A Final Home Organizing
Where to Begin?
Bookstore shelves are chock-o-block on organizing the home. They offer ideas for maintaining incoming and outgoing paper, filing systems, recipes, clothing, books, CDs, toys, kitchen gadgets and widgets, jewelry, coin collections and canned goods, among other things. Virtually any home can become more orderly with the implementation of just a few easy concepts.
You can read this handy ebook and any good organizing book from the bookshop and still do nothing. You just think about what you will do. Implementation is the key, and in thoroughly disorganized homes, getting started is the least favorite of any job at hand.
Especially if the home has been disorganized for a long period of time and the same tactics for keeping the disorder out of sight have been employed for some time, it is difficult for the homemaker to know where to begin.
Following are a few basic pointers in taking that first step toward a more orderly life.
“Organization is not an option, it is a fundamental survival skill and distinct competitive advantage” – Pam N. Woods
1. Start anywhere in your home, but with just one problem area.
Choose one single area to work on at one time. Incoming paper is a big problem for some families, for example, and by getting that under control, a lot of clutter will be eliminated straight off. Decide where to start based on the answer to this question: "The thing that bothers me most of all is…".
2. Choose an organizational system that you know you will be able to work with easiest.
Simple is generally best; anything too complicated might become overwhelming after awhile. Remember that if paper management (or whatever area you are trying to improve) was easy for you, you would not be in this bind in the first place. Visit your library and read up on the system that you have chosen to work well for you.
3. Put together the items needed in order to implement the system.
Organizing paper might require file folders, an in-box, a shelving system, etc. Label folders, establish a family mail center, install in-boxes, and carefully follow all other directions in implementing your new system.
4. Decide on a suitable place for items you have accumulated over the years, which are waiting to be sorted, filed or acted on.
Do not try to do all your organizing first, before implementing your new system. Simply gather your collection of papers, deposit them in the designated place, and work on them as you can -- even 10 or 15 minutes per day will work down the pile in no time.
5. Begin using your system immediately.
This will prevent the disorganization from spreading into other rooms.
6. If you find that the system you are using does not address a particular need, such as what to do with school assignments, for example, make a decision about this straight away.
If you simply cannot decide, then allocate a single place for school papers and make sure they all end up there. You can change your system at any point and reorganize things, so do not wait for the perfect idea before you try something new.
6. Use the system like clockwork.
Make no excuses. That is the only way any system will work well for you.
A disorderly home can become just too much for any homemaker who means well but does not know where to begin. The good news is that you can begin right now, from wherever you are. All you have to do is take that first step and with this handy ebook, you have the tools you will need.