Clutter Tip # 5 – Schedule it.

Schedule it. Period. I can give you dozens of tip ideas to help with the process of getting organized. Keep things where you use them. Create Zones. Consider accessibility. It’s all helpful, but when I think of my clients, the number one issue is getting started. Often your sense of order has gotten out of control and procrastination set in long ago. The bottom line is, get it scheduled. Put a clutter date on the calendar. Even if it’s just a small chunk of time, say 3 hours. Break the organizing effort down into small chunks. Plan for a reward after that 3 hours is finished. And GO!

Here are some ideas for a 3-hour organizing project to put on your calendar today:

Collect all your mail from everywhere. Bring a recycle and shred bin nearby. Go through the mail. Chances are good you will eliminate 80% of it.

Get some empty trash bags and boxes. Walk through each room of the house and fill them with donation items. Let go, let go let go. Make the donation run within the 3 hours time block.

Sit at your email for 2 hours and simply go through your email. Delete freely. Start from the oldest emails first. Create folders for ACTION and PRINT-READ and move items into those folders rather than handling the action or reading now. The key here is to sort out the important ones, rather than actually doing the work. You might use the 3rd hour to print and read, with a nice cup of tea.

Go through your closet and sort and purge. Only shoes, handbags and accessories if you have lots of stuff. Fill some donation bags and take them away or at least put them in the car to get it done soon. As a reward, stop by a girlfriend’s house first and see if she wants anything. Even better, plan the session together for accountability.

Schedule it. Commit yourself. Providence will move too.

Do tell. How’d it go?