As summer approaches, some of us wish we could get SOMEthing done in the next few weeks (or months). Here are a few thoughts and tips that might help.
1. Recognize that how you use your time is a product of your own choices. Take time to choose some of the simple tactics below to get you started.
2. Pick a space you’d like to clear out and organize. It might be a space that is bothering you the most and causing stress—eg. as you enter your house or a specific room. It might be an area that needs cleaning out to “prepare the space” for items from another place—eg. go through the shelves in the garage or other storage area to make room for things not used as often that have been jamming your drawers, cupboards or other spaces.
3. Work on one space at a time. When you complete one space, large or small, take time to acknowledge the new order. Then choose another space.
4. Decide how much time you are willing to dedicate to your organizing project(s) each day, each week and/or each month (whatever works for you).
5. Make appointments with yourself and keep them! If someone invites you to do something else during that scheduled time, reply, “No, I already have an appointment.” (No need to explain. Remember, ”No.” is a complete sentence!)
6. Think about and choose the “destinations” you prefer for things you give away—eg. family, friends, a woman’s shelter or other charitable organizations. Knowing things you no longer use or need will be used, valued and appreciated by someone else can make “letting go” much easier. Pass them on!
7. Work in small increments of time. Set a timer for 15 minutes. You can always set it for another 15 minutes again….and again. How much better to work a short time and feel good about keeping that commitment than to promise yourself 3 hours of organizing and quit before the 3 hours are up!
8. Impose your own target date for getting something done. If you know company is coming, that can sometimes get you motivated to do some decluttering. Or, act as if company is coming! To go even deeper and perhaps let go of even more, act as if you are moving…”Would I take this with me?”
9. Find time. Are there some things you could do less of for awhile so you have more time to create the order you desire? For example, how much time do you spend watching TV, reading, or engaged in online activities? There’s nothing necessarily wrong with these activities, but perhaps there’s some “extra time” there that could be spent on an organizing project or two for the next few weeks.
10. Take time to practice gratitude. Be grateful for the order you see around you—in nature and the sky, at an art exhibit, in a store. What you are thankful for increases, so you can also express gratitude for what you desire. You could say, for example, “I am so grateful for the clutter-free spaces I am creating!” This can shift the energy and produce powerful results!
A Favorite Affirmation
I am so grateful for the clutter-free spaces I am creating!
A Favorite Quote
It’s easy to let time take you, but
It’s wonderful to learn the secret of taking time.
Happy Organizing!
