Staying Organized | Take Control Organizing

Stop the Clutter at the Door!

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Nikki in Blog, Home Organizing, Staying Organized

Do you want to live with less clutter in your home …. then stop it at the door!

One the best strategies in preventing clutter build up in your home is to think twice before buying!

Recently, I got the chance to celebrate a huge milestone with one my clients, which was about this very subject. She was traveling and stopped herself from buying a sweater. She took a few minutes to really ask herself …is this worth taking home? Did she really love it, did she really need it. Her answer was no, and she walked away.

Walking away with a smile, she thought of me… knowing how proud I would be! And I was.

Two years ago, she would have bought the sweater. Later down the road we would have gone through her closet and the sweater would have been donated with tags and all. But this is no longer her reality, instead of impulse buying or thinking I might use it someday, she is only bringing in what matters most, things that have actual purpose, right now… not for someday.

This is what organized people do, they make decisions on what matters most!

Happy Organizing!

Working With Preferences Increases Productivity!

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Nikki in ADD / ADHD, Blog, Home Organizing, Office Organizing, Staying Organized

Paper with Questionmark Awhile back I wrote a post about how “should” can be a bad word in your vocabulary. I had several examples and one came to mind recently when I was thinking about how organization fits in with your natural preferences.

Organization means different things to different people.

There is no right or wrong way to organize.

In fact, I discourage my clients to have images in their minds of how their space “should” look. Many times this is just not realistic and somehow we have to figure out what is right for them…. not what a magazine or a book says is the right way. I give a lot of advice and tips about organizing on my blog and podcast, these are only suggestions. What I love about organizing, is there are so many options, so many ways where it can work.

In my experience working with your natural preferences is the first step towards defining what organization means for you.

For example: If you find that no matter what you always drop your mail in the same place all the time, don’t fight it. Build a mail system around where you drop your mail, trying to move that natural habit may actually do more harm than good. A lot of people will recommend you open your mail daily, I do not, I never have. So I built my mail system on opening my mail once a week. This works for me, it may not for others.

If your natural habit is to pile paper, then pile paper…. just build a system around the piles, so they have meaning.

TCO’s definition of organization is finding what you need, when you need it. It has nothing to do with the bin or basket it may be in.

When organizing, analyze your behavior first and set up your systems around this. This approach will increase your productivity and most importantly the maintenance of your systems!

Happy Organizing!

It’s More Than Just about the After Picture!

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Nikki in Blog, Home Organizing, Staying Organized

Before and After!

There are some great shows on TV about Organizing… You see these wonderful transformations of the Before & After. The stories are emotional and it’s great to see these folks make such a change in their lives. Many times I will take pictures for my clients so they can see their own transformations. There is definitely value in this exercise.

What I would love to see with these shows is less about the process on getting there and more on how to stay organized.

Organization is more than just about the after picture. It’s a lifestyle built around habits, routines and daily decisions. It’s how you manage things in your home but also how you manage your time and your life.

It takes time to put into place the organizing systems and it takes commitment to maintain them. By paying attention and thinking of your organization as a constant work in progress will only enable you to continue your success.

Getting organized takes longer than the 30 minutes as see on TV and the staying organized takes a lifetime!

Happy Organizing!

Clear The Clutter – Clear Your Mind!

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Nikki in ADD / ADHD, Office Organizing, Productivity, Staying Organized

Messy Desk - Man Do you want increase your focus and productivity at work?

For most of us, the answer is a big YES! The benefits completely outweigh the consequences!

There is a way to increase your focus and productivity….. Clear Your Desk!

When we have messy desks, we have messy minds!

Clutter stops us from getting our work done, it decreases our creativity and it’s confusing! Looking at a desk full of paper piles is overwhelming! The only way to clear this quiet noise all around you is to organize!

Solution: Create a new habit and commit to organizing your desk at the end of each workday! Spend the last 10 minutes filing paper, organizing projects, and preparing for the next day. A little clean up can go a long way! Don’t despair if it takes you longer the first few times to organize your desk, as the habit sticks it will become easier!

Start the new day with clarity and not despair!

Happy Organizing!

Staying Organized Means Practice!

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Nikki in Home Organizing, Staying Organized

Learning a new skill is challenging!

Organizing is a skill. For some of us it will come naturally without a lot of thought, for others, it takes practice! But as with any new skill, the more you practice the better you will be!

We can’t expect to only organize once. What may seem to work right now, may not work later. It’s just like cleaning your house, this is not something you only do once you move in, it has be done on a regular basis, so does organizing!

I have talked with many clients in the past who feel frustrated. They wished they were better at organizing, better at staying organized.

If you look at your new skill as something you are practicing… it can actually take some of the pressure off of trying to get it right the first time!

Next time you decide to take on an organizing project, think about how you will practice to keep it that way! This way if for some reason the space slowly goes back to being something you don’t want it to be…. Don’t be disappointed, just know it’s a work in progress!

Happy Organizing!