If you're like most people, you don't accomplish nearly
what you could during the day because of a lack of organization in your home or
office. The truth of the matter is, most people know they need to get their
items organized but simply don't know where to begin to make it happen.
Hopefully, the tips below will help you decide on a good course of action to not
only get your home organized, but your life as a whole.
First of all, seek out friends and family members who are
already practicing good organization skills, and learn from them. Ask them
questions about how you should begin your organization endeavor, and maintain it
through your life. Many people are able to start getting organized, and
sometimes even able to keep it up for a time. However, usually before long they
slip back into their old habits. Don't fall into this trap.
Get everyone in your household to make a plan for getting
and staying organized and put it down on paper. It's very easy to set goals,
but without them written on paper where you can view them and be reminded of
them on a consistent basis, it s all but worthless. This should be the first
thing you do before you even begin any organization activities in your home.
Once you've developed your plan, put each family member's
activities down on a whiteboard or chalkboard to track their progress. This
will also aid in avoiding any conflict that may arise between different family
members over their responsibilities.
Next, get some boxes to place your older items such as
clothes, toys or books that you aren't using anymore. Once you've accomplished
this, place them out in the garage, out of the way of your daily activities. You can either sell these items later or give them away to charity. The main point is to get rid of them.
Once this is accomplished, organize the rest of your items
by category. For instance, keep your shoes together, your coats, your books,
etc. Make sure that all related items stay together as much as possible, so you
don't spend time hunting all over the house searching for an item that should be
right with the others. Hours upon hours of productivity are lost simply
searching for items that have been misplaced.
A good tip is to utilize tall shelves in order to make use
of vertical space. Your house only has so much horizontal space. Eventually,
you will need to begin utilizing shelves, and the taller the better. This will
give you more room on the floor and other areas to put your other items.
Make it a regular habit of keeping every area of your house
clean. For instance, as soon as you are done with a book, instead of leaving it
sitting on the counter, put it back on the shelf. As soon as you are done
wearing some clothes, instead of putting them on the floor or bed, put them back
in the closet.
If you keep doing these tips religiously, you will quickly
find that your items no longer buildup, and are much easier to keep organized
when there is only one to deal with. Use these tips to
organize your life,
and watch your overall productivity, happiness, and health improve dramatically.
