ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
Declutter Your Home in 11 Easy Steps
Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of organizing your home? Start on a smaller scale instead and it will be a whole lot easier. For example, instead of starting with the entire house, commit to starting with one room. Follow these 11 steps, and you're well on your way to an organized home: 1. PICK A ROOM -- ANY ROOM. Decide on what room to start on. Write it at the top of an 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of paper. This will be your Action Sheet. Example: BEDROOM A 2. CHOOSE AN ENTICING REWARD. Designate an appropriate reward to give yourself on the Dumping portion of the job. The reward concept serves as your motivation, so be sure to choose something that you'd really enjoy! Write this reward on your Action Sheet. Example: Treat yourself to a massage or go out for a nice dinner -- whatever it is that you love to do. Write it on your Action Sheet. 3. SET A DEADLINE. Set a specific Dumping Completion Deadline for this one room. Write it on your Action Sheet. Example: DUMPING DEADLINE: APRIL 30 4. SCHEDULE TIME TO DUMP. Schedule 3 specific dumping dates (one hour for each). Hopefully this will be enough to complete the dumping portion of the job. Write it on your Action Sheet. Then, post the Action Sheet in a prominent place where you are certain to see it every day, like your bathroom mirror. It will serve as a reminder of your goal, deadline and pending reward. Example: DUMPING DATES: APRIL 18 from 8-9A, APRIL 21 from 8-9A, APRIL 24 from 8-9A 5. KEEP YOUR APPOINTMENT. When the 1st dumping day arrives, keep that appointment, just as you would any other important appointment. Bring a bunch of large garbage bags. Play your favorite music in the background. 6. TIME IT. Set a timer for 1 Hour -- one that sounds off when the hour is up. 7. SORT THROUGH IT. Pick up one item at a time, and start dumping. (If you come across items you want to give to charity, designate a special bag for those items) Whatever you are going to keep, just put to one side of the room. 8. DO IT UNTIL THE TIME IS UP. Continue doing this until the timer goes off. If you prefer to continue, keep going. Otherwise, stop and follow the same procedures for your next two scheduled dates. Don't let the garbage bags sit there. Make sure they are thrown out now (or donated), or on Garbage Day at the latest. 9. CELEBRATE. Once you've managed to dump everything you don't want or need in that one room, it's time to celebrate. Take advantage of that reward you designated. 10. KEEPING IT ORGANIZED. Now that everything in that room that you wanted dumped is gone, you're ready to begin putting everything you are keeping back in an organized manner. Be very careful not to put anything else in this room that you don't want. 11. REPEAT. Repeat this process for each of the other rooms in your house. Get Organized Now! FREE Idea-Pak and E-zine filled with tips, ideas, articles and more to help you organize your home, your office and your life at the Get Organized Now! Web site! About The Author Maria Gracia, owner of www.getorganizednow.com and author of the book, 'Finally Organized, Finally Free' can help you organize your home, your office and your life. Visit her Web site at: http://www.getorganizednow.com
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Organization Tips - How to Organise Your Computer Files Everytime Mary had to find a file on her computer, she always had great difficulty. And it was no wonder why. Every file had been saved under the folder "Mary" and that was it. There were no other categories. Consequently every time Mary searched her folder she spent ages sifting through all the documents. Declutter Your Home in 11 Easy Steps Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of organizing your home? Start on a smaller scale instead and it will be a whole lot easier. Declutter for Sucess Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely..." --Ralph Waldo Emerson Tired of Endless Chores and To-Dos? Stop Running Around in Circles and Enjoy Life Again Do you feel like you are running around in circles, completing one task after the next only to find there are 20 chores you have not done yet? I am not even talking about the constants such as grocery shopping, returns, doctor appointments, clients, and carpool! Organizing Tips to Help You Conquer the Laundry Monster Laundry. You sort, you wash, you fold, you blink ? and the pile of dirty clothes has grown all over again. Laundry is a fact of life, but approaching the task in an organized way can make it more manageable. 10 Tips to Get Organized and Clutter-Free- Now! 1. THE LOVE IT OR LOSE IT PRINCIPLE: Every item around you represents a choice you made. You either went out or selected it; or it came to you, and you accepted it. Look at that item now with fresh eyes. If you do not know that item to be useful, believe it to be beautiful, or love it for personal reasons, it's time to get rid of it. In other words, LOVE IT OR LOSE IT. Love what nourishes your dreams and directions, lose what drains or distracts you. Call this process your "Clutter Campaign". Get Organized - Stay Organized My mother is one of the most productive people I know. She is 78 years old and still works full-time as the personal assistant to the CEO of a bank. (I come from great genes-it makes me very optimistic about my long-term future!) One of her secrets to productivity is what is often called "a tickler file." It used to be a popular organizational tool but eventually fell by the wayside. The tickler file is a reminder system based on the days of the month and months of the year. It simply consists of two sets of file folders: "1-31" and "January-December." It's time to bring that old system back. Technology...The Culprit and the Tool Technology has given us the tools to reduce routine tasking, yet we are all too aware that technology is seen as the culprit as much as the solution. We only need to look around us to see the developments of the past 20 years. American Demographics magazine tells us we receive a staggering 189 messages a day. They come to us through mobile phones, cell phones, faxes, pagers, emails and voicemails. 'You've got mail' has taken on a whole new meaning. But 15-20 years ago the majority of these vehicles either didn't exist or were not being widely used. In our day-to-day lives, it is the conscious act of using technology that helps organize ourselves and see it as a useful tool. Compartmentalize The word "compartmentalize" means to separate into distinct parts. I am intrigued with the fact that the word "mental" is in the word. For me, it illustrates the need to separate mentally what we are doing. One of the tricks I am learning is to separate tasks and do one at a time. As a recovering multitasker that isn't easy, but I am beginning to see the benefits of doing one thing at a time. Getting Things Done: A Guide To Next-Action Lists Getting Things Done (GTD), is a productivity methodology designed by David Allen. GTD increases your productivity by getting things out of your mind, and into a reliable system that you can trust. This frees your mind to work on the task at hand, instead of trying to remember a myriad of things at once. You will find yourself more relaxed, and more productive at the same time. Spring into Spring Hasn't time flown? Already we're into the last quarter of the year and isn't it perfect timing to clear out the cobwebs of winter and prepare yourself for the next few months of sun, sand, surf or is it work, work, work? 3 Simple Filing Guidelines One of the most basic ways to find papers when you need them is to retrieve them from an effective filing system. A good filing system will allow you to find what you're looking for in 10 seconds or less. Words That Inspire - SIMPLIFY What do you gain if you SIMPLIFY? The Psychology of Being Organized Individuals who are organized in their personal lives most generally constitute efficient and organized employees in their work environments, succeed in their personal endeavors and are, more often than not, financially secure. To Make a Change -- Take a Chance Life is really all about CHANGE. In order to make a CHANGE, you have to be willing to take a CHANCE. To take a chance is to risk. So let's spend a few minutes investigating RISK. We'll examine these characteristics and contingencies: Is Your To Do List The Problem? You start each week with great intentions. You are determined to get a grip of your workload. You are determined to write a to do list, you even promise yourself that you will stick to it and use it and reprioritise each day so that you finish what you want to every day. Effective Closet Cleaning Tips - Let Go of More Than Skeletons I know I have a problem when I have to battle with the overflow every time I try to shut my closet door. Well, okay, it's not really a closet, more like an overgrown cupboard, but as it's all I have something's got to give. When it comes to clothes and shoes, I'm the worst. Perhaps it's the result of coming of age in the last two decades of the century ? living through wave after wave of recycled fashions. After all, aren't asymmetrical tops back in? Sticking to Your New Years Resolutions: Ten Tips for a More Organized Life 1. A calendar is an essential organizing tool ? start the year with one that works for you! And whether you use a paper or electronic version, using Post-it® notes as reminders will help you "stick" to your resolutions. Memorabilia -- Use It or Lose It! What do you do with those special items that have been passed down to you? Put them in the hall closet and hope the door will shut? Probably not a good choice for several reasons. First, you are unnecessarily creating clutter; second, if the item is very old and unstable, you will further the aging process; finally, and most importantly, what's the point of keeping these special items if the only time you enjoy them is when you move or get the bug to clean out a closet! Get Organised and Transform Your Life It takes effort to get results, and not just any effort, it takes smart effort. You cannot expect to achieve anything without doing something. Unfortunately in our society today, people are making an enormous effort to keep themselves busy all day, yet for many they look at what they have done and realised that much of the time had been wasted. They review their day and wonder what they had achieved.
|
|
|
|
|
