that are needed in dividing an estate. Getting all of the financial paperwork together is a daunting task. Clearing out their clothes is really hard and very emotional. Finding places to donate items, taking them to donation sites or arranging for pick up of items is something that an Organizer can help you with. 

Getting through the process is not easy, but a Professional Organizer can make the entire process more efficient and less stressful.

***

Besides physical organization - a Professional Organizer can also help you organize your schedule and your life! Time Management is one of the most important things in our life - yet it's something that is usually overlooked. 

By working with a Professional Organizer on time management and scheduling - you can eliminate a lot of stress!

Feel free to reach out with any questions on more ways that a Professional Organizer can make your home and life run smoother!

Happy Organizing!

 

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

Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com
.

Visit our Life & Business Coaching website:  North By Northwest

*** check out the Products tab for self-paced workshops, planners and more....