Many people have written to me about their personal goals and one I see quite often is “Get organized,” specifically, “Get
house in order.” When I ask what obstacles are in their way, most common response is “procrastination.”By time it gets to point of showing up on a goals list, household organization has been neglected so much that results have culminated into a mountain so big even bravest of us want to run in opposite direction!
Procrastination is often by-product of fear. We may perceive something to be so big or unattainable that we become overwhelmed and immobile.
Getting organized doesn’t mean you have to take on that mountain in one grand leap. Just start plugging along at your own speed with small steps and look only a few feet ahead at a time.
Maybe you’ve let things slide a little more than you wanted and you’d rather have a dump truck and backhoe come in and haul everything away, but it doesn’t have to be that extreme.
The best way to get going is START SMALL. Little 15-30 minute jobs are a great way to start, and they might be all you need to get your organizational energy in motion.
A few examples of little jobs might be:
1) Clean out your medicine cabinet. Unless you’re a pharmaceutical distributor, your medicine cabinet should not take up a large portion of your home. It provides a small area to focus your time and attention on. Go through your containers and throw out all expired medications.
2) If you don’t want to miss your favorite TV show, why not sort through all of your expired catalogues and magazines while you’re watching? Dig them out, put them on coffee table and sort them into two piles: expired and current. When your show is over or during commercial break, take your expired catalogues out to your recycling box and put your current ones back where they belong.
3) If catalogues were sorted during first half of your show, haul out your purse or wallet and start cleaning it out for second half. You would be amazed at out-dated business cards, receipts, expired credit cards and old phone numbers you have no need for anymore.
4) Pick a cupboard/cabinet in your kitchen or garage that is overflowing and focus on it only. Don’t worry about other ten. Pick one you feel you can tackle now, roll up your sleeves and get in there.
5) Tell kids they have been selected for a very important mission. There is a family in town who have little or no money and their children have absolutely no toys of their own to play with. Ask your children if they would be willing to gather toys they no longer have an interest in to give to those less fortunate. They have half an hour to make their selections and place them in a designated area so you can review their choices. This done, you can box everything up and donate it to a local charity or family(ies) in need.
