Arriving On Time

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Organizing tipArriving on time to your first appointment or commitment for the day is a great way to reduce stress. It also helps kick-start an organized, productive day. Here are a few tips to help make this a reality.

  • Plan your outfit the night before and place your clothes, shoes and accessories in a designated spot.
  • Make your lunch the night before and have it ready to go.
  • Have a physical or mental check list of what you need to bring with you the next day.
  • Establish a morning routine for getting ready and eating breakfast. Time this routine so you know how long it takes. Allow yourself a bit of wiggle room.
  • Figure out how much time is required to leave home, travel, park and arrive on time. Give yourself the time required and extra minutes for potential delays.
  • Be confident that you can handle any last minute mishaps.

©January 2019  Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer®  All Rights Reserved

Categorizing is the Best First Step

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Organizing tipWhether you have a bit of clutter, or a full blown mess, the best first step to organize it is to sort and categorize. Separating items into groups of similar things is the easiest way to start any organizing project. Creating categories in which to sort items is always the first action I take when starting any organizing project. For example five categories used for clutter that had collected on a client’s table are; unopened mail, papers to address, stuff to read, items to address, and items to be put away. Categorizing the clutter allowed us to address each of the 5 groups one at a time. This moved the organizing process along successfully. So, the next time you feel stuck or unsure of of where or how to start an organizing project remember categorizing is the best first step.

smile bucket

Reduce

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Organizing tipReduce the stuff we use to maintain other stuff. For example, reduce the number of cleaning supplies we have. If we took inventory of all that we have on hand, what would be our total?  How many other products in our homes serve only to maintain something else we own? Can we reduce the amount we have of  laundry items, auto care products, tools, and home improvement supplies? Remember the less we have the less we have to organize.

focusing a camera

How to Keep Only What’s Important

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Organizing tipKeep what’s important and let go of the rest. Keeping only what’s important will help us stay organized because we won’t be wasting our time with things that aren’t wanted, needed, or used.

Complete these 4 statements to focus on what’s important in life right now.

  1. I want this in my life now, because…
  2. This holds value and significance in my life now, because…
  3. This make me happy because…
  4. This is worth preserving and holding onto because…

Once the 4 statements are complete, take action to remove, recycle, or re-purpose what you can.

3D Character and question mark

Keep Criteria

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Organizing tipEstablish some keep criteria to use when making decisions on what to keep or not keep. Keep items that meet at least two of your criteria. If items don’t meet any of your established criteria let them go. Listed below are examples of my keep criteria.

  1. The item warms my heart and makes me feel special and loved.
  2. The item is displayed prominently so I can see it every day.
  3. The item is useful and makes my life easier in some way.
  4. The item fits my current lifestyle, decor, and values.
  5. The item is unique, one-of-a-kind, and irreplaceable.