According to a study conducted by Real Simple magazine, the average American spends 55 minutes per day searching for lost or misplaced items in their home and workplace. January is national “Get Organized” month. With the start of a fresh new year, it’s the perfect time to commit to organizing areas in your life that need help. Cutting down on clutter and creating a home for items not only will save you from future headaches, but add much needed time in your life. How much? 14 days, to be exact!
Still not convinced? Psychologists suggest that the way a person disorganizes their surroundings gives clues to their emotional health and well-being.
So, not only will getting organized save you time, but help your emotional health. In my experience, an organized and neat space is a happy and calm space! And think of all that extra time you will save. Did you miss out on a party last year? Do you regret not spending enough time with your loved ones? Exactly.
We will be posting tips all month long to help you get organized. But first, here are some important steps to follow when taking the plunge:
1. Where To Start?
While you may have several areas in your life filled with clutter, it is important to identify where is causing the most stress. Is your desk at work filled with old paperwork, used coffee cups and memos? Do you have a kitchen counter or table stacked with weeks of mail, bills and newspapers? Has your basement become a catchall for old appliances and anything no longer needed in your closet? Choose the area you’ve been avoiding for too long and start there. The payoff will be huge!
2. When To Start?
Now that you’ve committed to getting organized, the most difficult part is finding the time to do it. If you had all that free time, you probably wouldn’t be as messy as you are, right? Remember, missing a few of your favorite TV shows or skipping going out with friends for only a few weeks will be worth it in the end. Focus on everything you will be gaining.
3. How to Start
Once you’ve addressed the above steps, come up with a game plan. Make a list of what needs to get done in the room you’ve chosen. Having a laid out map or plan will help you not miss important areas. More importantly, the satisfaction of tackling each area will feel great! For example, choose when you will give the room a deep cleaning. Before or after the organizing? Choose which items in your room can be tossed or donated. Then, give the kept items a home. When taking breaks, explore the internet for furniture/accessories that can help store your items while saving space. Be sure to decide when tackling each of these steps will work best for you and your area.
4. Who Will Help?
While we all want to be able to do things on our own, it is important to acknowledge that we aren’t always capable of it. If you’re finding organizing to be too much to handle, before giving up or creating even more stress, ask for help! You know those friends you ditched to sort through 20 years of old cassette tapes and CDs? Offer to buy them a pizza if they come over and help. Search the internet for blog posts, Pinterest and online magazines. Not only can you find basic organizing tips, but even plans for specific rooms. If you can afford it, hiring a cleaning service to help will give you extra time to sort through the small stuff, and even a professional organizer can do all of the work for you.
Remember, your life and space didn’t become a cluttered mess overnight, and organizing it back into normalcy will not get done quickly either. Remind yourself to be patient, ask for help when needed, and take your time. There are 14 days waiting at the end of the road for you!