Thinking something has got to change and making it change are often two different things. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can indeed resolve to get more organized and make it happen.

 

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One of the top New Year’s Resolutions is to get organized. This year, you can make that happen by thinking like a professional organizer. So often people move through disorganization like a ball propelled by flippers in a pinball machine. You pick it up, put it down, enter a room then leave the room and pick something else up. This year, follow the logical steps that a professional organizer uses on projects.

Move from Getting Organized to Getting Real

While resolving to get organized is great, it doesn’t get you far. Get real about what that means. Turn that resolution into a more exact list, such as, “I resolve to organize my garage.” Or, “I resolve to clear and organize my closet so I can get dressed on time and out the door in the mornings.”
 
Almost everyone has more than one room, space or project in their life that needs organizing. As much as we want to change everything at once, it isn’t possible. Make a list of your areas that need organizing. Choose one to focus on. When that one is finished, choose another.

Move from Getting Real to Getting Specific

Now that you’ve chosen one space or one project, get specific. Grab a pad of paper and head to that spot. Make a list of everything that needs to happen in that space. Your list might contain things like: sort out old magazines and catalogs, purge books until they all fit on the shelves, gather everything that doesn’t belong in this room, empty file cabinet of old papers so the stacks can be filed, and so forth.

Value Your Time

You manage to make time for other things on your calendar from work appointments to doctor visits, ballgames and social events. Now make and keep appointments with yourself. Organizing doesn’t just happen. It happens when you make time for it. Take your to-do list from above and write those tasks into free spots on your calendar.

Get Reminders

Will you simply forget? There are tons of free online reminder services that will email you, such as www.free-minder.com or www.memotome.com.

Build a Habit

You really can get organized in this step-by-step manner. Completing each task on your calendar leads to that first space or room being organized. Now, repeat the process for your next space but remember to keep the first one tidy. As you do so, you are building an organizing habit. If you find your resolution falling by the wayside, don’t give up. Just grab your calendar and make plans to be organized.

©Lea Schneider, Organize Right Now, 2008. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

 

 

About Lea Schneider

Professional Organizer Lea Schneider’s organizing advice has appeared in Woman’s Day, Natural Health and Better Homes and Gardens Kids’ Rooms magazines. She is the Grand Prize Winner of the Rolodex Office Makeover Challenge. Her team of professional organizers, at Organize Right Now, provides organizing assistance through her Organize Online program. She is the author of Growing Up Organized: A Mom-to-Mom Guide. Learn more at www.organizerightnow.com.