Getting Organized

Getting organized advice is available by the truckload these
days, particularly if one is Internet search savvy. A search on
"the Google" allows a person to be just a few clicks away from
volumes of information and possibly an Amazon book order form.
Even the computer and Internet challenged person can be awash in
advice, tips and suggestions if they take the time to visit a
book store or library.

However, the bottom line on getting organized or de-cluttering,
is that it is neither easy or fun for most people. If a persons
real problem is a delay syndrome, then it can be wicked difficult
to even get started. Those who suffer from or practice
procrastination find that taking the first step can be very
daunting. Yet others plan and research their way to paralysis
from analysis and seem to always need one more bit of information
before they can get started.

Getting organized would obviously be easier if it were simple,
fun and could be done quickly. Not all de-cluttering and
organizing can be placed under the fun heading. The question we
might need to ask ourselves is, can some tasks be approached in a
way that might inject a bit of fun, rivalry or competition?

Getting organized is often best achieved when tackled in a series
of steps or tasks. Now there are various opinions about the value
of competition, but it can be used as a means to approach the
organization of your closets. A key is to team up with a least
one other person who has the same goal to de-clutter and organize
their closets. It works very well with a group of women who wish
to de-clutter and organized their clothes closets.

For example, four women agree that they will meet and help each
other tackle the task of minimizing the mess in each of their
respective clothes closets. They also agree that this is not all
work and no play!

First, they draw cards to establish the order of rotation through
the four closets. High card can choose to be first or last and so
on. Second, they gather at the home site of the first closet.
Third, they decide on beverages, snacks, or even menus. Fourth,
they create a few ground rules.

Let's take a look at one of the places that seems to have been
made for the collection of jumbled stuff, things and junk; the
closet. Whether it is located in the hall, the bedroom, or
masquerades as a pantry, the closet is a magnet for clutter and
is a boon to the disorganized. It allows things to be out of
sight and nearly out of mind, until people become overwhelmed by
the mess or their inability to find important items.

Now the ground rules are where the competition and benefits come
into play. Possible rules might include the closets owner
creating a "I can't decide" pile for things she may or may not
want to donate. The "games" final event allows her to go back
through those items. If she takes more than twenty seconds or
some agreed on short period of time, to make her decision, one of
the others can claim the item. Another rule might say she can't
just decide to keep it all.

Another might set up a challenge rule for the other women. How
about the old classic standard, if you can't remember when you
wore the item in the last year, it has to go. It can also be
claimed by one of the others. If you claim something and none of
the others see you wear it within the next year, it is a
donation. The key is to keep the rules simple and the challenges
simple.

Truth be told, the ground rules, the challenges and the party can
turn a not so fun task into something each of the participants
looks forward to on the schedule. Over a few months or a year,
four people end up with much more efficient and organized
closets. They might also have a few new items in their wardrobe!