Ask the organiser how to get motivated

smokers in booth at Abu Dhabi airport

Amanda wrote this: "I could use tips for motivation to get up and get things done".

When you battle to get motivated, choose Quick and Easy tasks so that you can build up some momentum and feel good when (not if!) you do finally get some things done.

So what gets you motivated?

Is it MUSIC? Then put on some 80's tunes (or whatever your favourites are) to get yourself energised.

Is it COMPETITION? Then challenge yourself and see how many of the tasks you can accomplish in an hour.

Is it being ACCOUNTABLE? Then post a comment telling me what you're going to do and come back to tell me when it's done!

Is it SOCIAL INTERACTION? Then make a coffee date with a friend, but ONLY once you've done an hour's organising.

Is it reaching a GOAL? Then reward yourself once you've done all the tasks.

Right! So now that we know what motivates you, let's get to it!

IN THE HOME

1. Declutter and sort through all the old magazines. Tear out the articles and toss the rest.
2. Organise your launch pad - that place in your home where you DUMP things when you walk in the door.
3. Collect all the clothes you need to dry-clean, declutter or get mended.
4. Clear off the front of your fridge. Toss the magnets and recipes you're never going to use.
5. Throw away any old food in your fridge and freezer, and give the surfaces a good wipe down.

And now for some...
OFFICE ORGANISING

1. Do your filing.
2. Collect all the bills and invoices from around the home and schedule the payment dates in your planner.
3. Shred any junk mail with your name on it.
4. Organise your desk.
5. Delete 100 emails from your Inbox and Sent Items.

Whatever you do manage to do, give yourself a pat on the back!

Leave a comment and let me know which of the 5 motivators work best for you.

The most important organising step EVER

I've been posting some tiny little organising projects that I've done in my home over the last couple of weeks.

I had a few (very polite :)) comments and emails about how people couldn't see much difference in the two pictures, which actually warmed my heart.

Because it means my house IS still running like a well-oiled machine, despite the madness that is the twins!

So I thought I'd write about the most important organising step ever - maintenance.

This is how you know if you have a problem with maintenance:

• you can get a place looking nice and orderly but within days (or weeks) it's a big mess again
• your space is organised but you can't remember what's actually in there so your stuff starts piling up in other areas
• you're too scared to use the organised space in case it gets messy again
• etc
• etc

Coming back to the posts, actual organising of a space should really only happen once, maybe twice a year, or if circumstances change. Like when we had to convert our guest bedroom to the twins' bedroom. (Now I actually think they need their own bedrooms but that's another story altogether!)

But maintenance of a space happens all the time.

And it should happen more often the more people use the space.

Something like my bookshelf is only used by me so really shouldn't get that disorganised if I'm disciplined enough to keep putting books back where they belong.

And therefore only 5 books were decluttered :)


But a space like my Tupperware cupboard gets small tweaks of about 10 - 20 seconds a time a couple of times a week because 5 people use that space regularly.

Do you see the difference?

I said all that to say this: your system hasn't failed if you have to constantly make small tweaks to your organising.

This week's organising challenge

1. Choose one or two already organised areas in your home (a drawer, surface space, shelf, etc.) and go maintain.
2. It shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes each.

Which areas are you going to work on?


P.S. Remember I was looking for someone to do a button for me? Check out my gorgeous new Organise your Home button here.

So tell me, why aren't you organised?

I have some ideas about why some people who really, really, really want to get organised but just don't do it.

These are some of the reasons I get from people:

• procrastination
• not believing that they deserve to live in an orderly home
• no time
• no money for organising tools
• just don't know how
• they can't because their husband/ kids/ cat/ dog messes up after they organise a space :)

I'm telling you today that you CAN get organised.

All of those reasons above are simply excuses and limiting beliefs.

So what are the things you tell yourself?

I'm hoping that by challenging you to be courageous and fearless, you'll shine some light on what's really holding you back and take some action.

And if you're not sure where to start or how to do it, the Organise your Home ecourse is a step-by-step system delivered in bite-sized pieces so you will NEVER feel overwhelmed. You even get an audio of me teaching you how to organise your space.

F-r-e-e Teleseminar - How to organise ANY space

Only one week left to register for...

F-r-e-e Teleseminar
How to organise ANY space
Thurs 19th March 11am - 12pm EST/ 6 - 7pm South African time

When you sign up for this teleseminar, you'll learn...

1. about an organising myth that we will IMMEDIATELY dispel
2. my DREAM method for organising ANY space
3. the most important organising step EVER
4. what you should NEVER do first when you organise
5. how you can save mo-ney off my newest organising programme

You need EITHER a normal telephone line or Skype, or a computer with internet access to download the file afterwards.

Sign up now - it's free

If you're not sure how teleseminars work, read my FAQ page here

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Mind map it!

Sometimes, when you're not very far along on the Journey to Organisation, you may start feeling overwhelmed.

There are SO many places to start so you become indecisive.

Should I start in the kitchen? Should I start in the study? Should I start in my craft room? Maybe I should tackle the kids' rooms?

HELP!

Okay, okay, re-lax...

Here's what I suggest you do:

1. Grab a piece of paper and go to one room. Do not leave until this is done.
2. Draw a circle in the middle of the page and write the name of the room you're in (let's just say you're in the office, since this is what I love organising).
3. Then draw spokes like the rays of the sun for each section in that room that needs to be organised - e.g. desk, bookshelf 1, bookshelf 2, etc.
4. Now look at each individual area and draw some more spokes off of each main spoke. For the desk you may have...top of desk, drawer 1, drawer 2, under desk, and so on....

Now you have a visual plan of EVERYTHING that needs to be done in a particular area.

Then you tackle each of those sub-spokes until all the little sections are done. As you finish a section, cross it off in a different colour.

The thing is, those little bits can easily be done in 15-minute segments and before you know it, you've sorted an entire room.

At least then there's one room you can call a sanctuary - and then the next, and the next...

If you're a more linear thinker and don't like the "messy" nature of mind maps (for many years, I didn't either but I seem to be "breaking loose" these days), may I suggest that you print out the master to-do list on my site under Free tips and downloads. Use a different page for each room and simply list all the areas, one after the other.

Everything is still contained on one page, just in a linear, logical fashion. You'll still start working on one room at a time.

This works for me. Has this post helped you? Leave me a comment and let me know how you prevent overwhelm.

Tweaking your organising systems

One of the most important parts of organising is tweaking your systems.

It's perfectly normal to organise a space and find that it's not quite working the way you envisioned.

That doesn't mean you throw out the whole thing! Please don't do that :)

All you need to do is a little tweak here and there.

Like this:
The other night I was doing my whole face routine and realised that I was slightly irritated by a tiny cabinet above my basin. Remember, I have the dubious honour of having the smallest bathroom in the world. My Private Platinum Clients actually love seeing it - I should charge admission :o

This is how it looked before. There are tiny mirrored doors which open to the left and yet, I use the Yardley Oatmeal range on the left.


It took me about 5 seconds to do a quick tweak and move the bottles to the other side, like this:



Much better! Now when I slide the doors open, I can get to the moisturiser immediately and I don't have to slide the doors an extra 10 cm open.

It's about the small things. In the coaching world we also call these small things tolerations - they drain you just a little bit every time you think about it.

If there's a space that seems just slightly off to you, think about making a tweak here and a tweak there until it's organised just enough for your lifestyle.

What are you going to go tweak and re-organise?

How to organise (6) - maintaining your organised space

The most important part of the whole organising process is maintenance. And this is often the place where things get out of control.

When I first meet with an organising client, I ask them, “what’s working and not working for you?”

Often, people tell me, “I can get it organised but two days later, it’s all a mess again”. This tells me they don’t have a maintenance system.

I can have a beautifully organised bedroom but if I leave clothes, empty mugs and glasses, books, etc. to pile up everyday, after a few days there’s going to be a royal mess.

Making a daily habit of some very simple steps like throwing clothes in the laundry bins, taking empty dishes to the kitchen, returning items like books to their homes will maintain your organised room.

My 3-step solution:
1. Do a quick 5-minute check of your trouble areas every day. Train your family to do the same.
2. Build this time into a current routine that already works for you. If you make an evening cup of coffee/ tea like I do, when you turn on the kettle, use the time while you wait for it to boil to do your maintenance check. This is key!
3. Make time on a weekly basis to check through your house. This is the time to catch up just in case a couple of days didn’t go according to plan.

Do you have a maintenance plan? Please share in the comments.

How to organise (5) - organise according to your personality

The key to organising successfully is to have a system that works for you.

It's okay to be different! You don't have to feel guilty about being a visual person and wanting more around your house than a minimalist has.

If you try too hard to adapt yourself to a style that's not comfortable, it will not be sustainable in the long-term (and by long-term, I mean more than a week).

I recently ran a tidy desk competition on this blog, and the different types of desks are testament to the different personalities we all have.

I personally like to start with an uncluttered workspace and have just the project I'm working on in front of me because I get distracted if I see lots of other papers.

However, I know someone else who works very comfortably with piles of paper all over her desk. My way freaks her out and her way doesn't work for me either. But that's okay because it works for each of us.

Remember to note down your requirements before you go shopping for a new desk so you're sure that it suits you.

1. Do you like things visible?
2. Do you want a small desk to fit into a corner of a room?
3. Do you need a full-on desk with lots of drawers?

The way to make sure that your system is still effective is to keep asking yourself, "does this still work for me?"

If circumstances change, change the system!

Happy Organising!

Next time

How to maintain your organised space

Are you over-organised?

I used to think there was no such thing as too organised.

I was wrong - I have met Over-Organised and it is not a pretty sight!

Before I get ahead of myself, let me ask you, "Why do you organise?"

Generally, people organise their lives to save time, save money, for a feeling of peace and harmony in their homes, etc.

So if your organising is costing you these things, then I say you're over-organising.

Let me give you some examples:
1. If your stuff has to be JUST SO and it means that your husband and kids can't leave a thing out of place otherwise the MOMMY MONSTER comes out, then you're over-organising.

2. If you spend hours categorising and making folders and sub-folders in your inbox, and it takes you 15 minutes to find anything because you have to remember exactly how you filed it, then you're definitely over-organising!

Remember, the point of being organised is to save time.

So avoid complicated systems that you AND YOUR FAMILY can't use easily.

Does any of this sound familiar? Are you over-organised? What are you going to do about it?

How to organise (4) - how to declutter

De-cluttering is the FIRST step to an organised home. And my personal favourite step :)

Why the first step?

Because you can't organise clutter. You've got to get rid of it first.

What is clutter?
1. anything you don't love
2. anything you don't use
3. any mess/ disorder/ confusion

Ask yourself, does this make me feel at peace? No? Then it's probably clutter.

The key to an organised home is making regular de-cluttering time.

It doesn't have to be a huge chunk of time - once the space is organised, five minutes once a week is enough. For example, while you're waiting for the kettle to boil, quickly check your kitchen cupboards and drawers.

It's all about BABY STEPS.

Next time
Organising according to your personality

How to organise (3) - what's your vision?

We’ve already covered that you should start with the area of your home or life that bothers you the most.

After you know which area to start in, decide what you want to have happen in that space.

In other words, what is your vision?

What do I mean when I say you need to have a vision?

Well, if it’s your family room that needs organising, decide what the purpose of that room is.

1. Do you want an entertainment area?
2. Do the kids need a play area?
3. Do you use a portion of the room as an office area?

In this example, you need three distinct zones and everything else must go!

In the picture of the kitchen drawer above, what is the purpose for that drawer?

It's to store dish towels, cloths and sponges, and nothing else. Everything else like cutlery or other junk that doesn’t belong, needs to go.

Your action plan
1. Decide on your vision for the room you've chosen
2. Go around and remove everything else that doesn't belong

See? It's totally doable :)

Next time
How to de-clutter

Keeping your junk drawer organised

Just because it’s a junk drawer doesn’t mean it has to be disorganised!

Have a space for everything
Make this as general or as specific as you like.

Small stuff together, big things together, children’s things together, etc.

Use lots of dividers!
You can use an old cutlery tray, the bottoms of cereal boxes, etc.

Clear it out regularly
I like to put a bit of masking tape in the corner with the date when I last organised the drawer. This will also help if you have unidentified keys – you know if you’ve had them there for 6 months that you probably won’t use them ever again, so you can throw away.

This is what works for me.

How do you organise your junk drawer?

How to organise (2) - start with your worse area

This is going to be a brief how to organise tutorial answering the question "Where do I start?"

I thought it would be fun if you joined in and worked on something that's bugging you in your own home.

Start with the area of your home or life that bothers you the most.

If you can't bear to choose clothes every morning because your wardrobe is too cluttered, then your wardrobe is a good place to start.

If you don’t know whether you’re coming or going, and you constantly feel overwhelmed, then maybe you need to start working on your time.

If you don’t even feel like going into your kitchen, then you know that’s where you need to start.

The point is that it differs from person to person and also according to your situation.

Why do I say this?

1. You will be most motivated if you tackle your worst room first.

2. You tend to get results quicker.

3. Once you start, it becomes easier. And it’s kind of addictive once you get organised in one area.

4. You gain momentum!

Let me know in the comments if you're playing along and which area of your home or life you want to tackle first.

Over to you…

Next time

Your vision for your space

How to organise (1) - where do I start?

This week I'm answering the ONE question I get asked by clients more than any other question.

Marcia, I want to get organised but it's all so overwhelming. Where on earth do I start?

First of all, relax and take a deep breath.

1. Start with the area of your home or life that bothers you the most. If you can't bear to choose clothes every morning because your wardrobe is too cluttered, then that's probably a good place to start.

2. Decide what you want to have happen in that space. Do you only want clothes in your wardrobe, or do you want shoes and handbags in there too?

3. Declutter. You can't organise clutter. Get rid of everything that shouldn't be there. Some things need to move to other rooms and some need to move right out of your house!

4. Organise what's left according to your personality. Not everybody is a minimalist. Some of us need to surround ourselves with our treasures and that's okay. Your system works as long as you can find what you're looking for relatively quickly (within a minute).

5. Maintain. Last but not least, do a quick, 5-minute maintenance session in each major space every week so that your space remains organised.

In the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be posting on each of the points 1 - 5 above, so stay tuned.

Have an organised week!

I'm not neat but I'm organized (part 1) - book review

I'm not neat but I'm organized - Angela Yee

I got this book in November and I've been poring over it, bit by bit.

It is SUCH a great book that I wish I'd written it. Angela is clearly passionate about organising, I also love the way

Anyway, I'm going to be reviewing it in little bits because I've been making some notes as I read.

Some of the nuggets so far:

Purpose of organizing
Getting organised helps you achieve results, be more effective,
reduce stress and ultimately be the wise steward of your time and resources that
God intended.

Angela also says that there's a triad of organising - time, space and workflow (where time and space meet).

There's a fun How organised are you? quiz and my score said that I should put down the book and stop reading because I'm an organisational rarity :)

Now this is what I want you to think about for today, so listen closely:

There are 3 ingredients for success: motivation, knowledge and tools.

If we only have one or two, we don't get organised.

E.g. if you only have motivation, you get frustrated because you don't know how to do it. These make the best organising clients ;)

If you only have knowledge, you have a big head (Angela's wise words), because you know how to organise but you don't do anything about it. These people are frustrating to work with!

If you only have tools (and this ties into my clutter post the other day), you basically have clutter because there will be lots of stuff lying around. These are the people who buy things, hoping that it will get them organised. They can supply the stores :)

Now my question for you is this:

Do YOU have all three ingredients for organising success?

Buy your own copy here - BTW, Angela also made downloadable forms on her site so that you don't have to write in your book. Now isn't that cool?!

South African readers - my copy got to me in about a week!

Organising children's toys

You can teach your children to be organised. The earlier you start, the earlier you can delegate :)

While they're organising, they're learning valuable life skills. They can learn to sort, to return toys to their homes, to make decisions while decluttering.

What to use
ice-cream tubs
clear shoe bags
wastepaper baskets - for tall, thin items like swords, cricket and baseball bats, etc.
ziploc bags -for puzzle pieces, legos, etc

How
Make things easy. If you use a basket without a lid, it is easier to put things away.
Label clearly with pictures.
For smaller children, use the bottom bookshelves and free-standing storage bins on the floor.

Declutter regularly. Now is the perfect time right after Christmas to go through those rooms and get rid of the old stuff :)

How do you stay organised with your children's toys?

Organising craft supplies & A CONTEST

I received a question from a reader, one which I received many times before when I ran the virtual organising competition.

If you're interested, I have an Excel spreadsheet (you'll love this, Suzanne) with content topics for blogs, articles and my weekly tips newsletter. One column has the topic, the next has date published, the next has blog/ article/ weekly tips.

All the questions from the virtual organising competition went on the spreadsheet and I've been slowly blogging my way through the questions. If a question is suitable for my weekly tips, then I will write about it there and not blog it.

Anyway, I said all that to say.... a couple of people asked about organising craft supplies so when this question was emailed to me, it moved it up the list. I can now mark the email as done and cross something off the blog to-do list :)

Do you have any tips on organizing my craft stuff? I'll go thru your archives to check. I mostly have quilting, scrapping, and stamping collections...............

First, a disclaimer - I'm not a crafter so forgive me if my ideas seem silly ;)

Use bookshelves to organise rolls of material.

I have blogged before about how I organise all my beads so I will start by saying that if you craft with small items like beads, etc, use ice-cube trays to organise them.

Ziploc bags are great for organising medium-sized items and these buddy drawer systems (you might call it something else, depending on where you live) are great for organising scrapbook paper & supplies, quilting squares, stamping stuff, etc.

They are stackable so you can make them as high as you want.

The key is to (1) get the appropriate size (these come much smaller too) - I like this size because this one is for organising my paper and (2) label each drawer.

Plastic drawer system

aerial view - my in-tray usually sits on the top

Calling all crafters
How would you answer her organising question?

1. Blog your answer with pictures from your crafting area. Please link back here so your readers can see the other solutions too.
2. Come back here and link up your post.
3. The contest will stay open for one week until 14 December 2007, 6pm South African time.
4. The winner gets a R100 gift voucher to my store (divide by 7 to get US$). Every other participant gets a 20% off gift voucher.
   

Frugal organising with cereal boxes

This is what works for me!

With cereal boxes

With more cereal boxes and cardboard dividers for glasses

The box on the left was a set of fancy teas I received as a gift

And this is my favourite - muffin cases from Woolworths (and ice-cream containers)

Decluttering paper

I love decluttering paper. Seriously, it is very satisfying for me to throw paper away. And let's face it - the less paper you have, the less you have to file.

I don't believe in expanding to a bigger storage solution unless absolutely necessary. And in most cases, we're simply too lazy to declutter (because that involves making decisions) so we just get another file, another storage box, another bookshelf for all our clutter.

No, thanks, not for me!

I limit myself to a file binder and when it gets full, I take 15 - 30 minutes to go through and declutter it.

Because I contain the paper, I don't get overwhelmed with piles and piles of paper and files.

I have a gorgeous pink file where I keep my Business Control Journal and other business stuff (I won't bore you with all the detail).

When I had to file some paper recently, I noticed that the file was a bit snug (rather like my jeans at the moment ;) ) so I took it and while I was watching TV, I went through the papers quickly and this is all the paper I decluttered. Lovely, isn't it?

To see what else is being tackled all over the world, visit http://5minutesformom.com/

Edited to add: I do recycle the paper when I'm done decluttering :)

Weekly Planning - guest post by Beth Dargis

This is a guest post by my friend, Beth Dargis. Please show her some love in the comments :)

Tomorrow I'll be talking about plastic envelopes, another of my favourite organising tools.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time to spend 30 minutes every day planning my day. So, I like to plan a week at a time. Weekly planning also allows for better balance in the week.

I usually do my weekly planning on Sunday afternoons. Friday afternoon and Monday mornings are good times as well.

Here is my step by step weekly plan:

1. Look over emails and see what still needs to be actioned and write it down in a notebook.


2. Gather any papers from around the house/office and put into your inbox. Go through your inbox and process the papers. Any actions go into the notebook.


3. Listen to any voicemails and put actions with phone numbers into notebook.


4. Empty head of any other insights, actions and ideas and put into the notebook.


5. Put any actions from the notebook into iScrybe.com or use whatever task system you prefer. Computer or paper. It’s helpful to keep your tasks in categories like home, office, errands, personal, family, etc.


6. Decide which projects or goals to concentrate on for the week. Keep it simple. Don’t have too many projects and goals at once.


7. Open up calendar – paper or computer. I use Google Calendar : http://www.google.com/calendar/


8. Check last week’s calendar and see if anything needs to be put onto this week’s calendar. Add any appointments for the week.


9. Now add in time for your projects and goals on the calendar.


10. Next add your physical exercise time and at least 15 min of relaxation time a day. Make self-care a priority.


11. Put in a date with a significant other or yourself.


12. Add one on one time with your kids or friends.

Now daily planning is a snap. Check your calendar to see the outline of your day. I like to get appointment reminders sent to my email. Then pick out the 3 most important tasks from your action lists. When those tasks are done, you can pick 1-3 more depending on time.

Enjoy your week and doing your highest priorities.

Beth Dargis helps overwhelmed women create saner, simpler lives. Pick up a free Declutter Calendar at: http://www.encouragingcoach.com/