SolveYourProblem Article Series: Organization
I Have An Urge To Get Organized

5 Simple Ways To Get & Stay Organized

Many people are under the impression that being organized means getting and staying that way once and for all. However, you may be surprised to learn that organization is really a HABIT. It is very much a continuous system of PROCESSING your belongings as they come in, leave, or stay in your possession.

Think about what “your belongings” means for a moment. You’ve got clothing, household items, books, media, paperwork, junk mail (mountains of junk mail!), shoes, purses, gardening equipment, sporting equipment, personal care items, and more.

These things are constantly flowing in and out of your life, and often gathering in piles in the corners and surfaces of your home. How are you processing them? If you’ve got more coming in than is going out, there is bound to be a logjam somewhere.

That doesn’t mean you have to give away something as soon as you receive or buy something new (although that isn’t a bad policy either), but you do need a better system for handling all of the items that move in and out of your hands each day.

Below are 5 simple ways to create an organizational habit that will keep your belongings flowing easily or stored neatly away:

1. Create a better storage system for the things you want to keep. If you struggle to find things when you need them, your storage system needs work. Assign a place for everything you own, and group like items together. If you use storage bins or any type of container, be sure to label the outside so you know exactly what is in them.

2. Purge broken, unnecessary or unused items weekly. Devote an hour once a week to getting rid of items that are no longer needed and taking up valuable space in your home. You can either spend a few minutes in each area of your home, or rotate the areas weekly and spend the entire hour there. Donate items that are still usable, but ditch the rest. Be firm about what you really need to keep, and what you can let go of.

3. Process mail DAILY. Mail is one of those things that need daily attention so it doesn’t take over your life and home. Junk mail should be shredded or thrown away immediately so it doesn’t pile up. Nothing is more conducive to procrastination than seeing a big pile of stuff that needs to be shredded before you can toss it! If you shred these things right away, they don’t have a chance to take over.

4. Put things away right after you are done using them. Don’t set it aside and tell yourself you’ll do it later, because later never comes. Do it NOW. Multitask! If you are heading to the kitchen for a snack, be sure to pick up any stray dishes or trash as you go. Your weekly cleaning sessions get much easier and quicker when you’ve already done the hardest part of picking up.

5. Involve your family members in this activity too, so they know they need to pick up after themselves. Be prepared to keep reminding them until they develop a strong habit themselves. It may be challenging at the beginning, but eventually they will get the message.

Like any habit, the more you commit to doing these activities, the easier you will find it to stay organized for good, one moment to a time.

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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2008

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