Get Organizing: Cleaning Up and Cleaning Out is FREEING!

A beautiful well organized closet

Happily, I’m healing well and looking forward to returning to work.  My amazing staff has done a masterful job and everyone has given me great support.  In the months that I have been confined to my home, many wonderful and caring people have helped me.  One of my health care aides gave me a compliment in the first week of my confinement that I’d like to share with you.  She said, as I lay in bed, dopey from pain meds, that she was impressed to find my home so organized that she could actually find an item where I told her it would be!  Surely no one thinks about what would happen if they couldn’t do things for themselves in their own home – but let’s imagine it happened to you.  Would you be able to tell someone else where to find articles of clothing, toiletries, food and kitchenware, and important papers, if necessary?  As a designer, I have always believed that organization is that important first step before decoration.  Being organized saves time and energy in the long run, and brings a sense of order to the family as well as the home itself. 

As I gradually was able to get around my home and spend time while my body healed, I saw that the peace and order around me helped speed my recovery.  Ironically, I have always valued my home as my refuge and special place after a seventy hour work week.  Now I have seen its value as my daily companion.  So dear readers, just a gentle reminder that while summer is a great time for outdoor entertaining and socializing, perhaps on the next rainy day that you are free, you might decide to tackle an organizational project - the front hall closet - your pantry – or your bedroom drawers.  If you’re inspired now, move on to parts of the garage or basement, especially if you’ve been complaining you lack storage.  Cleaning up and cleaning out is wonderfully freeing and the end result can be more than you’ve ever imagined.  If you don’t think you have the “organization gene” – don’t despair – it’s a learned mechanism.  Here are some hints to help you:

1. Set some goals for yourself, large and small.
   
2. Make a plan to get organized and put it in writing.  Set aside specific times for designated areas.
   
3. Determine what you’re keeping, what you’re donating or giving to family members, and what goes OUT! (Consignment or the gutter).
   
4. Set up space in your garage for “like” things that go together (sports, gardening, tools, etc.).
   
5.  Set up workable systems for your closets, kitchen and paper flow and put your stuff in the right place, first.
   
6. Open mail by the garbage pail or recycling bin.
   
7. Set up a paperwork “to do” area for immediacy and then file appropriately after addressing. 
   
8. Use a shredder.
   
9. Get the family to weigh in and take personal responsibility with small rewards to sweeten the deal.
   
10. Enjoy the process!
    

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