Create Inner Calm
Outer order helps facilitate inner calm. To maintain outer oder follow these highly effective solutions.
Tag Archive for: organizing process
All or Nothing
Have you ever convinced yourself that you can’t start an organizing project, or any type of project because you wouldn’t be able to finish it. Do you tell yourself that it’s not worth starting if you can’t finish. This is an all or nothing attitude. The idea that we have to do the whole project gets in the way of us starting the project. Here are 5 easy steps to help jump-start any project.
- Write down what the very first step of the project is.
- Pick a day and time to start and put it on your calendar.
- Gather all the materials you’ll need.
- On project day, set a timer for 30 minutes and work on completing step one of your project.
- Repeat the process. You may need more time for step one, or you may be ready to move on to step 2,3,4… either way, you’ll be making progress.
5 Easy Steps to Seasonal Clothing Swap
If you’re like me, your closet is tiny and can’t accommodate your complete wardrobe. So we need to preform the seasonal clothing swap. Early spring and fall are when I do my swaps.
Steps for spring:
- Wash winter coats, hats, gloves, scarves and pack away until next winter. Clean and condition winter boots before packing away. Don’t forget those wool socks, fleece socks, winter slippers and bathrobes.
- Remove all wool, cashmere and heavy sweaters from your closet. Pack up all turtlenecks and winter layering pieces.
- Add 3-season items and summer layering pieces to your wardrobe.
- Swap out winter hats, scarves, leggings, and jewelry for lightweight options.
- Once it gets hotter add tank tops, shorts, bathing suites and summer dresses.
Taking some time to evaluate clothing prior to packing it away is a great way to stay organized.
How to Create Organized Craft Space
You may already know that I’m an avid scrapbooker. I love creating decorative pages with photos and paper embellishments to highlight my family stories and milestones. I also love sharing my creations with family. They joke around and say I’m a scrapbook pusher, but I know they like looking at them. Thanksgiving or any family get together is a great time to share my scrapbooks. I always bring one to push into their hands and invite them to look and reminisce.
Before that finished scrapbook is ready to share, the creating process happens. Things get messy when I’m creating, and I think that’s typical of most people. When you’re in the creative groove, organization is not a priority. However, I think an organized craft area helps us be more productive. Don’t we all want to quickly and easily put our hands on the tools we need for our project? Wasting time searching for our supplies is frustrating.
So, how do we set up an organized craft area? Whether you have a whole room devoted to your crafts, or you have to pull them out each time you use them, you can create an efficient crafting space with the Reach Ability Factor. It is a system that helps you decide the best location for things based on how frequently you use them.
There are 4 sections in the Reach Ability Factor. Use them to set up your crafting workspace.
Section A: Items in this section are tools and supplies that are used all the time. It depends on the craft, but some examples are scissors, pencils, cutting tools, and adhesives. Place items in section A within easy reach, so little effort is needed to reach out an grab them.
Section B: Items in this section are tools and supplies that are used frequently, but not on every craft project. Some examples may be, templates, patterns, and instructions. Place items in section B within comfortable reach, which requires us to get up and move a little.
Section C: Items in this section are tools and supplies that are used occasionally. Some examples may be special fabric, paper, and markers. Place items in section C within uncomfortable reach, which requires us to exert more effort to reach.
Section D: Items in this section are tools and supplies that are used once in a while or on special projects only. Some examples may be unique supplies that require more time to use, and items that are for a very special project. Place items in section D within difficult reach, which requires us to move other things to get at them.
Whether you have a designated craft space or you set up shop wherever you can, the Reach Ability Factor can help establish crafting order. By using it as a guide to set up your crafting workspace, you place yourself in the center circle and your tools according to use in the concentric circles around you. This enables you to create without having to waste time searching for tools and supplies. Enjoy the creative process.
The Reach Ability Factor can be used in other areas as well, for example a home office, the kitchen prep and cooking areas, and a homework area.
© November 2020 Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer® All Rights Reserved
How to get motivated to organize?
What is motivation? The dictionary definition is “the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way” and “the general desire or willingness of someone to do something”.
What are your reasons for organizing? We all have different reasons. Why do you want to get organized now? Why work on this particular organizing project now? Take a few minutes to think of your why. It will help you now and in the future. Here are some reasons that I hear often.
- To find things when they need them
- To have a home for things so it’s easier to put them away
- To spend less time hunting for things
- To have less piles and mess
- To have less stress
How much desire or willingness do you have to organize? If you have no desire to organize, it could be a result of many things, but I’ve found that it has a lot to do with a person’s perception. Here are some examples that I’ve come across.
- Perception that organizing is boring, tedious, not fun
- Perception that the project requires too much effort, time, stamina
- Perception that we don’t have the right know-how, skill or resources
So how can we get motivated to organize, especially if we’re lacking desire and willingness? Here are my recommendations.
- Know your why. Ask what is worth doing or doing with help? Good motivation comes from feeling that what you’re doing matters.
- Adjust your perception. A positive mindset allows us to bring our best effort. Picture yourself successfully finishing your organizing project.
- Create immediate rewards for your efforts. What happens after our efforts influences the likelihood that we’ll keep it up.
- Ask yourself what is the most laughably do-able first step. If you’re still having trouble, the first step is too big.
- Do something, anything. It’s better than taking no action at all. Stress comes from thinking about our project, not the project itself. If it’s important for you to get it done, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.
- Start by sorting and categorizing.
©June 2020 Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer® All Rights Reserved
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