Time management tips from an expert organizer

I hear it all the time: I do not have enough time! The truth is, everyone has the same amount of time as everyone else. . . 24 hours! Time is a limited commodity. Hey! I know that with our busy lifestyles, there never seems to be enough! If you want more, it’s time to take stock of your life and be more organized. That’s where organizing tips can help. This article is designed to give you a short course in home organization ideas that can help you find your things and find more time!

Just think, what if you misplace your car keys 3 times in a year and spend 30 minutes looking for them each time? It’s 90 minutes a year. What if you can’t find your TV remote once a week and spend 5 minutes looking for it each time? 5 X 52 = 260 minutes a year! That’s almost 6 hours of your precious life that you can’t get back. That’s 6 hours that you could have spent playing a round of golf or tennis. You could have had dinner enjoying time with your family or friends or practicing your favorite hobby! Need more incentives? Take those 6 hours and multiply them by your hourly wage. . . see how much money you could have saved?

Realize that the words organizing and organic come from the same root word. I mention this, not to bore you with trivia, but to make you realize that getting your life back together and getting organized is an “organic process.” It’s not something you do just once and forget. You’ll take a few steps, you’ll do a few things, then you’ll take a step back, reassess what you’ve done, and then you’ll take a few more steps. But you don’t have to spend every hour of the day organizing.

We often say to each other what I call convenient lies About us? Because? It is a mechanism of procrastination and avoidance. It does not have to be this way! Realize that your subconscious mind only knows one word, OK. If you tell him something, he says: OK he then starts feeding data into his mind to back up what he just said. Therefore, if you say to yourself: I am disorganized, your subconscious says: OK He then proceeds to show you all the things to support that you are a disorganized person. However, if you say to yourself: I can BE organized, once again, your subconscious mind says: OK then he proceeds to show you all the things to support what you just said; you can BE organized!

To do? I have listed some valuable tips below that will help you:

• start somewhere
• You choose One thing what bothers you the most (that’s where you start)
• Find out how to make your One thing (search for organizational information on that topic)
• List the steps to achieve your One thing (the first is the first)
• List and buy everything you need before you start (be prepared)
• Don’t try to do everything at once (don’t get overwhelmed)
• stop buying stuff (manage what comes in)
• Become an avid list builder (this prevents you from buying too much)
• Turn off advertising (helps keep impulse purchases to a minimum)
• Become a Pile Sorter – Junk, Donate, Sell, Repair, Caretakers (throw out the trash, donate what you can, make money from the rest, put things in the right place, organize the guardians that remain)
• Get rid of emotional baggage (throwing away an item your aunt gave you is not throwing her away)
• Careful with Chunker’s Remorse (if you threw it away, don’t take it out of the trash)

Once you have reduced the stuff until only the guardiansask yourself these questions:

• Does this add real value to my life? (if so, save it; no, get rid of it, not sure, check the rest of the questions to decide)
• When was the last time I saw or used it? (more than 1-2 years old, get rid of it)
• Do I have duplicates of this item? (except food, toilet paper, etc., you don’t need duplicates)
• Does it need to be repaired? (if so, how much does it cost to repair; is it worth repairing; if so, get it fixed; no, get rid of it)
• It is this trash Or could someone else use it? (if one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, give it to the other man)
• I’ll take it . . Where does she belong? (Get help on storing keepers)
• Could this item be reused? (can turn a pot lid holder into a handy mail sorter for your kitchen counter)
• Determine who will be the most likely person to use the item (include them in the options)
• Determine the level of detail you need to find it again (keep it simple)
• Keep things together (shirts to shirts, books to books, etc.)
• Determine how you want to find the item the next time you search for it (alpha, numeric, annual, etc.)
• Use a label maker (helps with visual order)
• Look for as information to help you (that’s where home organization websites can help)
• If it’s expired, it’s dead, give it a decent burial! (do not keep expired coupons, medicines, etc.)
• Keep clutter under control by doing little things on a routine basis (works like compound interest at the bank)
• Do a “clutter sweep” before bed. Get everyone pitching in (make the new day nice)
• Choose regular times for daily chores (garbage day, laundry day, etc.)
• Do not procrastinate (you will obtain satisfaction and peace of mind)
• Are you going through a really difficult time? Consider that there may be deeper issues, such as hoarding disorder. (look for articles on ways to overcome it or seek professional help)

Don’t just take on a project. It takes more than a few tips and tricks to get organized and stay organized. A lifestyle change is needed. These tips will help you make the long-term life changes needed!

For more information and tips on home organization solutions, time management, and cleaning tips, visit http://www.straighten-up-now.com

I look forward to welcoming you as my guest!