It’s Becky from Organizing Made Fun and if you resolved to get organized in the new year, welcome! It’s a wonderful thing! I don’t claim to know it all, but I know a lot. I know that it’s possible for anyone to get organized. It just takes some good habits and a little motivation.
- Schedule – I love schedules, especially when it comes to keeping as little cleaning for me to do as possible. Start with a simple 15 minutes a day of cleaning schedule to keep you from losing your mind over trying to keep the house clean. Trust me, it seems crazy but it really works.
- Remove the Clutter – if you have clutter, you need to start clearing it out. If you are overwhelmed with it, that’s OK. Everyone can clear it out, one step at a time – just start by taking 15 minutes a day to donate, toss, or clean up. Clutter can be daunting so don’t be discouraged. Follow Mique’s example with her clutter, too!
- Find a Friend – You may need a helpful friend to keep you accountable for getting your house organized and picked up. Better yet, have people over. Nothing keeps you motivated to get your home picked up and decluttered like having people over a LOT. If you can be held accountable by starting with a small section of a room that you’ve been needing to get to for years, just 15 minutes a day.
- Don’t Be Perfect – If you tend to be a perfectionist, you may feel it must be perfect or you don’t do it at all. Let go of expecting your home to look perfect. Perfectionism tends to cause procrastination – and neither is going to help get your home organized.
- Recruit the Family – teach your kids to help you around the house. You can’t do it all. They make messes. So, it’s obvious they need to help you out. Train them young to do chores and tasks that help keep the house going. They will also become such a blessing when they are older – believe me, my kids are so helpful now and do all their own laundry.
- Make Wise Choices – Always use the rule “one in one out” rule. If you’re more of a real clutterer, take it a step further and make your rule “one in, four out” or “none in three out” so that you never buy things you don’t need. Those memorable pieces? You must let go of most of them and save only a handful of very special ones. You will always have the memories, but your home will never be a place you cherish if it’s loaded full of memorabilia that you never use or don’t need.
Did you resolve to get more organized this year? Are you ready to get rid of the clutter and start enjoying your life?
Awesome tips! Thanks for sharing!
Having a schedule is the best way that I know to get anything done. Or even just a routine that isn’t based on a time frame, just an order of tasks. I know that if I want to get something done, I have to pencil it in, and/or make it something I do often enough to be able to remember it always.
Also agree that forgetting perfectionism is so important. I *know* that my home will never be perfect, and no matter how I try, there will be things that disappoint me about it (darn apartments!), but that doesn’t mean that I can’t try and make it as best as I can! One thing I’m still struggling with, but it’s a process to get over that.