New Year’s Organization Tips from Mandi Ehman
Every year, millions of people vow to “get organized” with the dawn of the New Year. Within a couple of weeks, they’ve lost their determination, most often because they’re overwhelmed by the big picture of everything they need to do in order to achieve organizational bliss.
Rather than resolving to achieve perfection in 2010, try MICRO goals instead. MICRO goals are measurable, inspirational, concrete, realistic and obtainable.
Whenever you’re trying to make a change, it’s important to set measurable goals, and organizing is no different. Whether your goal is to declutter a certain number of bags of stuff each month or to organize a room a week, define your goals in ways that are measurable and give you a specific goal to work toward.
Finding motivation to get organized isn’t easy when you’ve lived a certain way for most of your life. Set inspirational goals that give you a reason to invest the time and effort into achieving them. For example, tie a certain reward to organizing a specific room – a piece of art work or a new lamp – or make a list of all the tangible benefits of organizing your office, from being able to find the papers you need to being able to host clients without being embarrassed by the state of your desk.
It’s so easy to undermine your resolutions by setting vague goals that leave you overwhelmed and discouraged. What does “get organized” really mean anyway? Chances are it means something different to every person who resolves to do it. To make concrete goals, define exactly what you mean by “get organized” and, just as importantly, write it down. Do you want to declutter your closets and cabinets? Clear off your horizontal surfaces? Create a filing system? Organize your art supplies? Figure out what organized looks like for you and write down your goals and vision for each room in your home.
Another reason people abandon their resolutions is because they set unrealistic goals. Rather than resolving to get your house so organized that it would make Martha Stewart proud, set realistic goals that work with your personality and lifestyle. You might resolve to keep the clutter contained in one room rather than spreading it throughout the house or commit to deal with mail as it comes in, throwing away the junk and filing the rest.
Finally, it’s important to set obtainable goals. If you live in a small home with no storage, your goals are going to have to reflect that limitation, and you’ll have to come up with creative solutions for storing Christmas decorations and off-season clothing. If your home is a disaster zone, you may not be able to organize a room a week; it may take a full month. If you set unobtainable goals, you will end up giving up when you can’t meet them.
What are your MICRO goals for 2010? How can you start working toward them today?
Mandi Ehman is a wife and mother of 4 spunky little girls. She can be found blogging at Organizing Your Way, where she shares tips for organizing, simplifying and decluttering.
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