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WorkHerWay
Posted: March 1, 2010 at 8:29 pm | Comments 31 Subscribe to this author's RSS feed 
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Work Her Way has asked our favorite organizing expert, Jane Carroo of Clutter Coach, for her thoughts on getting organized in the new year. As always, Jane has come through with some excellent tips!
There’s more good news: One lucky person who comments on this article (and hopefully shares some organizing wisdom) will win $100 worth of Carolina Pad products! These beautiful and practical goodies will keep you on track with your organizing goals.
Take it away, Jane:
We’re starting a new year. It’s not only a new year, but a new decade. So, it’s even more important to get off on our best footing. It’s time to take stock. Figure out what is working and what needs changing. We’re empowered to check things out and consider heading in a new direction. Here is an organized way of approaching your life goals.
- Get a fresh start by taking a new perspective.
- Approach your home or work as if for the first time.
- View each by understanding its function.
- Identify anything that is unnecessary or unloved.
- Take notes!
- List all clutter. Anything that doesn’t add to your life, takes energy to maintain.
- Think about what would be really functional, beautiful and enjoyable for you. What worked before may not meet your needs now depending on your situation. Things change!
- Think purpose and benefits.
- Create a plan to meet your needs.
- Break it down into manageable pieces.
- Add your project plans into your calendar.
Consider various ways to capture your plans. Possibilities include spiral notebooks, binders with dividers, journals, note cards, etc. It’s all about personal preference.
When you want to list all your notes by category, don’t forget to include home, work, family and personal projects.
If you have difficulty doing this yourself, consider getting a buddy or hire a professional to help you with your project.
Be inspired to create your life and stay on track. When next year approaches, you’ll be glad you succeeded!
Dive into the decade with direction and make your dreams come true!
(Click here for contest rules and regulations. Drawing will be held on March 1, 2010)
One of the biggest blessings I have, which people may think is a curse is a lack of space…(I live in NYC). This forces me to constantly purge. I have no problem donating books that I have not touched within the year. I have no problem donating clothes with the same guideline. What I find that my purging matches the vision and values I have grown into…and that inspires me. (Giving the books to the library is a good thing, because I know if I ever want to have a look at that book again after it’s gone, the library will have it!) It also makes declutters my brain if you will.
The lack of space also make me very disciplined on where I put my paper work…which I arrange in zones on my workspace. The work zone, the To do zone, the to file zone…and those zones get cleared minimum once a week.
The Steffer, That is a very workable idea and I use it with my clients. Donating books to your local library not only clears your space, but makes those books still available in case you want to visit them.
Yay for donating to libraries!!! Great idea too since you know they will be there if you want to re-read. BTW, I am a librarian and proud of it!
At this point, I am so disorganized, any organizer I hire would have to agree to sign a confidentiality agreement!
SherryR, Good point! Actually, I do have a confidentiality clause in my client agreement. Many Professional Organizers who belong to NAPO and many who are Certified Professional Organizers adhere to strict professional guidelines. I am a NAPO member and a Certified Professional Organizer.
Yes, and none of us wants to be the worst house you ever saw! I try to console myself that there have to be less organized people than our family. Right???
Everyone is so concerned about being the worst! It is my job and sincere desire to not be judgmental. My concern is for my client and how to best meet their needs.
I console myself that you HAVE to have seen worse than my mess!
My problem is, I don’t consider anything to be “unneccessary or unloved.” I save it ALL.
Maria, that’s me too! I come from a long line of pack rats. I’ve moved several times, and I’ve brought along boxes of items so unused, I never even bothered to unpack them from a previous move! Send…help…Now…
Do you really use everything? Statistics indicate that we only use 20% of what we own.
While this may be good advice for the detailed oriented person I prefer to analyze visually then PURGE one room at a time. If I haven’t used it/worn it for one year, it’s out the door.
Glad you have a system that works for you!
I like the confidentiality agreement idea!! I assume that a professional is very expensive. I do feel like if I hired someone to do it right the first time, I would stick with it. At least for a long time. Maybe that can be my annual gift from my husband.
I have no trouble keeping myself organized at work. However, my house is a different story.
Many people are able to stay organized at work due to the structure there. At home, you create the structure.
Good point! I also feel like I can “get away with it” more at home.
it’s a struggle for me to be organized for myself so trying to be organized for my entire chaotic family is quite a task! i do my best by making lists, having a place for everything, and trying to be a bit flexible.
You are right, it’s a challenge to keep ourselves organized, never mind others. Get others to participate, too. It not only helps you, it teaches them valuable skills they will need.
@ctreating, you have really hit upon something there. You are not the only one. I am fantastically organized at work, and that is certainly not the case at home. Home organization is a real area of weakness for me!
It just so happens that better organization is my 2010 resolution! So far, it’s slow going, but basically I am taking it one room at a time. Baby steps!
Good for you! Breaking the steps down and doing a little bit at a time can add up over time. Even 15 minutes a day adds up to over 90 hours in a year!
This is very timely for me. If it’s not going too far off-topic, I feel the need to get better organized because right now, life feels somewhat out of control. Specifically, I feel that I need to get my financial life better organized, because it’s a real ‘peace of mind’ issue for me.
Getting organized can really help you feel in control. When things are so much out of our control, even gaining order in a drawer can make us feel better. I know it ususally works for me.
I can’t wait to “dive into the decade with direction” and make my “dreams come true!” Thanks for the inspiration to take time to reflect and refresh!
Great Jennifer! Glad you are inspired! Please come back to share again. We could all use more inspiration!!!
I was raised in a VERY, hyper-organized home. I was brought up that everything gets put away before you go to bed at night.
I wish I could say my house is that way now! Let’s just say my husband was raised in a somewhat different environment. Between him and the kids (and I’m not trying to pass the buck here) and work, I simply cannot keep up. It’s a daily frustration.
I would venture to say that times have changed since your childhood. Things have speeded up and there is alot more for us to manage now. Everyone needs to be as organized as possible to stay efficient!
I know, and I do try to bear in mind that my mother stayed home and had a lot more time to stay on top of things. I always feel as if I’m complaining when I phrase it that way. However, the fact remains that I am simply not IN my home enough to really make this happen.
Better organization is half of the picture for me. The other half, and this is the biggest struggle of all, is letting go a little and not letting this rob me of my peace of mind.
I de-clutter only when it gets out of hand, which is usually when I have lost something. So much of it can be tossed, but I am a pack rat, like previously mentioned. Strange thing tho, my spreadsheets and have to be in a certain type of order, but everything else can be scattered all over…
It’s interesting that you are diligent about some things being in order but not about others. Imagine what it would be like if everything was orderly and you didn’t have to waste time looking for something. Did you know that the average person wastes an hour a day looking for things?