Green Living

It seems like everybody wants to be organized, and some are more successful at it than others.  There are people who make it look so easy, they seem to glide through life, day-timers in hand, with every contingency planned for and everything sorted into alphabetical order.  (I know, they can be aggravating.) 

Those folks who aren’t “naturally” organized often wonder if it’s even possible for them to manage it.  They buy magazines that promise things like, “Get Organized For Good In A Weekend,” only to be disappointed.  Yes, perhaps there are a few intriguing ideas in there, but the articles seem to be lacking something, they don’t provide a permanent solution.  Maybe you’ve been one who has run to purchase the latest and greatest organizing tool, only to find that, cool though it may be, it just doesn’t solve your problems. 

The real difficulty here is with the understanding of just what organization – successful, lasting organization – really is.

What organizing is NOT:

¨      Believe it or not, organization is not all about being neat and tidy.

¨      It’s not just concerned with how things look.

¨      Neither is organizing about going on a purging spree and getting rid of clutter.

¨      Organizing is not all about buying the latest fancy bins & boxes in which to stash your stuff.

¨       It is also not the implementation of all the “tips” you’ve ever read.

Successful organizing IS:

¨      Successful organizing creates a system based on YOU, your specific needs, goals and personality.

¨      Successful organizing will reflect what is most important to you.

¨      It’s concerned with how things function.

¨      Successful organizing focuses on how you live and work, not what some organizing guru thinks.

¨      Its main goal is to solve the problems in your life that have been caused by not having a working system yet in place.

While many of the items on the “NOT” list are valuable and helpful in organizing, they should not be the main focus of somebody just beginning the process.  Rather, they are complements to the systems you develop and are useful for solving the problems you have.  Once you have a system in place, one that suits you, your personality and your work habits, then these types of things come into play.  It’s only after you’ve carefully analyzed your needs, developed a system, and have also acquired the habits you need to make it work that you can know just what type of gadgetry will work best for you.  If you just dive right in, buying up organizing containers, for example, you may find later that they really aren’t suitable at all.  In addition, decluttering, is actually a result of putting into practice good principles of organization, it is not just a stand-alone process.

Getting to the root of your organizing problems is the only way to effect lasting change.  Don’t be sidetracked by tips, techniques and gadgetry, but take the time to learn the basic principles of organization and develop the necessary habits to put them into place.  Only then will you find yourself with long-term results.

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About Author

Sandy Huntress is a successful educator in the arena of organization. She has authored three popular ebooks: 16 Secrets of Naturally Organized People, Decluttering, Demystified, as well as, Paper, Paper, Everywhere (And You Can’t Find a Thing!)

For more tips and techniques like the ones in this article, plus your FREE copy of Decluttering, Demystified, please click here: http://www.secretsoforganizedpeople.com.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 20th, 2009 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Green. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.