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Learn how organizing your life can give you more time, more money, more freedom, and more peace of mind. Start organizing now with simple steps and practical tips. This guide provides strategies for decluttering, organizing various spaces, managing paper and electronic clutter, and more.
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Why Organize? • Getting organized can give you: • More Time • More Money • More Freedom • More Peace of Mind • Start Right Now – One Step at a Time
Make a Plan, Keep it Simple • What can you do today? This week? This month? (Today: Organize handouts and other items in your binder, straighten up your locker, clean out one drawer when you get home or clean up your e-mail/texts) • Start with today’s mess. Keep up daily with your backpack, locker, room, and laundry. Set aside a little time each day to tackle a larger project. • Organizing it not a one-time-and-you’re-done kind of job. It’s an ongoing process.
Things to Remember or Do • You are not the same person you were 5 years ago. Surround yourself with things that are a part of who youare today • Still not sure? Pretend you are moving. Is it worth packing up and carrying out to a moving van? • Establish limits on what you can have. How many t shirts/bracelets/pictures of JB do you need? • Make your decisions quickly. If it takes longer than 60 seconds to decide you probably don’t need it. • Take pictures of art work or sentimental items. Keep the memory, let go of the physical.
Getting Started in Any Space • Declutter before you organize. • Trash wrappers, expired coupons, flyers, stained clothing, rusted or broken items, etc… • Put things into piles: • Give Away/Donate • Throw Away • Keep • Are you keeping something because you “might use it someday”? If you can get another easily and inexpensively let it go. • Everything should have a place where it belongs. • Group similar things together. • If you use it often, put it where you can get to it easily.
Clothes and Closets • If you haven’t worn it in a year, you probably won’t wear it. Donate it! • Use storage containers, closet and drawer organizers. • Hang like items together in your closet by season (long sleeve shirts together, etc.) • Collect all the clothing that needs mending. Put it in a basket or bag. Schedule time to mend it or take to a tailor, or just donate it if you aren’t going to fix it.
Paper Stuff • Find a calendar or day planner that works for you and use it! • Punch holes and put things in the rings of your binders. Don’t just stuff it in. Ask the teacher what needs to be saved and what can be recycled. • At home, create an area to file papers. The reason you file it is so you can retrieve it. Name your files well. (a folder for each year/report cards/things to buy/things you want to do) • Take care of something as soon as it arrives. Follow the rule: Touch it once! Don’t keep things just to move it to another pile later on. • Magazines, tear out articles or ideas, don’t keep the entire magazine. Pintrest is an online pinboard for web ideas. • Create a basket or tray for your school papers at home so that your parents can sign the permission forms or see your grades!
Electronic Clutter • Delete all e-mail that doesn’t require further action. • Create folders to file e-mail you want to keep on your computer. • Clean out folders at least once a year. (Beginning of school) • Print if necessary – especially things you need to do later.
Lots of Other Great Ideas! • If you had 20 minutes to evacuate your home, what would you take. Most things can be easily replaced. One you realize this, it’s easier to lighten your load. • Unclutter your mind, write things down rather than trying to remember them. • Establish routines; back up your computer every Friday, change beds on Saturday, do banking on Monday, clean out the refrigerator before going grocery shopping. • Don’t just put it down, put it away!
