There is no One Best Way to Get Organized at Home

Organization is an ever-changing process; it’s a journey, not a destination. Every day a new approach or product is being introduced as the magic bullet to organization. But everyone is different in temperament, attitude, build, energy, ambition and family size. Every situation and lifestyle requires a different style and approach of organization to get the job done.

The secret isn’t always in how to get organized - it’s in wanting to get organized and committing yourself to taking consistent action. Once that is achieved, everything will fall into place. Wanting to without action won’t get you anywhere. You can organize as well as the next person if you have the desire and take the action to get it done. There are plenty of resources available to you to learn the skills, including Professional Organizers in most major cities throughout the world to guide you through the process. Simplified Spaces (my company in the Indianapolis Indiana area) is available to work with you personally and virtually.

Your system of organization should fit you and your lifestyle personally. It should be tailored to your style, your schedule and your motivation. I have to take all of these variables into consideration when I begin working with a new client. What works great for one client, may not work at all for the next. Some of us are day people; some are more productive at night.

I’m convinced that anyone can achieve an organized lifestyle if they learn the skills of organization, if they have the desire, seek out the resources to learn the methods and principles of organization and take the necessary action to move forward, at whatever pace works for their personality.

Don’t be discouraged or beat yourself up if it’s a slower process than you’d like. The clutter didn’t appear overnight and it won’t go away overnight! You’ll get there, as long as you take consistent action!

So go forth and simplify ….

Originally posted 2010-10-07 11:22:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Organizing 101 – Where Will I Look for This When I Need it?

I just read this great post on the Productivity 501 blog. I couldn’t have said it better myself. I address this concept with my organizing clients all the time. When it comes to trying to find something that you’ve stored, it’s best to have your stuff sorted “Like with Like” and stored where you will USE it, not where it fits best. 

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When it comes to organizing your stuff, most people deal with every item and ask “Where do I put this”? This is not the question to ask.  When you go to look for the item you may or may not be able to remember the answer to the question “Where do I put this?”      

The real question to ask yourself is “Where will I look for this when I need it?”  There seems to be a big separation between the way the brain makes connections when you are trying to store something and when you are trying to retrieve it.

This makes sense because when you ask yourself “Where do I put this?” your brain is going to start thinking in terms of size, available storage space, danger to surrounding objects, etc. It isn’t thinking in terms of the context in which the item is needed.

If you organize your stuff by thinking about the context in which you need each item you’ll spend far less time looking for things.  This type of approach helps you find simple but innovative solutions that make sense.  For example, if you ask yourself where  you should store your postage stamps, you’ll probably put them in a drawer, but if you think about the context in which you’ll actually use them, you might decide to keep them in the box with empty envelopes.

By imagining the context in which you will need something in the future,  you can organize your stuff in a way that makes sense and works best for you personally.

Originally posted 2010-08-17 09:09:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter