Organizing, Redesign & Staging

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Some Quickie Motivators to Tackling Clutter

No matter what your ‘clutter personality’ is, you can tackle clutter and get organized. Tap into your personality – are you a visual person then make lists; if kinesthetic, focus on the doing; if you need rewards/motivation, have some in between tasks; if you’re a morning person, work on clutter then.

Know the difference between a task and a project. A task consists of one step, while a project consists of multiple steps. Be sure to break your projects down into tasks before you put them on your lists. For instance, don’t put ‘Plan anniversary party’ on your To Do List. Instead, list specific tasks such as ‘Call caterer’ and ‘write list of guests invited’ to make the project less overwhelming.

Think half-full, rather than half-empty. If you finish 5 out of 10 tasks, celebrate the fact that you accomplished 5 tasks and that you're halfway done. If you find it’s the same things you’re picking up or stressing over, then get rid of it/don’t do it, have someone else be responsible for it, or make it a priority to keep it organized. Start with something, anything, even if it is one drawer, one shelf or one room. Donate, toss, or sell something, even it is just one item.

You gotta start somewhere, so DO IT!