Thursday, March 11, 2010

Back to getting organized...

When we last spoke about getting organized and staying organized, not counting a small mention of it yesterday in my blog, the last thing I said was, "Don’t be upset if you don’t finish, there is always tomorrow and the reward of being organized will be worth it!"

So if you got started and are like me I can just hear it now...

Uh oh, now I have a new pile of “stuff”!! Get rid of it. You need to do something with it now. Do one of the following: sell it, throw it away, donate it to a worthy charity, or give it to someone who will love it and use it.

Ok. I hear you saying but I really just can’t bring myself to get rid of insert your temptation item here. Ask yourself some questions when you are reducing/de-cluttering. Do I really need this? Have I used it in the past 6 months? Will I need it in the next 6 months? Do I really love it? Does this item add to my life in some way? Do I know someone who could really use this and would love to have it? Will I miss it if I don’t have it anymore? Did I really even know I had this?

If you still cannot bear to part with the item, put it in one box or storage bin. One is all you get. Label the bin with every item that is in it, date the list, and store the bin in the garage, the attic, the basement or somewhere out of the way. In six months, when you haven't needed any of it, out it goes. Sell it, donate it, throw it away or give it to someone who will love and use it.

I personally will have a yard sale and make a little extra cash. I will donate everything that does not sell to a goodwill shop in the area. You can do the same, or if you don’t want to go to the bother of a yard sale just donate your items to a goodwill shop in your area and be done with it. Most will come to your home and pick up the items you are donating. It can be a nice tax deduction too.

When my house is clutter free, I will treat myself to some nice yarn - uh... I mean… uh… - treat myself to something nice that will not bring the clutter back in our home. I have worked hard to get it out and I want things to stay organized.

I mentioned that we also need to reduce in our scheduling as well. Are you asking, How am I going to reduce in my schedule? If you are like me your schedule is cram packed each day and could use some de-cluttering. We can start by getting rid of all the extras.

I hear you asking and exclaiming, What are extras? I don't have any extras?

Yes, you have extras, and so do I. Extras are activities that you are not all that gung-ho about but do anyway. Extras can also be people that drain your time and energy. Extras can be some of your children’s activities that they are really not that interested in. Take a minute to think about how much simpler and less stressful your life would be without the energy drainers and only participating in 2 or 3 extra activities rather than 8 or 9. You will not be so pressed for time if you can reduce your schedule and you will get more out of the activities you really enjoy and want to participate in.

After you drop the extras, it is time to work on the daily to do task list we discussed in the planning secret. Take a few minutes to make a list of everything you want to accomplish (if you have not already done this). Prioritize that list and incorporate it into your 6 most important tasks each day, until all the tasks in your list have been accomplished. Yes, the list will most likely grow, and some things that seem important now, may fall off your list, because they are not really important in the big scheme of things.

We can all do 6 most important things each day. Prioritize the most important list each morning before beginning your day. Schedule tasks so that you are making the most of your time. Combine like tasks. Make all your phone calls during one block of time. Do all your filing in one block of time. Pay all of your bills at the same time (maybe twice a month). Run all your errands and shop at the same time. This will help you stay focused and make the best use of your time.

Tomorrow we, really I guess it will just be me here typing to me again, but oh well... Tomorrow we will discuss secret #3 and it will be a short post compared to most of my ramblings.

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