Pick Up ONE Thing Today!!

I invite every person who reads this to pick up ONE thing in your house, or office, or garage or car. It has to be one thing that is not in it's correct place.  Take that one thing and put it in its right place! That's all........for today.

O is for Organize

or·gan·ize  (ôr′gə-nīz′)

 

v. or·gan·ized, or·gan·iz·ing, or·gan·iz·es

1.  To put together into an orderly, functional, structured whole.
2.  To arrange in a coherent form; systematize.
3.  To arrange in a desired pattern or structure.
4.  To arrange systematically for harmonious or united action.

I talk about ONE way of starting the organization process. In that blog I talk about starting piece by piece. Today I will continue on the slow and steady wins the race tip. The question sometimes begins, Where Do I start? Well if starting in the crazy "hot spot" areas is too much for you to handle, I'm going to make the suggestion that you start in an area that looks easiest to you!

DO you have a space that's not bad but could use some straightening up? Maybe its a space behind the door. You have a couple of brooms there or an umbrella and you've been meaning to move them somewhere else. Start there. Maybe on the microwave you have a stack of paper plates on top. Start there. There is a stack of dirty clothes in the corner getting higher and higher. Go grab them and put them in the hamper! You have a clear space now!!!

Organization is a people-based process designed to make you happy. I want you all to be happy!!

You can also contact The Super Organizer.com and I can help you start!

M is for Maintenance

When you get organized, it feels great! When you get organized, you are not done! You have to MAINTAIN the organization. 

The goal is to get organized AND while you are doing that, learning how to stay organized. Because you want to be able to keep the area (s) nice for as long as you can. For example, you organize your kitchen. Everything has a place and is orderly. The counter tops are cleared off and just the essential appliances like the toaster and coffeemaker are left on the counter. To MAINTAIN this look, you must always put everything you use BACK in its assigned spot. When you cook and use the counter, clean up after you are done. Don't let things sit out. Not even for a day!

At first this may be difficult, but like anything else, with enough practice DOING it, it will become second nature. For some people, maintaining is sometimes the HARDEST part of the organizational process. You can get organized. Hire someone to get you organized. It looks great! But then its up to you to keep it that way. It can be done. YOU can do it!

There is Caring in Organizing!

Show you care. Yes, it really is the little things. Unsurprisingly in a world fill of face-less technology and bland shopping experiences – the little things do count. When you are with another person, especially if you are working for them, or with them, at the very least act like you care. Show some empathy. Some some compassion. 

In the world of organization, especially home organization, you have to be respectful of peoples time and stuff. It doesn't matter that YOU think about their situation! It does matter that you help them and do that through showing that you care about their situation and getting them to the other side.

You're Agenda IS Important!

Your agenda is important! Whether its at home or in the office,  don’t let something else set your day. Most people go right to their emails and start freaking out. Then try to do a hundred things and end up doing nothing they originally planned. After you wake up,  take a deep breath, drink water so you rehydrate, eat a good breakfast to replenish your glucose, then set prioritized goals for the rest of your day. 

Questions To Ask Before Organizing: What's Going On In This Room

You always want to make a correct and full assessment of any situation. The following are some questions you can ask before you begin to organize a room:

1. What are the cluttered and messy areas?
2. Are there piles of homeless items?
3. Is there too much furniture in the space?
4. Can you see the floor?
5. Are there things on the floor?
6. Traffic areas blocked? 
7. Stuff on furniture?
8. Storage and space issues?
9. Collectibles not stored well?
10. Paper everywhere? Or piles of paper products?
11. Items not grouped together? 

Start with this and answer them. Then you can move on to the next set of questions (see tomorrows blog).

5 Personality Types In The World of Organizing

Many people have a lot of stuff! As an organizer, I see this all the time. The reasons why are not the same for everyone. But I have noticed similarities and have come to the conclusion that there are at least five types of personalities I encounter in my clientele.

1. The Messy One- does not put anything away. Can't be bothered. Also known as the slob.
2. The Concealer- keeps everything hidden. Stuffs things away and out of sight.
3. The Procrastinator- wants organization but puts it off. Hard time starting things.  Sometimes will put things off to the last minute to take any action. 
4. The Showcaser- they need to see everything. Hates to put away anything. IN some cases all walls and shelves are completely filled with stuff.
5. Hoarder/Pack Rat- Some will say a pack rat isnt a hoarder. I disagree! Its the same. They keep everything and finds it difficult to let things go. TO me they are the MOST extreme.

 Do you or someone you know fall into any of these categories?

Todays Spanish Lesson

la súper organizador


Here are a few Spanish words and phrases that can relate to organizing:

Hola; Hello

Como Estas? : How are you?

Mi Nombre es: My name is

Necesito Ayuda : I need help.

Donde basura? : Where's the trash?

Casa: Home

Mesa: Table

Si: yes

Por favor : Please

Gracias: Thank You

De Nada : You're welcome

Bueno: Great

Malo: Bad

Alegre: Happy

Edificio: Building

Oficina: Office

La Hora: Time

Esquina: Corner

Cocina: Kitchen

Sala: Living Room

Monton: Clutter

Limpio:Clean

Organiza: Organize

We Can Talk Ourselves Out of Anything

We can talk ourselves out of anything. It doesn't need a lot of words to accomplish. We can talk ourselves out of anything with a few words (thoughts). A million excuses or just one reason can change the course of action. I can relate this to organizing. One minute you are excited to have a nicely organized kitchen. You imagine how easy it will be to find things. You smile at the thought of having the pots and pans in a better and more accessible spot when you are in the middle of cooking. THEN the realization of your CURRENT kitchen situation makes you cringe and the thought of having to DO the work makes you stop in your tracks. Suddenly you forget the warm and exciting feelings you had a few minutes ago. And with a few simple words like: "I cant do it right now" or " I'll get to it someday", you have talked yourself out of organizing. 

I invite you to recognize when THAT starts to happen. Acknowledge it. Try not to embrace it. Do your best to stay the course that you are trying to set. The shift in thought doesn't happen overnight but keep trying till you get it! You can do it! 

Talk yourself into something!!!!

E-mail Control!

The other day I had 1437 emails!!!! I hadn't had a chance to do my daily email maintenance because of a big jog i had that week. So I began the daunting task of going through them. I have some rules that I go by and want to share with you.

Delete all the junk mail of course! I have a spam folder of course but some emails are flyers and coupons and letters from companies i have rewards programs with.

Read then Delete all email that does not require anything further from me.

Answer each email that does require a response from me. 

Only print emails I REALLY need hard copies of. Sometimes I can PDF an email and save it on my computer until I don't need it anymore. THAT saves printing too. Other times I create a folder on my desktop and save certain emails there.

You want to keep email clutter down to a minimum!!

Work It!

Organizing IS Work

Organizing is work! It takes work to organize. It's NOT hard to do. It DOES take some thought. You can control how organized you are. One of THE hardest parts is to BEGIN! Another hard part is to CONTINUE once you begin. Once you pass those two things, you are on your way!