Tip #1 Anticipate Change
Now that you’ve de-cluttered and organized your space, you’re probably feeling pretty darn good about the world. But wait, there’s more! Don’t forget to anticipate incoming and outgoing items. In order for your hard work to sustain, you must be realistic about the level of dynamic change that will take place in your home or office. Think about the constant incoming / outgoing items in your home and decide which of these you should set up. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- A an empty box or bin awaiting new items to donate
- Items to return (to school, the library, to a friend, to the office, to the store, etc)
- Incoming receipts
- Kid’s homework station
- Recycling bin right near where the mail gets sorted
- An incoming mail station for bills, items to review and other current paper
Tip #2 Review your Measurements
Remember organizing Tip #1 entitled “Get Prepared” in the last blog post series? If you took before photos, this is where they will come in handy. Now that you’ve completed your organizing project, take an after photo of that area. This should serve as a measurement for your new expectations of the space. Keep the photos together with your project list and schedule a time to review them in your calendar. Next time you do another organizing project, you should review your records of time spent in each areas and the photos. This will get you motivated and keep you on track!
Tip #3 Maintain your Work
Consider scheduling a quarterly maintenance session in which you review your home and tighten up the work that you did. That means purging unnecessary items that have crept in, reviewing your habit list and setting goals for the future. Hold a family meeting and fill everyone in on new rules and habits you want to establish.
January is National Get Organized (GO) Month! This blog is the third of three posts by professional organizer Veronica Bishop that are full of our all time favorite tips, tricks and other organizing solutions to help you start the year off with a bang. Please let us know what you think by commenting below.
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