Wednesday, June 24, 2009

i don't know where to start!

“I just don’t know where to start!” I hear this cry echo from so many of my clients who are overwhelmed with the clutter in their homes, offices and lives.


So how can you get back the overwhelming feelings and start getting organized? Here are some tips:


1. TACKLE ONE THING AT A TIME

If your paper is driving you crazy, then spend an hour or two focused on nothing else but sorting the paper. If it's your refrigerator, then set your timer and dig in!


One thing I do when I feel overwhelmed with physical clutter is take every piece of clutter and put it in one spot.

So, for example, if your kitchen area feels cluttered, take everything off the counter top and table and dump it on the living room floor. Now, you only need to focus on clearing the pile on the floor, which feels less overwhelming than clearing everything on the counter and table. Plus, you get to see the visual results of a cleaner kitchen immediately!


2. MAINTAIN THE AREA
Now the key is to spend 5 minutes a day maintaining that organized space. So once the counter is clean, then ever day at some point, take 5 minutes to quickly put everything away and clear the counter again.


3. USE 10-MINUTE POCKETS OF TIME
Make a list of 10-minute tasks and keep it in a visible place. Next time you have 10 minutes of free time, you can tackle one item on this list.

Some tasks that I like to keep for those 10 minutes are:

- wiping down the counters in the kitchen or bathroom

- making a phone call or two

- emptying trash cans

- clear the clutter from one room and put it in a clothes basket

- fold some laundry

- clear your desk top

- catch up on a few e-mails

- upload and save your digital photos to your computer


Do you want ideas for 5-minute blocks of time? Click here!

Also, click here for some 2-minutes organizing ideas!

If you stick to these 3 steps, you should be able to finally get started with your organizing projects!


For more organizing ideas, visit my website: www.andreadekker.com

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