Real Solutions For Living...Conquering the Organizing Monster

Do you feel overwhelmed and don't know where to begin? Are you having trouble determining which space should be your first priority to organize? The following exercises can help you get unstuck so you can finally move forward with your organizing goals.

Even though it seems any number of our spaces are crying out for immediate attention, there are actually two that are absolute top priority. These are areas of either legal or health and safety in nature.

Is there anything that could possibly become a legal nightmare if you do not get a handle on it immediately? This may require getting your papers in order, developing a system for paying bills on time, keeping track of business expenses for tax purposes. Get these matters organized for your peace of mind and future ability to remain in control.

Now consider if there is an area within your office or home that poses a health or safety concern due to clutter build up. If this is the case, then you should begin your organizing efforts here. You may need to enlist the help of a trusted friend or two to work with you to clear the area, clean things up, and organize what remains.

Now that we have taken care of the legal, health and safety possibilities, let's see how to proceed with determining what should be next on the list of organizing priorities.

When I give my Organizing Fundamentals classes, I have the attendees close their eyes and mentally picture each space they are hoping to get organized. I ask them to "tour" these spaces, looking for the particular space that brings the most distress to them. I suggest you do the same. Which space stresses you the most each time you think about it? Which space do you avoid dealing with or spending time in the most because you find it so overwhelming and awful to be in?

This may be the space you should start organizing first. I say the word "may" because some people will have the most success if they can elleviate the biggest headache first. For them, having the big ugly monster conquered gives them the courage and momentum to move forward with their other organizing goals. The rest of their list will now be a breeze!

Next, I ask the attendees of my Organizing Fundamentals classes to again close their eyes and mentally picture each space, again "touring" these areas. But this time they are to look for the particular space that will bring the quickest or easiest results. So, which space would bring the fastest results for you? Which space within your home or office would you be able to organize the quickest?

This may be the space where you shoud begin your organizing efforts. There are many people who are more sucessful in getting organized when they can start with something small and work their way up to a larger project. Is this you?

Regardless of which room or particular project you choose to begin organizing, you may still feel overwhelmed with how to start within that space. Without a plan, it may be tempting to jump in and start with whatever catches your eye. Then you may see something across the room and remember that it needs to be taken upstairs. You'll pick it up and proceed to put it back where it belongs.

If you make it back to the room you started to organize, you still won't have a definite purpose or mission in mind to keep you focused. Therefore you will zig zag back and forth doing a little here and there. When you run out of steam for the day, you will most likely look back and not be able to see much accomplished. This will greatly discourage you.

There's a better way. Now that you have chosen a particular room or project to organize, you will need to develop a "plan of attack", or whatever you would like to call it. If you look at it as one huge space you may again feel overwhelmed or stuck. You will need to break it down into bits and pieces.

Begin at the doorway. You can simply work your way from left to right around the room. Only work in that one 2 - 3 foot spot until that spot is complete before moving over. Again, remain working in the new 2 - 3 foot space until that space is complete. Then, continue like this methodically until you have made it all around the room. Should you need to stop for the day, you will very easily see what you have accomplished. This will be exhillarating and motivating!

Another way to break your space down into bits and pieces is to develop a plan of working on one surface at a time, such as the top shelf of the bookcase first, then the second. Once that bookcase is complete, start on the desk. But with the desk, you'll begin with one drawer. After you complete one drawer at a time, you will tackle the top of the desk. Next on your list might be the basket of items beside the desk. Next on your list may be the closet, in which case you will again break the closet up into bits, such as the shelf/floor/rod.

I often remind my clients and class attendees that an elephant cannot be eaten in one bite. As the saying goes, you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time. The same is true of getting organized.

Rather than looking at the whole (whether it is your entire home or office), you will need to break that whole up into parts. You may then need to go further and break the parts into pieces. Remember to stay in one particular space, working only on that drawer or on that shelf, until that piece is complete. Then move on to the next piece of your whole.

Getting organized can definitely be achieved when you keep it in perspective. Don't let it continue to be a big scary monster!