Let’s get started

So the weekend is almost here, fall routines are finally kicking in and the house still seems to be disorganized.  The relaxed and haphazard days of summer are long gone, but now the fall stuff is sitting on TOP of all the summer stuff in the house.  Those “summer” projects are still sitting there – that room, those shelves – that were going to get to before school started are still there.  And now things that have come in the house for school, for fall, for later - are now piled on top of those undone projects.  So how do you dig out of that?  How do you get motivated?  How do you get started, if NOW is the time to get organized?

Start Small. 

Pick something small to start with – I suggest a drawer.  Now, which one?  Find a drawer (or even a small cabinet) that is just bugging you.  It could be a desk drawer, or one in your bedside table.  Maybe even a kitchen drawer, like the utensil drawer.  Here are my criteria on what to pick for that first “get you going” project:

1.     Pick a small area that can be started and completed within 30 minutes or less. 

2.     Pick an area that is used often and would benefit from a quick emptying, purge and cleaning. 

3.     Pick a spot that will give you high impact after it is done – this is good encouragement for your brain to continue the process and pick the next spot! 

4.     Pick a place that is “neutral” – meaning no emotional items or hard choices need to be made.  

One place you may have that you might want to start would be a “junk” drawer in the kitchen (or in my case, a junk spot).  My advice is save that one for a little later.  It could turn into an archeological dig that might stir up emotions and would probably take longer than you think.  This spot is usually the “save for later” spot.  There is a reason that so many things land here.  It’s where things go that have hard decisions with them.  Should I keep it or not?  Where should I keep it?   How about here for now…  Save this drawer for a little later in the process!! 

A good place to start in the kitchen, if that is where you are motivated to be, is the pantry OR fridge.  Most items are easy to make decisions on.  Has it gone bad?  Are we going to eat this?  It’s a great way to clear out and make a huge impact!   Another one is the utensil drawer.  It’s pretty easy to do and just a clean and straighten can make opening that drawer more pleasant! 

So once you decide your spot – and set aside your time to do it – get going.  Because this small accomplishment will get you motivated to attack that corner of your closet.  Or that junk drawer which might be next…