Organization Maintenance

Fifteen to thirty minutes a day. This is all it should take to maintain an organized lifestyle, once you have your processes in place. Look at these rules as routines and habits that hopefully become as natural as the habit of brushing your teeth or drinking coffee in the morning.

Use a List to Stay Organized
Get into a routine of writing a list once a week of projects that need to be completed. If possible, break each project into smaller projects. Then get into the habit of crossing out completed tasks from your list. Most tasks are repeated every week, so create a master list with space at the bottom to add additional tasks, and then make copies. Make a goal to cross out a certain number of projects every day so that the list is completed by the end of your week. Remember to post the list in a visible place.

Keep It Simple
The smaller the task, the easier it will be to complete; and completing a task feels good. If time is an issue, keep in mind that it is better to do a small project compared to doing nothing, even if the project is to only organize the bottom shelf of the medicine cabinet.

• Make it a goal to complete one small project every day from your list that is outside of your standard "master list".
• Divide your standard list into doable daily projects and cross them out every day.
• Save larger projects for the weekend or any other day you have more time.

Put Things Away Immediately
Sometimes, instead of putting things back where they belong, items are placed on the nearest flat surface or in the closest drawer. This small form of procrastination can later end up being a large organizing project. Saving a couple seconds by putting something near you instead of back where it belongs can waste minutes later.

• Get into the routine of touching something one time. Put dinnerware in the dishwasher after use instead of on the counter. Put clothes straight into the hamper instead of over a chair or on a bed.
• Deal with things right away. For example, when mail is brought into the house, either take care of it immediately or put it in an inbox that you will deal with at a designated time.

Clean As You Go
Instead of having small cleaning tasks become a huge cleaning project, clean every time you use something. For Example: After you use the toilet, shower, or sink, quickly wipe it down. Make your bed as soon as you get out of bed.

and Finally......


Don’t Let Clutter in the Door!

Prevent clutter by asking these 5 questions before buying:
• Who owns this already and might share it with me?
• What do I already have that is like this?
• Where will this be stored?
• When will I have time to use it and maintain it?
• Why do I want to buy this?