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In This Issue:
- Resolve To Stop Making Resolutions
- Declutter Your Life With FREEcycle!
- Core Concepts To Simplify The Year Ahead
- January HGTV Appearance
Resolve To Stop Making Resolutions
The beginning of a new calendar is the time when many of us make "New Years Resolutions". Long before I was a professional organizer, I had stopped making them. Now that I've been helping people get organized for over six years I feel more strongly then ever about the whole idea of resolutions... or rather about not making them.
Rather than making "resolutions" it's much more effective and positive to simply set goals to change your negative behaviors, habits and attitudes. Equally important is to set yourself up for success rather than failure, by setting a lot of small, achievable goals rather than one giant goal that you may never undertake because it feels so huge.
Becoming aware of your negative habits is the first step toward changing them. If you're not aware of when you do something negative, it's tough to change it. Ask someone close to you to kindly point out when you say or do a particular thing. Also, shift your mindset to be ultra self-aware for a few weeks. This way, in the moment you're doing the old habit, you're aware of it, which means in that same moment you have the option and power to do something different.
For example, if one of your goals this year is to keep your bedroom organized and uncluttered, you'll have to notice what you're doing that creates the clutter in the first place. It doesn't just create itself, does it?
Once you've become aware that most of the clutter comes from your habit of dropping your clothes on the floor, you then have the option and power to do something different, such as hanging them in the closet or tossing them into the laundry hamper. But only when you notice the default behavior as it is happening and break that behavior pattern by substituting it with a new one, will you change the habit.
Changing your small day-to-day habits is the most powerful way you can change your life and reach your personal and professional goals.
Declutter Your Life With FREEcycle!
Decluttering your life is a wonderful way to rid yourself of the things that no longer give you value and a great way to help someone in need at the same time. All over the world, people are helping others and decluttering their lives by giving away the things they no longer need, through FREEcycle.org. This means that fewer items are going into the trash and filling up the landfills of our planet.
It's so simple to join! You just sign up through the web site, and you'll begin getting the emails that people in your local FREEcycle group send out either seeking free items, or offering free items. It's as simple as that! Just go to www.FREEcycle.org to sign up!
Number of cities FREEcycling last month: 1716
Number of cities FREEcycling this month: 2023
Number of people FREEcycling last month: 570,516
Number of people FREEcycling this month: 740,595
Check it out and let me know what you think of the idea. If you've received something or given something away through this wonderful concept, tell me about that too!
Core Concepts To Simplify The Year Ahead
There are several core concepts that Catalyst Organizing teaches to clients which can be applied to most any organizing challenge. Let's start the year with a printable list for you to hang in plain sight so that you can tackle that messy desk, bedroom, or office.
1. Don't Spend Precious Time And Energy Organizing What You Don't Even Need.
Paring down the quantity of things in your space is the most basic and most effective first step to living a simpler, more organized life. If you don't love it or use it on a regular basis, donate or sell it. Storing things in boxes that you never use is wasteful and squanders the value that those items have. Someone else could be using them if you aren't, so graciously let them go live with someone who will use and love them.
2. Choose The Appropriate Tools.
Being organized is all about being in reality about your life. If you aren't willing to part with any of your 3,000 record albums, then just accept it, and allocate space for them by choosing the appropriate storage and retrieval tool. If 3,000 record albums are worth keeping, then it's worth keeping them properly. Storing them in cardboard boxes in the basement negates their value because they aren't being stored properly, so if that's the case, why keep them at all?
3. Stay In The Present.
Holding onto some items from your past is a nice way to remember the fond happenings and loved ones that have gone before. However, when those mementos become clutter and start affecting your quality of life today, it's time to re-evaluate. Remember that you have limited space, time, energy and money. You simply don't have the luxury of keeping everything in life that you like. Choices must be made and focusing on what gives you real value now will help you avoid being trapped in the past, or saving things "just in case" for some mysterious future need that is likely to never occur.
4. Reduce The Variables.
Group things in your life by their type or by how they are used, and give them permanent homes. Storing all your CDs together means that you will always know where to begin looking for any piece of music you own. Fragmenting the collection by keeping some in the bedroom, some in the den, some in the living room and some in the car means you have four potential places to begin looking when you need one. Reducing the number of places that items live will simplify your finding process.
5. Preserve Prime Real Estate.
The items you use most regularly in your home or business should be the most easily accessible. Top shelves of closets should be reserved for items used less frequently, whereas, the areas you can easily reach should house those things that you use or refer to often.
6. Beware Of Dungeons.
Basements, attics, drawers, cabinets and closets are places where the past likes to lurk, stealing your space and bogging your down. Be aware of how much you have stored in these places. Evaluate these areas once a year to be sure the items stored there are giving you value. Don't accept things taking up your precious living space without giving you some value back.
7. Maintenance Is Crucial.
Once you get a drawer, closet, room, or process organized and functioning well, it requires maintenance to keep it working. Organization isn't a one-time event, but is a series of simple habits and routines that enable you to live your life smoothly and simply so that you can better focus on your goals and what is important to you. It is absolutely crucial that you create systems that can be simply maintained, and that you commit to doing a bit of maintenance regularly. Consistent application of a good system will make your life simpler and happier for the long term.
January HGTV Appearance
Watch for Monica on HGTV's Mission:Organization on Thursday, January 20th at 8:00 pm Eastern Time.
Visit this link for episode summary and more information:
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/shows_mso/episode/0,1806,HGTV_10237_36247,00.html
Monica Ricci is an Organizing Specialist, and the founder of Catalyst Organizing Solutions, an Atlanta based company. You can see Monica on the popular HGTV show,
MISSION:Organization. 
