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The Home and Office Organizing Blog
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Think beyond the space you are organizing

Organizing can be tricky. And sometimes seems to be virtually impossible. You look around at your overstuffed shelves and bursting closets and say "I don't like this, it just doesn't work". But to think about the task of actually going through these items and attempting to get organized just gives you a headache. You look at it all again and say "It's fine" and close the door.

One thing to think about the next time you want to get organized is to see if you can use another space in your home to deal with he lack of space in another room.
For instance, you might not be able to use the shelves in your office efficiently without first getting rid of some of the things that have lived there for years. But where are you going to put them? Maybe they are important and you can't part with them. Its apparent the new plastic boxes are not going to fix the problem or any other organizing tool. Sometimes we just cant organize the space we work in until we move some things around to another room. You need to find space elsewhere in your home.

Go around your home or office and search for unoccupied space. Look in cabinets, closets and drawers. You may have 3 junk drawers full of items that could be put away elsewhere or thrown out. Or a cabinet stuffed with plastic grocery bags. Remove those items to make room for office supplies or a project that you have been working on that just keeps getting knocked around and just never had a home. Nobody ever said you couldn't store Non-kitchen items in an kitchen cabinet or drawer. Use space wherever it is available and you will always know where to find it.




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Tuesday, January 02, 2007
New Year’s Resolutions Continued

In my last post, I wrote about the process of making changes. Now here are some specific tips to help you achieve your goals.


Eating Right
If your new habit is to eat better make sure you schedule a time every week to go to the grocery store to purchase healthy food and prepare your meals at home. Bring your lunch to work and make sure you have healthy snacks on hand when you those hungers pains set in. You don’t want to run to the nearest vending machine for a chocolate bar and a can of soda. For great ideas on how to eat right, take a look at
www.webmd.com



Getting fit
If you’re new habit is to get in shape make sure you schedule a time to go to the heath club each week. Make an appointment with yourself in your weekly planner so that you do not schedule anything else that time of day. You might even consider working out with friend to add a little extra motivation. You don’t want to leave them on the treadmill while you’re at home hitting the snooze bar.


Getting Organized
If you’re new habit is to get organized make sure you schedule time each day to just put things away. Every night before you go to bed spend about 10 minutes going through each room and make sure everything is in order for the next day. You will appreciate it in the morning. Do the same at work. Put your projects away and clear your desk of anything that is not important for your next days work.


Don’t expect instant results. In fact, if you first concentrate on techniques rather than results, you’ll surprise yourself with what you accomplish. Don’t rush. Take time to establish a new habit before you go on to the next. Practice, practice, practice. That’s the only way you’ll improve.

Have a great day!


Karli
Professional Organizer

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Monday, January 01, 2007
It's Not Being Perfect

New Year
Here I am at the start of a new year -- it’s "clean slate time," – a fresh start. Like many people, New Year’s Day has me thinking about what I’d like to accomplish in the next 365 days. Some of my goals are similar to most folks, lose some weight, get fit, get a handle on my finances. Others are more idiosyncratic – such as finally getting past Level 2 in French. However, getting organized is not one of goals, though I’m a natural slob. Maybe it’s because I’m suspicious that if I give up my messiness, I’ll also give up some of my creativity and spontaneity.

So then what am I doing blogging on a site dedicated to getting organized? What drew me to working with Karli is her philosophy that organizing is not about being perfect. It’s a tool to help accomplish bigger goals. That resonated with me. I’ll never have a home where everything is always in its place, but I can do without the frustration of wondering around our two-bedroom, two-bath home for 20 minutes looking for my keys. None of my friends have ever said or will ever say, I just love Irene, she’s sooo organized. But I know they like it when I remember birthdays and special occasions. I don’t have to be organized to get on a treadmill, but I do have to make the time to get to the gym.

So that’s what organization means to me. It’s a way to achieve important things, like taking care of my family, and being a good friend, and contributing to the community. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

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5 steps to New Year's resolutions

We are a week into 2007 and many people have New Year’s resolutions, which usually means creating new habits. There is a way you can establish new habits. The method I use isn’t new, but I find it very effective. Basically, there are five steps. Consistency is essential. Studies suggest that to form a new habit you have to do it 21 times in a row.

1. Establish your main goals. Perhaps this year, you’d like to focus on fitness and you’d like to organize yourself so you have more time to go to the gym and make healthier meals at home.

2. Make your plan. Organize your goals by writing them down in a realistic time frame. Take note of some things that you can apply immediately by breaking it into steps.

3. Establish rewards for each small step. To make sure that you will take even the tiniest step toward your desired goal, bribe yourself silly. Set up little rewards for minor steps along the way with bigger rewards for greater accomplishments.

4. Get started. The more you practice and get rewards, the more you will want to try again. You’re conditioning yourself to the idea that doing the new activity brings immediate pleasurable benefits.

5. Track your progress. Make a note of any positive accomplishment. Review these notes often. This final step of reviewing your successes can be a turning point in making your new-found skills belong to you permanently.

Have a great day!

Karli

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