Getting Your Act Together Part Two

Welcome weekend and welcome to you gals who have clicked your way here from the guest blog post I have running at Hearts at Home. For those of you who’d like a peek at its topic (30 minute easy organizing ideas) click here. But be sure to come back for this second part of our “de-junking” series.

Well, last weekend we chatted about how to get started de-junking your cluttered home. If you need a refresher, you can read it again here.

Okay, once you have rid a room of extra clutter and chaos, what do you do next? How do you re-set it up in a logical way and then ensure it will actually stay that way? Do you just stack and arrange items in a tidy, eye-pleasing manner?

No.

Just having things arranged all ‘neat’ does not necessarily mean they are arranged in a user-friendly or logical. You want to place items back according to their frequency of use.

For those who have home offices for example, decide what items you pull out and use most often. Place them closest to your work desk.  That way, when you are sitting down typing away or making phone calls, you will not need to get up, walk across the room, reach up or dig in a pile or drawer to find them.

In fact, go through and make a list on a notebook or legal pad of all of the items you need to do your daily work. Then assign them each a number of priority. Make the number ones things you use daily, number twos the ones you use most days but not always, number threes those you only get out once a week or so, and so on. Once you have given your items their assigned numbers (usually five categories are enough meaning each item on your list will have a number 1 through 5 after it) begin putting things back.

First things first.

Acting as if your desk chair is the center of the universe, orbit your items around the room beginning with all the number ones first. Then go on to the number twos, etc….Place them according to how often you use them. Really think through your work patterns—where you do what you do and place items accordingly.

Then you can shift to ‘neat and tidy’.

Then you can purchase baskets and bins, cubbies and crates. Don’t just go to the office supply store and buy a bunch of cool looking organizational items and then return home and try to find what items will fit nicely into them. That is backwards. Think logically. The proper plan of attack is to:

  • Decide what items you really need and which ones you don’t (dejunking process),
  • Then determine how often you use them (priority number ranking excercise)
  • Then purchase your organizational tools.

For you gals who had the messy counters. Do this in a mini-version. Be ruthless about what you must keep. Then, rather than make a list of specific items such as in a home office, list by priority the categories of stuff you seem to save. Maybe it will be:

#1 Kid’s school items

#2 Bills and correspondence

#3 Fliers and coupons

#4 Out of place items, etc….

Then you go through and craft a system where you can put these rotating items (you’ll always have items in these various categories, just not the same items each week.).

Again, think logically and in order. Give each category a basket, a handy-dandy plastic stacking paper holder, a folder, a slot, a drawer, etc…Then make it a habit, just like washing the dishes or taking out the trash, to deal with each of these categories on a regular basis. Take care of the papers–sign those slips, transfer the info to your calendar, etc… pay the bills, return the out of place items to their proper location, etc..

You see most of us get frustrated with ourselves and fuss and fume at the dear members of our families, wanting them to stop creating clutter and get with the program.!

The problem, dear sisters, is we have no program in place to “get with”.

Taking time to dejunk and re-think your work patterns can help solve this dilemma.

You can do it! I have faith in you!

Happy Organizing,

97 Comments

  1. Howdy exceptional blog! Does running a blog like this take a lot of work? I’ve absolutely no understanding of coding but I was hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyhow, should you have any recommendations or tips for new blog owners please share. I know this is off subject nevertheless I simply needed to ask. Kudos!

  2. Oh my goodness! a tremendous article dude. Thanks Nonetheless I am experiencing subject with ur rss . Don’t know why Unable to subscribe to it. Is there anyone getting equivalent rss problem? Anyone who is aware of kindly respond. Thnkx

  3. I really appreciate this post. I have been looking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thanks again! “Every time we remember to say thank you, we experience nothing less than heaven on earth.” by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

  4. you are in point of fact a good webmaster. The website loading velocity is amazing. It sort of feels that you’re doing any distinctive trick. In addition, The contents are masterpiece. you’ve performed a wonderful activity in this matter!

  5. I’ll right away seize your rss as I can not in finding your e-mail subscription hyperlink or newsletter service. Do you have any? Please allow me realize so that I could subscribe. Thanks.

  6. Great beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your site, how can i subscribe for a weblog website? The account aided me a appropriate deal. I had been a little bit familiar of this your broadcast offered vivid transparent idea

  7. I have been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or blog posts on this kind of house . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this web site. Reading this info So i am happy to show that I’ve a very excellent uncanny feeling I came upon exactly what I needed. I most unquestionably will make certain to don’t overlook this web site and give it a look regularly.

  8. Spot on with this write-up, I truly think this website wants way more consideration. I’ll in all probability be once more to read way more, thanks for that info.

  9. I just could not go away your website prior to suggesting that I extremely loved the standard information an individual provide to your visitors? Is going to be back ceaselessly in order to check up on new posts.

  10. Can I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I cant believe youre not more popular because you definitely have the gift.

  11. I precisely needed to thank you very much once more. I’m not certain what I might have sorted out without the aspects discussed by you relating to my situation. It was before a very horrifying condition in my circumstances, but witnessing this specialized tactic you processed that took me to weep for happiness. I’m thankful for your guidance and then trust you recognize what a powerful job your are undertaking teaching people today through your blog post. I know that you’ve never met all of us.

  12. I would like to show appreciation to you for bailing me out of this particular incident. Right after surfing around through the the net and obtaining strategies which are not beneficial, I figured my entire life was done. Being alive minus the approaches to the problems you’ve resolved by way of your short article is a serious case, as well as those which may have in a wrong way affected my entire career if I hadn’t come across your web site. Your own talents and kindness in touching every aspect was crucial. I’m not sure what I would have done if I had not come upon such a point like this. I am able to now relish my future. Thanks for your time very much for the high quality and results-oriented help. I won’t hesitate to suggest your blog to anyone who needs to have recommendations about this problem.

  13. I like what you guys are up also. Such intelligent work and reporting! Keep up the superb works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my web site :).

Leave a Reply to honeycomb tablet Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *