• Do not know where to start – generally start with the area that is closest to you on your right and work yourself around the space.

• Overwhelmed – break it down into smaller tasks. Use timers to help you work for short periods of time.
  

• No Plan – answer these questions: what items are needed, who do I need to help me, how much money do I need, what tools is needed and how much time can I spend on it? Once you have answered these questions, mark it on your calendar to do it.
  

• Do not know how to do the project – research the project or ask a professional for assistance or guidance.

• What to do with items no longer needed – before you begin, figure out how you are going to deal with the trash, where are you going to take donations or how are you going to get items back to the original owners?  Again, you can research local nonprofit organizations or ask a professional.

• Fear – I may not do it perfectly or I may fail to finish or meet someone’s approval.  There is no such thing as perfection! If you follow the plan, you will finish. Finally, your approval is all that matters.  What matters most is that you are happy with the process and end results

Once you have all these questions answered and a written plan, your stress will be decreased and beginning, implementing and completing your task or project will be a huge success! ]]> http://www.clutterconversions.com/2010/05/27/why-is-this-task-or-project-not-getting-done/feed/ 0 http://www.clutterconversions.com/2010/02/22/want-to-get-organized-but-short-on-time/ http://www.clutterconversions.com/2010/02/22/want-to-get-organized-but-short-on-time/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:17:05 +0000 clutterconversions http://www.clutterconversions.com/?p=386 As a professional organizer I often hear people say, “I sure would like to get more organized but I just do not have the time.”  Contrary to what most people believe, getting organized does not have to take up a lot of your time!  There are many things that you can do when you only have a couple of minutes.

Here are three things you can do that only takes five minutes and makes a huge difference in the appearance of your home, making it look organized and uncluttered.

1)      Make the Bed!  It is usually the largest item in the bedroom and if it is made, the room looks 75% organized and uncluttered.  You do not have to make sure the bed is perfect just pull the comforter back over the bed and put the pillows at the head of the bed.

2)      Clear off the Bathroom Countertops!  Put the toothbrushes in their holders and toothpaste away in the cabinet or drawer.  Slide make-up into the drawer, put combs and hair brushes in a drawer and pick up towels.

3)      Pick up Laundry!  Hang up clothes; put clothes in a hamper or drawer.  Do not leave them hanging on a chair, bedpost or thrown on the floor.  Place shoes inside the closet or under the bed.

These three things take less than five minutes to do daily and will make your house look more organized and uncluttered.  Just remember that anytime you have unexpected guests, they will most likely want to use your bathroom.  Now you will not have to worry what it looks like!

“Getting organized is one of the top New Year’s resolutions people make, and with 4,300 NAPO members ready and available to assist, it is easier than most people think,” said NAPO President Laura Leist. “NAPO members have helped people put order to their lives during this month-long event by offering solutions for getting organized and hosting events nationwide.  This year it’s time to take action and Get Organized!”

During Get Organized Month, NAPO’s chapters and members will hold public events offering de-cluttering tips and filing methods throughout the country. Some events include reuse-and-recycle programs, organizing services, shred-a-thons, seminars, school outreaches and contests. Programming will take place in local libraries, bookstores and community centers nationwide.

According to a recent survey conducted on behalf of NAPO, respondents agree—getting organized is definitely a necessity. Of those polled, 71 percent said their quality of life would improve if they were better organized.

• 65 percent described their home as at least moderately disorganized.
• 27 percent said disorder keeps them from being effective at work.

I have teamed up with Jim Maust, owner of Venture Builders and Deb Mitchell, owner of  The Design Group of Harrisonburg to de-clutter and organize three areas for The Valley Mission located at 1513 W. Beverley Street, Staunton, VA.  For further information about the Valley Mission, visit www.valleymission.net The event will take place on Friday and Saturday, January 22^nd and 23^rd.

We are in need of monetary and product donations.  You can donate any amount of money you feel is comfortable or any of the following items:

***12 sheets of 3/4″plywood or OSB Board

***2 sheets of 1/2″ plywood or OSB Board

***Clear plastic bins/tubs, shoe box to large 5 gallon size

***(4) Label maker tapes – Brother P-Touch 12mm 1/2″ laminated white split back

***White wire shelving – 12 or 16′ x 16″ and brackets

The Valley Missions’ Public Relations Coordinator, Wendy Shiflett, states that “by building and installing shelving units and reorganizing donations, these storage rooms will become better organized, helping us to make better use of donations received, and more accurately target our donation requests.”

If you or your business would like to donate money or products to assist with this project please contact Wendy Shiflett at (540) 886-4673 or wendyshiflett@valleymission.net or Kathryn McMillan at 540-294-1523 or clutterconversions@yahoo.com.

Your very first New Years Resolution should be “I want to simplify my life so I can enjoy what is truly important to me.”  In order to simplify your life, you need to take a good, long, hard look at the things you have been doing in the past and decide if they represent your most important goals and values.  If they do not, then you need to stop doing them.  You have been wasting valuable time and energy!  Decide what you most important goals and values are (only 5-7), list them on a piece of paper and underneath each one, list the actions you need to take to achieve or reinforce your goals and values.  This list is what should fill your calendar.  These five to seven goals should be your New Years Resolutions!!

The first thing to do is create a plan!  Be specific when you describe your resolutions and make them measurable.  A New Years Resolution is just a starting point.  It should be a year-round project comprised of many small steps.  Break down large goals into smaller ones with time frames established.  Find alternatives to a behavior that you want to change, and make this part of your resolution plan.  Remain flexible, things change constantly and you must be able to adapt to be successful.

The second thing is to be realistic!!  Setting a New Years Resolution that is unrealistic will set you up for failure immediately.  Remember that “effective” time management will give you the time needed to achieve your goal.  You will feel proud and successful, as well as, be a healthier and happier person!  An important component to having a successful resolution is to make yourself accountable!  Tell anyone and everyone what your resolution is because most people do not want to look like failures.

Finally and most importantly, make New Years Resolutions that are truly important to you and NOT what you think you ought to do or what others expect of you.

Prepare a list: who you are buying for, what are you getting them and how much money do you plan to spend on them.  This will help you purchase items that are usable and wanted for someone and keep you within your budget.  Gift buying should be completed 2 weeks before the Christmas and wrapped one week before.

Decorations

Avoid stashing everyday household items in closets and cabinets, by storing them in the containers that your holiday decorations were stored in.  Think safety when decorating!  Do not set items in areas that people can trip over or knock off and break.

Entertaining

If you entertain during this time, make sure your walkway and entrance is well lighted.  Turn the heat down two hours before guests arrive.

Meal Preparation

Prepare your menu for Thanksgiving and Christmas now.  Make a list of items you need to prepare both meals and compare to what you already have.  Double batch anything you can and freeze if you are going to serve it for both meals.  Ask yourself what you can do before such as setting the table or cooking items the weekend before your meal.

Following these few tips can help you enjoy your family and friends more during the holiday season while decreasing stress and saving money.

*Packing – use collapsible storage containers to put items into while moving and then they can either be used for storage in the dorm or folded down and stored away.

*Time management is key to success!  Use a calendar/planner to map out a routine.  College is supposed to be fun but it does need some structure to it if you are going to succeed without having a major melt-down at some point.  College can be stressful enough without adding the pressure of being late for class or not allowing enough time to write a term paper.

*Color code your things, label them, bring some pictures and a few loved items from home to make the room more comfortable and relaxing.

*The Container store has a couple of great articles to help you get through the college transfer.

The night before you should prepare the lunches, put everything in the backpack that needs to be returned to school and sit it beside the door you exit.  Put signed papers in the backpack.  Make a prioritized, written schedule for the next day of everyone’s activities.  Take advantage of the timer on the coffee pot so the coffee is ready in the morning when you are.  Have the kids do a nightly fifteen minute pick-up so there is no clutter to work around in the morning.

I recommend you start the morning routine two weeks before school starts so that it is not a shock to everyone the first day of school and you have time to make any necessary adjustments to each persons routine.  Preschoolers can really benefit from a morning routine.  They are at the age where you can teach them about making decisions and they want to help with just about everything.  Leave enough time in the mornings to allow them to do as much as possible on their own as appropriate.  Kids learn by example and by making choices.  Do not rush them.  Minimize distractions for them.  Keep the items that distract them put away.  They are easily distracted by their toys and books and do not have any understanding of time.

Do Not Over Schedule!  It is really easy to do as the kids get older and become involved in after school activities.  Having a centralized calendar with everyone’s activities on it will make it much easier to see if activities are overlapping and to gauge the amount of activities being done.  It is recommended that kids should not be involved in more than three after school activities.  You need to leave time in their schedule for friends, family, studying and rest.

Preschoolers really benefit from a morning routine!  They are at the age where you can begin to mold them to be an organized individual and you can teach them about making decisions because they want to help with just about everything. Various morning routine charts can be found at www.suite101.com.

Kids learn by example and by making choices so leave enough time in the morning schedule for them to do as much as possible on their own.  Do not rush them.  Let them help pick out their clothes for the next day and sit them out so they can put them on themselves in the morning

Keep the items that distract your child out of sight.  They are easily distracted at this age by their toys and books and they do not have any understanding of time or schedules.

Being organized will help you have an enjoyable vacation but you have to plan for it!

The first thing you should do once you have made the decision to take the vacation you so truly deserve is to make a “packing list“.   Make a list of the things you need to pack, making sure you’re only taking along what you will absolutely need in order to reduce the number of bags you’ll need to take.  This is also the time to make your grocery list if you plan on camping or needing any snacks. Look to see if you have the right amount of coolers. The list is made for each person in your family going on the trip and it includes everything that person needs to take. For example; what types of clothing, medicines, entertainment items, any special foods and all personal items.  You store this on your computer so that you can print it out every time you need it.  Items will need to be deleted or added for each trip but at least you will always have the basics.  You can print the list and check off the items as you pack.

Secondly, you need to pack smart!

If you are using the airlines to travel the FAA guidelines now limit carry-on baggage to one bag plus one personal item (i.e. purse, briefcase, laptop or backpack.) Some airlines have recently leveraged fees for checking bags or for checking more than one bag.

Below is an article that was submitted to me that I feel will be very useful and wanted to pass it along and I also encourage you to check out their website.

Seasonal Storage Basics: Top 5 Rules

Submitted by Ellen Bell

Ellen works for The Christmas Tree Storage Shop, a retail website offering seasonal storage solutions such as artificial tree storage bags. Visit us at www.christmastreestoragebag.net to check out other Christmas storage solutions.

Description:

Seasonal storage is a dilemma for many families. What do you do with all your holiday decorations for the other 11 months of the year? Learn how to get your seasonal storage organized right now so that holiday decorating goes faster and more smoothly next year.

Seasonal storage is something that many of us struggle with from year to year. We spend a lot of money on holiday decorations, and we want to make sure that those items are protected from damage while in storage. Yet at the same time, we all get so busy, and sometimes it’s just easier to throw everything in one box or plastic bag, stick it in a closet, and forget about it until next year! Inevitably, this always leads to more time and frustration when “next year” arrives and it’s time to decorate again. Save yourself some time in the long run by investing a little time and energy now by learning the top 5 rules of seasonal storage basics

Rule 1: Fix it first

Have you ever opened your artificial Christmas tree box or your Christmas tree stand and found that something was broken or a piece was missing when you took it down last year? As soon as you see this, you’ll probably remember your good intentions last year of fixing the problem or replacing the missing piece before storing the tree or stand away, but somehow it just didn’t happen. This leads us to Rule number 1: Fix it first! Never store a holiday decoration away until it is in good repair.

Rule 2: Preparation

This one kind of goes hand in hand with Rule 1. Before storing any holiday decorations away, you should first make sure they are prepared and ready to go for next season. For example, if you have old worn out strings of lights, throw those out. A set of candles that’s burned almost completely out? Toss them, too. If you use any battery powered lights on coffee tables or end tables, take the batteries out and dispose of them properly before storing the light sets away. You’ll want new batteries in them next year. All this might take you a little extra time at the end of the holiday season, but it will save you a lot of time at the beginning of the holiday season next year!

Rule 3: Like items together

When you’re getting ready to organize your seasonal storage, always remember to keep like items together. That is, all your holiday lights should be stored together in one box, all the nativity set figurines in another, and so on. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to dig through all your seasonal storage boxes to find the two matching candlesticks that should have been stored together in the first place.

Rule 4: Store it wisely

Now that you’re ready to store your items away, you need to decide what type of storage container you want to use. Do you want to store in corrugated boxes, plastic bins, or cloth bags? This question is answered in part by your storage budget. If you have more money to spend, you might want to invest in plastic bins or commercially available heavy-duty storage bags. Also keep in mind that some items should be stored in their original packaging. For example, if your 12 piece porcelain nativity set came in a Styrofoam box that is specially molded to hold each piece, then don’t throw that away! Breakable items will always do better if stored in their original protective packaging. If the original packaging includes a cardboard box, it might be a good idea to then place the cardboard box inside a heavy-duty storage bag or plastic bin to keep moisture out.

Rule 5: Label, label, label

Once you get all your holiday decorations into their respective storage containers, the last and most important step is to label. It is absolutely critical that each storage container be labeled clearly! This will save you an enormous amount of time next year. For example, wouldn’t it be nice to know which box contains your Christmas tree stand so you can get it out first and have it ready when your family brings home the live Christmas tree? Make it easy on yourself by creating large labels for each storage container.

The holidays are already stressful enough! Don’t make it harder on yourself with a disorganized mess of holiday decorations. With a little time and forethought in how you put away your seasonal storage, you’ll make the holiday decorating process easier on yourself for years to come.