Let's Be Realistic About Getting Organized In 2015

How is 2015 going for you so far?

Still on track with your resolutions?

What have you given up on accomplishing?

It’s already 2015, and many people are either well on their way to accomplishing their goals or already falling behind. We are not here to judge because it doesn’t matter to us what situation we find you in. We’d like to help you achieve your organizational goals regardless of where you find yourself starting.

There’s not shortage of blogs and articles about getting organized and decluttering, and we are adding to the collection with this post. However, we are not here to be harsh or strict about goals and achieving them - just realistic.

In & Out

We just finished the holidays, so we’ve all accumulated more stuff - more stuff than we have jettisoned. Consider what you can donate or give to others who need or at least can use and appreciate what you have to give.

Let’s be frank. We all need to give more thought to purging regularly to make room for new stuff. We need to remove more than we take in. Some suggest three items for every one item that comes in. That’s easy to say but not so easy to do. Even if it’s one for one you are still ahead of the game. You should focus on the fact that something has to leave when something else comes in. Over time, you can increase your output and/or focus on accumulating less.

Divide and Conquer

Getting organized can feel overwhelming. Just breathe. It’s going to be okay. Take on what you can manage and avoid taking on anything more. Consider dividing things up to make them more manageable. You can break things up room by room or bundle chores that are similar or use similar tools (i.e. dusting, mopping, vacuuming). You can chunk things up into activities that need only a few minutes a day or divide activities over the course of the week.

Households are adopting technology more and more which can lead to distractions and potentially more clutter; it can also mean more chances to get organized. How much of your clutter can be digitized and stored online using solutions like Evernote or Dropbox?

Just as you consider offline tools to organize your closets, your kitchen, or the garage, consider tools to help you organize online and to increase your productivity. There are lots of calendar apps to remind you about important things and plenty of to-do list apps that help you keep track of your responsibilities. 

Don’t let the apps or technology become too dominant. Try a few tools and use what works for you but be willing to invest a bit of time to confirm what works for you. Many tools are free or inexpensive but, again, don’t use a tool unless you are willing to invest the time to make it work for you. You want to avoid getting bogged down in technology while you remain disorganized.

No Need To Buy

Don’t think that for every circumstance you need to buy an organizational solution like a drawer organizer. There are lots of examples (a.k.a. hacks) where people use household items like Mason jars, toilet roll tubes, or gift boxes to store and organize stuff. Think about what you have on hand that can do “double- duty” before you take out your wallet and buy something that increases your overall inventory of stuff.

Relax

Finally, you should not allow yourself to get stressed striving for perfection. Give yourself a break. The mere fact that you are trying to get organized puts you ahead of many others. Just because you are not progressing the way you envisioned does not mean that you have to beat yourself up about it. 

Just focus on the task at hand. Every little bit helps move you closer to your goal. Take pride in the progress you’ve made rather than worry about what still lays ahead. You’ll get there eventually.

Let us know if we can help you get closer to your goals by taking away stuff you no longer need or want. All the best getting organized for 2015!

photo credit: Flооd via photopin cc