Go Organize: Conquer Clutter in 3 Simple Steps (4 page)

If towels are jumbled in the closet, you can pull one out with little effort, but putting them back in a neat stack is difficult if there isn't a place for them. This also is true for other items you use on a daily basis in every room in your home. Categorizing your spaces and making homes for everything will make it easier for you to put things away where they belong after they are used.

Make It Fun

Whatever it takes to have fun while clearing clutter and creating space — do it! Maybe it will be crossing off each step as you go, munching on a celery stick (make mine chocolate), listening to some favorite music, or rewarding yourself when you have finished with a new CD, fresh flowers, or a trip to the spa.

WRAP UP Now you know the three steps to Lights On Organizing. First, you'll use the Searchlight and assess the organizing needs in your home. Fill out the Searchlight worksheet room by room to choose what is working and what is not working for you and identify what room you want to start in. Identifying the problem is a great start.

Second, with your Spotlight, focus on a plan to get organized. You know the wattage you feel in each room, and you know where you are headed to increase your wattage. Break your goals down into manageable steps and set deadlines for completing your goals.

Third, give yourself the Green Light to take action. Each chapter in this book explains step by step how to organize a different room, so pick your room and let's get going.

“Where do I start?” As a professional organizer I am often asked this question when I work in clients' homes. The answer is — it really doesn't matter. That's right. You can start wherever you would like, but I will give you specific instructions to help you decide what is best for you. What does matter is that you do start and stay with it until the area is organized and functions the way you want it to. You may be thinking:
That's easy for you to say; I've tried to get organized, and I just can't.
I have helped hundreds of women become organized, and I can help you be organized, too, by using these three simple steps: Searchlight, Spotlight, and Green Light.

Have you ever had days like this? Paula decided she was going to organize her bedroom. She started right after her children left for school. In her bedroom, she found a baseball cap that needed to go to the hall closet; on her way to the closet she saw a broken figurine so she went to get the glue. She discovered there was no glue, so she headed down the hall to add it to her grocery list. As she passed her daughter's room, she noticed the bed was unmade. She thought,
Ah, I will make her bed.
As she was making the bed, she spied a book she had been looking for and was on her way to put it on the bookshelf when she realized she was getting tired and remembered she hadn't taken her vitamin pill, so off to the kitchen she went for the pill. There were dishes in the sink that would only take a few minutes to take care of, so she loaded them in the dishwasher. She tripped over shoes someone had kicked off in the hallway, and off to the person's room she headed with the shoes in hand. Her day went on and on like this until the next thing she knew, the kids were walking in the door from school, and nothing had been done toward organizing her bedroom.

It is not unusual to have days like Paula's (see the sidebar above) because, as busy women, we have busy lives. It doesn't matter if we are single, married, have children, have no children, work outside the home, are stay-at-home moms, or are empty nesters; we are all busy. There are tons of things we feel we need to get done every day. We all have good intentions, and we are doing the right things. But the feeling, and sometimes the reality, that we never get anything done leaves us frustrated, stressed out, and discouraged. We can overcome that discouragement and frustration by creating an organized plan and then committing the time, energy, and focus to carry out that plan. I'll teach you how to do just that (and avoid days like Paula's) in this chapter.

SEARCHLIGHT

Let's use the Lights On Organizing System to help you decide where to start organizing in your home. The first step is the Searchlight. Remember, the Searchlight lets you find what is and isn't working for you. Use the wattage chart (see page 15) to determine how lit up your home makes you feel. Go room by room writing down the wattage you currently feel in each space. This will help you decide where to start organizing. You can start with the area that needs the most work, or you can start with the room that needs the least work and build energy and confidence to tackle the harder spots. The choice is yours.

If you think your whole house needs organizing, I suggest one of two places to start: either the front entryway or your master bedroom. Next, the bathroom(s), followed by the kitchen, family room, children's rooms, laundry room, office, craft room, storage room, and finally the garage.

Why Start in the Front Entryway?

This area gives your guests and family their first impressions of your home. You want them to feel welcome. It is typically a smaller space, so it can be organized pretty quickly, and it will leave you feeling encouraged knowing you can accomplish your goal to be organized.

Why the Master Bedroom?

This is your very own personal sanctuary, a room you can walk into and feel peaceful and calm. It is a haven from the day's hectic schedule and activities. You can close the door and have a few minutes of quiet time during the day. It is the room to enjoy time alone with your significant other. You can read a good book or magazine as you snuggle down in bed or lounge in a comfy chair. It can be a place for quiet meditation. You could even call it your time-out room — maybe the kids will leave you alone.

What About the Storage Areas?

I have been asked “why not organize my storage room first?” You may feel this is the room that needs the most help so you want to tackle it right away. I suggest you leave that room to the last for several reasons. The rooms you live in are the most important rooms to organize first because you are in them every day. You want to surround yourself with light in your life. Storage rooms often become the dumping ground for everything you and your family don't know what to do with and for the things you don't have room for in your home. These cast-off items become jumbled up with items that actually belong in the storage area. It is too overwhelming to start here. As you use the Lights On Organizing System and learn how to use the Searchlight, Spotlight and Green Light, you will gain the skills and confidence to tackle your storage room.

Tip:
If one room is driving you crazy and you just can't stop thinking about it (or avoiding it), then start in that room.

SPOTLIGHT

With the Searchlight step, you checked out all the rooms in your home and you chose one room you want to start in. Now with your Spotlight we will set some goals. You may lament (with a tiny, nervous giggle) that your entire home needs organizing; rooms, closets, and cupboards. Great, this will be the overall goal — the “big picture.” You are going to turn up the wattage in your home and “live light.”

The Spotlight stage is where you make a plan that will give you both peace of mind and direction. Break it down into simple, manageable steps, such as these:

 


1. Decide how much time you can devote to the project. This is not something you will
   find
   time to do; it is something you want to
   make
   time to do.
   

 


2. Make an appointment with yourself to organize this room; write it down on your calendar or in your planner. Take it one step at a time. Set your timer for the length of time you plan on working. Start with twenty minutes to one hour. The more time you work, the more you will get done. But I don't want you to burn out by working too long or too fast. Don't walk faster than you can run!
   

 


3. Set a deadline for you to finish, and then work toward completing the project by that date.
   

Tip:
When your goal is organizing your entire home and you have it broken down into manageable sections, you will need to commit to bigger chunks of time to accomplish your goal as you proceed. Once things are organized, a few minutes a week (and not necessarily all at the same time) will give you enough time to keep your home organized. Use pockets of time to organize (straighten things up and put things away) — minutes when you are waiting for someone or you don't feel like starting a big project but you have a few minutes you can use.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

I bet you want everything organized right now, and you want it done and over with! I am the same way. In fact, I bought a sign that reads,
Enjoy the Journey
. I have the tendency to want the project to be finished so I can move on to something else, instead of enjoying the experience, or the journey. Give yourself permission to take small bites, start slowly, and pick up speed as you go. Keep in mind, it isn't a race. Personally, it is a big relief just to know that it is okay to go slow; not everything has to be done right now.

Eating an elephant is only possible one bite at a time. It's the same with organizing: Start slow and work steady, doing a little at a time. You will see big results that will last!

GREEN LIGHT

Let's get going in the room you chose to organize! This is the exciting part

because in this step, you will see results, get rid of things you haven't known what to do with, create space, and have homes for things so you will be able to find them when you want them. Here are ideas and suggestions of literally where to begin within the room you have chosen to organize. Choose one of the following and begin.

 


• Remember to work from the inside out in every room. If there is a closet, start there. If there are drawers, start with the top drawer and work your way down to the bottom drawer.
  

 


• Organize surfaces second. After you have organized the internal parts of the room, if there is a flat surface (such as the top of dressers, tables, or counters), organize there.
  

 


• Next, either start with the most cluttered place or the least cluttered place. It is your decision. You are in control (even if you don't feel like you are). By doing the most cluttered first, the area won't hang over your head as you do the rest of the room. By organizing the least cluttered space, you will see progress quicker. For example: You could organize an entire book case, which takes longer than just a magazine rack.
  

Eliminate Distractions