Organizing @ Home the Process
Today’s Focus:
– Before you begin each day
– The systematic approach
– After we Sort & Purge, then what?
– Homework
Throughout the eCourse you will notice a repeating pattern – a systematic approach – that works no matter what area you are working in. Soon you will begin to anticipate the next step in the process.
Before You Begin Working
1) Eat something – you will need to sustain your energy for several hours.
2) Put on your favorite music.
3) Have trash bags and a box or two (or five depending on the space).
Something you will never regret doing before starting any job is to ask your higher power for help and guidance. Just that little request to the Universe* to assist makes a big difference in how quickly solutions arise. I urge you to try it, and then trust it to be so. The Universe always has your back, you just have to invite it in. đ
The Systematic Approach
The systematic approach can be broken into 4 parts:
1) Assess & Reflect,
2) Sort & Purge,
3) Organize, and
4) Maintenance.
Assess & Reflect
No matter what space you are dealing with you are going to start with an Assessment. Assessment is an analytical view of what is going on in the space while remaining objective â be sure to stick to the facts!
Often, clients will just gloss over everything because it can be too visually overwhelming. It’s important to step back and look at everything objectively.
– See things for the objects they are, not for what emotions they cause you.
– Be careful to be analytical and not critical. There is no room for judgment in this process. There isn’t time for that. If you want to make meaningful progress, remain as detached as possible from whatever negative emotions you may be experiencing. Stay positive and remain objective to stay on task.
Sort & Purge
Yourâe going to decide the fate of every item in each space. When people ask us where to start, we usually say:
– search for all the trash (and thus revealing all the non-trash)
– remove all the items that do not belong in the room or area (purge)
It’s not important where you start, just that you start. Pick a place an go!
Anything that belongs in that room or area can be left in place (or put in a pile). Focus on things that are leaving and get it out of your way so that all that remains is what you actually want there.
As you make decisions, you will put items into basically two categories: Keep and Go Away.
As you go through each item to determine itâs fate, your Keep categories will be wide and varied. Some items will get added to similar piles of that item, other things will be the start of a new category altogether. Itâs common for me to start using one sized box to group items and then have to upgrade because I ran out of room, or vice-versa.
Keep
The Keep category breaks down into these two sub-categories:
Keep / IN â When working with clients, I suggest limiting what lives permanently in the craftroom things that actually BELONG in the craftroom. Assign your craftroom a job, and as much as possible stick with it. That means no unused suitcases, unused appliances, vacuums (unless itâs frequently used in the craft room) or anything else unrelated. The exception would be if there is nowhere else for it to be stored and you must keep it here.
The Keep | IN category means you will KEEP it, and it lives in the craftroom.
Keep / OUT â These are things that you must keep, but do not align with the purpose of the room. You do not need to know exactly where they will go right now, just that they will not live here! For today, simply put them in a box labeled Keep / OUTÂ and continue on with the task at hand.
Go Away
GO / AWAY â This category are items that you no longer want but have life left in them and someone else can use them.
Sell: You may decide to sell them at a garage sale, online or at a consignment shop. When selling online, if it takes more than 2 or 3 minutes for you to post in an online garage sale site, save them until the end of your scheduled work session. You donât want to lose momentum by continually fiddling with your phone.
Donate: These items you do not plan to sell yourself, but someone would pay money for it.
Give: You have a specific person in mind already to give it to. In these instances, I suggest you snap a quick photo with your phone and text it to that person on the spot. Just say, âHey there! I am organizing my craft room and getting rid of things I no longer need. Are you interested in this ____?â Itâs important you let them know you are working on an organizing project. Stating this will give them a greater sense of urgency in responding. It may not be on the spot, but the underlying expectation would be that you arenât hanging on to it since you are cleaning out the room. Regardless of who it is going to, be sure to give them a deadline for pick up.
GO / TRASHÂ â These are items that can no longer be used or would not sell even at a garage sale. Many items can and should be recycled.
Tips for a Productive Work Session
– Schedule time to do the work and stick with it (put it on your calendar)
– Set a timer to go off every 15 -20 minutes to A)mark the passing of time and B)helps to keep you accountable for your time. If you got stuck reminscing the alarm will pull you out of it and remind you to get back on course.
– Stay in the room you are working on until the everything has been sorted and purged OR until the timer goes off. Your time will be whittled away by “putting this away real quick”. Stay put and use the box system.
– For best results, set aside a minimum of 2 hours at a time.
– Make quick decisions
After the Sort & Purge, then What?
The process of organizing isn’t cut and dry, the steps are fluid and overlap, so know that your exact flow might be a little different than what I say here, but it’s normal. You might wait until you are completely done organizing the entire room before distribute, and that is fine! There is no perfect way.
Distribute –Â Deliver the items to the appropriate location or room. If they are easy to put away, do it. but if the destination is cluttered, simply set the items in there and deal with them later. Don’t start another area until you have completed the first one. Conserve your energy and take focused actions.
Donate – If you can get it out of the house right away, do it. Drop it by your favorite charity on your way to the grocery store. If it’s for a friend, make a delivery or make plans to meet for coffee and bring it then. Follow through is important here and there’s no time like the present.
Dump – If the bags are full, take them outside.
Then Organize!
Then it’s time to Organize of course, which will be covered later.
Today’s Assignment
Nearly each lesson I will assign “homework” which is essentially what was previously explained. I will include worksheets or writing assignments as needed. Clearing your mind by journaling helps bring focus and clarity to the situation and the worksheets are to help keep you on task.
Action Steps:
– Gather boxes, trash bags and other receptacles to prepare for your first work session so you are prepared and less likely to leave the room
Organizing is more than just moving stuff around to make it look neat, it’s about making decisions and taking action!
If you have any questions, comments or thoughts, reach out on Facebook or join us on our bi-weekly ZOOM video conference calls! Join the Clutter to Clarity Club here!
Until next time…
*aka God, Source, Higher Power â sometimes the word âGodâ is just too small for all the things your higher power can do! **The Three Dâs is a term found in the book Organizing & Storage for Dummies by Eileen Roth & Elizabeth Miles
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