Just came from lunch with some folks that my wife and I know from an internet learning group we joined. While learning about privacy policies, links and headers,(my head is spinning) one of the young women shared a trick she and her sister use to keep their closets organized.
She shared that she and her sister have been very competitive since childhood. When it comes to clutter they decided they needed to create a positive use for that competitive nature. Here's what they do. Every month or two they get together at one or the others apartment. They have an agreement about how they can go about challenging the closet owner about how things are organized, or messy as the case may be, and what needs to be done to create or return to the agreed upon "organized" state. This also includes the classic, "if you can't tell me when you worn this or used this in the last year or so, it has to go." Here is where they added a twist. "Has to go" can also mean that the non closet owner can take the item! The young woman showed us a belt she said came from her sister's closet a couple of months previous!
Soooo, if you have a healthy competitive relationship with a friend or a relative, you may want to create an every other month get together to help declutter and organize each other's space or raid each other's closets as the case may be!
Remember, you can let your clutter drive you crazy or you can Get Crazy Organized!
Monday, November 06, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Getting Organized Can Cover Soooo Many Topics
We have recently returned from time in Nebraska but I am still suffering from my brain having been run over by everything paintball. Long story there that I will cover in a later post. It was however, while I was dealing with the paintball people that I realized when we say "get organized" we can mean sooooo many different things. I realized the subject is a great deal larger than storage boxes, files, and other clutter mangement tools for our homes. This got started when a paintball enthusiast told me and my colleagues to "keep our eyes open because paintball was going to be an Olympic sport someday." He may in fact be right about that but by the time it becomes a reality, his already cranky knees will have had him out of the paintball park for a number of years!
I did a small bit of research on the paintball world's aspirations for Olympic status and concluded that this "ain't gonna happn" anytime in the near future and here's why. The world or field of paintball has no organizational framework or infrastructure and is not going to "get organized" for what appears to be a good amount of time. Without an organization to get agreement on and set priorities(read raise money), paintball is not in a position to focus any significant influence on the U.S. Olympic Committee, let alone on the International Olympic Committee and the sport leadership of many of the world's nations. Fixing their lack of organization will take time and with the Olympics only occurring every four years, my enthusiastic acquaintance may have his hopes and dreams fulfilled around 2020! If they achieve the goal before then it may be because they managed to get crazy organized!
I did a small bit of research on the paintball world's aspirations for Olympic status and concluded that this "ain't gonna happn" anytime in the near future and here's why. The world or field of paintball has no organizational framework or infrastructure and is not going to "get organized" for what appears to be a good amount of time. Without an organization to get agreement on and set priorities(read raise money), paintball is not in a position to focus any significant influence on the U.S. Olympic Committee, let alone on the International Olympic Committee and the sport leadership of many of the world's nations. Fixing their lack of organization will take time and with the Olympics only occurring every four years, my enthusiastic acquaintance may have his hopes and dreams fulfilled around 2020! If they achieve the goal before then it may be because they managed to get crazy organized!
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
The Commitment to Get Organized
I had an interesting experience this past weekend while attending a great Street Fair in one of the communities just down the freeway. Community activities like this are one of the fantastic things about SoCal. Within thirty minutes of our driveway there is a Farmers Market everyday accept Monday and nearly every weekend there is a Street Fair, Art Festival, or Fruit/Veggie Festival. Strawberry and Avocado dominate around here, but I digress!
At the Fair I was standing by the booth of a woman who was marketing herself as an Organization Coach. She was talking with a much younger woman about the frustrations of organizing one's space or clutter. Finally, the young woman said, "Ok, tell me your number one tip for clearing out my office and cleaning up the junk in my apartment." At this point I have to confess to eavesdropping! The woman responded saying, "At home it is best to not allow things to pile up. So, for example, if you do your laundry, make sure you fold it and put it away." To which the girl replied, "Fold my clothes and put them away, yuck." The woman pressed on, "For your office I always recommend the classic rule for paper management," and was interrupted by the young woman who said, "I know, only touch a piece of paper once. I can't do that so that's a waste of time."
At this point I was anticipating a variation on one of the "advice is worth what you pay for it," remarks but the woman just looked at her and said, "Yes, I am sure of that since it requires commitment, Sweetie."
As they say, you can shout the truth from the house tops!
Yours in getting organized,
J. W. Deal
At the Fair I was standing by the booth of a woman who was marketing herself as an Organization Coach. She was talking with a much younger woman about the frustrations of organizing one's space or clutter. Finally, the young woman said, "Ok, tell me your number one tip for clearing out my office and cleaning up the junk in my apartment." At this point I have to confess to eavesdropping! The woman responded saying, "At home it is best to not allow things to pile up. So, for example, if you do your laundry, make sure you fold it and put it away." To which the girl replied, "Fold my clothes and put them away, yuck." The woman pressed on, "For your office I always recommend the classic rule for paper management," and was interrupted by the young woman who said, "I know, only touch a piece of paper once. I can't do that so that's a waste of time."
At this point I was anticipating a variation on one of the "advice is worth what you pay for it," remarks but the woman just looked at her and said, "Yes, I am sure of that since it requires commitment, Sweetie."
As they say, you can shout the truth from the house tops!
Yours in getting organized,
J. W. Deal
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Clutter = Stuff!
When we survey our clutter we recognize a great deal of it as our "stuff." I will not go into a lengthy definition of stuff because it falls in one of those categories like that often ridiculed saying about art appreciation, we know it when we see it. For boys we jokingly refer to it as our toys. For women, many become "collectibles" (I am going to get it for that one.) Whatever we call it the stuff is still stuff!
That said, I want to share a couple of critical standards for evaluating when stuff has become clutter, maybe even junk! These standards are ones you use when the stuff in question has or had a use. In order to be successful applying these standards as part of your strategy to get organized, you will generally treat them as questions and you will need to answer them concretely, critically and realistically. So ask yourself......
"If I needed this item in the future, could I find one like it and what would it likely cost?"
If it is going to be hard to find or if it is going to cost you an arm or a leg, find a place for it and keep it.
"When was the last time I used this item or toy?"
If it has been more than two years and you can't see yourself using it in the next thirty days, throw it.
Simply applying these two standards to things like closet, garage or attic "junk" can go a long way toward either a big pile on the curb or the inventory for your next eBay sale. If it is the latter, just make sure you have the sale because if not you have just move the "stuff" into a different category of clutter.
Remember...you can let your clutter drive you crazy or you can get crazy organized.
That said, I want to share a couple of critical standards for evaluating when stuff has become clutter, maybe even junk! These standards are ones you use when the stuff in question has or had a use. In order to be successful applying these standards as part of your strategy to get organized, you will generally treat them as questions and you will need to answer them concretely, critically and realistically. So ask yourself......
"If I needed this item in the future, could I find one like it and what would it likely cost?"
If it is going to be hard to find or if it is going to cost you an arm or a leg, find a place for it and keep it.
"When was the last time I used this item or toy?"
If it has been more than two years and you can't see yourself using it in the next thirty days, throw it.
Simply applying these two standards to things like closet, garage or attic "junk" can go a long way toward either a big pile on the curb or the inventory for your next eBay sale. If it is the latter, just make sure you have the sale because if not you have just move the "stuff" into a different category of clutter.
Remember...you can let your clutter drive you crazy or you can get crazy organized.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Getting Organized and Paralysis from Analysis
Finding information on the Internet about ways to Get Organized is great fun. It can also be interesting, even an entertaining means of researching areas of organization surrounding one's home or office or other areas like feng shui, clutter and coaching. Often in our efforts to get control in some area of our life we convince ourselves that the key to success rests in getting just a "little bit more information." It just can go on and on and on, you get the picture.
The fact remains that to get organized we have to be in the right place mentally and emotionally to take action. Without the correct mind set and emotional supports the approach and work of organizing our space can bring on the same sense of being overwhelmed as occurs in child rearing, managing our finances, or juggling relationships, jobs and families. So to put a band aid on the dread of being overwhelmed, we research and surf the net to convince ourselves we are moving forward with our goals to get organized.
All of this results in one of the most hideous forms of procrastination known to mankind, paralysis from analysis! By continuing to gather information on the subject at hand we attempt to convince ourselves that the task before us requires it, just a bit more information and then we can get started. I know this because as the old comedy line goes, "I resemble that remark!"
I have started a garden over a month late in the spring planting season because, among other reasons I over researched what was best grown in pots and best in the ground to assure that I was going to have the right plants in the patio containers. Right! I have researched golf conditioning exercises for just the right ones to get ready for the big winter golf trip with the guys. I researched it so well that I actually got in a couple of days of exercises before we headed South. Most years I also came home injured! I solved that one by moving to SoCal where I can play year round.
The truth is, the only way to get past the paralysis and move toward your goals for getting organized is to take the first step. Take Action! Here is what I recommend to get you moving. Look over your lists of tasks associated with your goals, you do have a list don't you? Pick the very easiest one and do it. Then do the next easiest one. The fact is that by doing this and seeing two tasks successfully completed, your sense of purpose and accomplishment will get an incredible shot in the arm. Your mind set will be altered. Nine times out of ten you won't even look for the next easiest one, you will jump right to the one you had labeled as the most important task or step when you first made the list. Success, purpose, confidence and accomplishment will motivate you to end your paralysis from analysis and take the fight to the Clutter Monster.
Remember you can let your clutter drive you crazy or you can get crazy organized.
Get organized!
The fact remains that to get organized we have to be in the right place mentally and emotionally to take action. Without the correct mind set and emotional supports the approach and work of organizing our space can bring on the same sense of being overwhelmed as occurs in child rearing, managing our finances, or juggling relationships, jobs and families. So to put a band aid on the dread of being overwhelmed, we research and surf the net to convince ourselves we are moving forward with our goals to get organized.
All of this results in one of the most hideous forms of procrastination known to mankind, paralysis from analysis! By continuing to gather information on the subject at hand we attempt to convince ourselves that the task before us requires it, just a bit more information and then we can get started. I know this because as the old comedy line goes, "I resemble that remark!"
I have started a garden over a month late in the spring planting season because, among other reasons I over researched what was best grown in pots and best in the ground to assure that I was going to have the right plants in the patio containers. Right! I have researched golf conditioning exercises for just the right ones to get ready for the big winter golf trip with the guys. I researched it so well that I actually got in a couple of days of exercises before we headed South. Most years I also came home injured! I solved that one by moving to SoCal where I can play year round.
The truth is, the only way to get past the paralysis and move toward your goals for getting organized is to take the first step. Take Action! Here is what I recommend to get you moving. Look over your lists of tasks associated with your goals, you do have a list don't you? Pick the very easiest one and do it. Then do the next easiest one. The fact is that by doing this and seeing two tasks successfully completed, your sense of purpose and accomplishment will get an incredible shot in the arm. Your mind set will be altered. Nine times out of ten you won't even look for the next easiest one, you will jump right to the one you had labeled as the most important task or step when you first made the list. Success, purpose, confidence and accomplishment will motivate you to end your paralysis from analysis and take the fight to the Clutter Monster.
Remember you can let your clutter drive you crazy or you can get crazy organized.
Get organized!
Monday, April 24, 2006
Get Crazy Organized
If one looks around on any given day, they can be witness to the great battle waged daily in our home. The attacks and counterstrikes shift the lines of battle back and forth between near victory and near defeat week by week as two great forces face each other down on a daily basis. Each day the weary supporters of the Guardian of the Flat Surface and the raging, seemingly tireless minons of the Clutter Monster do battle. At stake is the very health and wellbeing of our home fortress and in all likelihood, that of the many who fight this battle in millions of homes across our nation each day!
Pretty dramatic, say what?! Hey, there is plenty of drama in the struggle to get organized. For many of us, the battle to get control of our space and our stuff consumes truly significant amounts of time, energy and of great importance.......Emotion! In some regards it is like playing a sport where ones success or failure can be determined by how psyched or psyched out the player may be at any given time. It can be much like golf where it is often said that the distance involved in the approximately six inches between our ears has much more to do with our final score than does the 300 yd. drive or the ten foot putt. Like a sport, getting organized takes attention, focus and practiced techniques.
We can say what we will but getting organized is about getting control. When we are surrounded by clutter and when our actions are viewed or labeled as messy, it takes a toll on us both physically and mentally. We need balance and control in our lives and this demands that we manage both our space and our stuff. To allow ourselves to think or believe otherwise, is an unhealthy form of rationalization and denial. Trust us, we have been there and still are on many days, as the great battle rages within our home. The solution does not reside in any form of manic complusion or require one to become a neatnik. It is a managed process with the techniques and tools which provide the reinforcements for the warriors serving the Guardian of the Flat Surface!
There are areas or facets of our lives that would seem to work against our noble efforts to get organized. An example: my wife is a collector. She even has a blog on the subject, http://www.lolcollections.blogspot.com. Like all of our stuff, collectibles must be managed. Her angels and other statuettes have their shelves and mantle space and some rotate with others from storage boxes in the garage. I am not immune with a cap collection and fondness for sun symbols. All must have their hook, peg, wall or box that is their place. Just like all of our stuff and things, (books, papers, clothes, dishes, and cookware in our home,) they must have an identified place. When we buy something, we have to ask ourselves, "where is its place?"
All of this is driven by what we view as the cardinal rule of getting organized. The first person I heard say it was my Grandpa John. This was a man who had the outline of his tools on a peg board in his shop and if a grandson did not return a tool to its place, he was threatened "with getting his ears boxed!" To quote Grandpa John:
"A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place!"
Simply applying this Cardinal Rule to the management of your stuff and space will strike terror in the hearts and minds of Clutter Monsters minons! In addition, going forward we will be reviewing and providing information about tools, books, products and even about help that, dare we say it, could be hired to support your goal to get organized.
Keep this in mind....You can let your clutter drive you crazy or you can get crazy organized!
Get organized
Pretty dramatic, say what?! Hey, there is plenty of drama in the struggle to get organized. For many of us, the battle to get control of our space and our stuff consumes truly significant amounts of time, energy and of great importance.......Emotion! In some regards it is like playing a sport where ones success or failure can be determined by how psyched or psyched out the player may be at any given time. It can be much like golf where it is often said that the distance involved in the approximately six inches between our ears has much more to do with our final score than does the 300 yd. drive or the ten foot putt. Like a sport, getting organized takes attention, focus and practiced techniques.
We can say what we will but getting organized is about getting control. When we are surrounded by clutter and when our actions are viewed or labeled as messy, it takes a toll on us both physically and mentally. We need balance and control in our lives and this demands that we manage both our space and our stuff. To allow ourselves to think or believe otherwise, is an unhealthy form of rationalization and denial. Trust us, we have been there and still are on many days, as the great battle rages within our home. The solution does not reside in any form of manic complusion or require one to become a neatnik. It is a managed process with the techniques and tools which provide the reinforcements for the warriors serving the Guardian of the Flat Surface!
There are areas or facets of our lives that would seem to work against our noble efforts to get organized. An example: my wife is a collector. She even has a blog on the subject, http://www.lolcollections.blogspot.com. Like all of our stuff, collectibles must be managed. Her angels and other statuettes have their shelves and mantle space and some rotate with others from storage boxes in the garage. I am not immune with a cap collection and fondness for sun symbols. All must have their hook, peg, wall or box that is their place. Just like all of our stuff and things, (books, papers, clothes, dishes, and cookware in our home,) they must have an identified place. When we buy something, we have to ask ourselves, "where is its place?"
All of this is driven by what we view as the cardinal rule of getting organized. The first person I heard say it was my Grandpa John. This was a man who had the outline of his tools on a peg board in his shop and if a grandson did not return a tool to its place, he was threatened "with getting his ears boxed!" To quote Grandpa John:
"A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place!"
Simply applying this Cardinal Rule to the management of your stuff and space will strike terror in the hearts and minds of Clutter Monsters minons! In addition, going forward we will be reviewing and providing information about tools, books, products and even about help that, dare we say it, could be hired to support your goal to get organized.
Keep this in mind....You can let your clutter drive you crazy or you can get crazy organized!
Get organized
Monday, April 17, 2006
Get Organized
Welcome to our blog to help you get organized. Visit us often as this blog will provide tips, advice and just great information to assist you to get organized in your work, your home, your head and your life. We believe getting organized is vital to not only your work and home but to your over all well being. Join us as we explore various methods, products, and even eastern arts like feng shui to support you as you face up to the challenge to get organized. Together we can firmly grasp that challenge to help you, as well as us and many others to bring control and peace into our lives as we get organized.
Yours in getting organized,
JW Deal
Yours in getting organized,
JW Deal
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