Organizing Tips & Statistics
Organizing Tips:
Organizing your home is not a one-time deal. It is a constant work in progress to keep it clean and organized. Once you get it organized and have assigned a home for your things, you will need to make it a habit of putting things back in their assigned home as soon as you finish using them. This will allow you to be able to find the items whenever you need them, which will save you time and keep you organized.
Use the "one in, one out" rule. For example, if you buy a new pair of shoes, then donate or toss a pair.
Before bringing something new into your home, make sure you have a place for it and it will bring you joy, if not, it does not belong in your home or life.
Make it a priority to begin eliminating the clutter in your life. It is an important one. Clutter is one of the main barriers of productivity. If you cannot find what you need when you need it, or you do not have enough space to work, it will be very difficult to get anything done in a timely manner. Stop and think how all the clutter in your life makes you feel right now...STRESSED! Getting rid of your clutter will make you feel better and you will have a better environment for yourself and your family to enjoy.
If the process of eliminating clutter overwhelms you, which leads to procrastination, choose an area of your home to organize and break it into small steps and work in that area for a short amount of time each day or week and completely clean and organize that area before moving onto to your next area.
At least twice a year, you should go through all of papers and files and keep only those that you need.
Any task which you can accomplish the night before, from lying out the next days outfit, to setting the breakfast table, to checking your to-do list, to filling your car's gas tank, the more you will be able to get done the next day.
Enlist the help of your family before retiring for the evening to help pick up the toys and other clutter together. You will wake to a less cluttered home and will be teaching your children to be responsible for their belongings, creating a positive habit.
Start delegating tasks that others like your spouse, your kids, your associates, your co-workers, and an outside source can handle for you. Once you delegate some of the responsibility off your shoulders, you will be able to accomplish more and feel less exhausted and less stressed out at the end of the day.
When replacing bath towels and wash rags consider replacing with all white towels and wash rags for uniformity which helps with keeping the inside of you closets or cabinets looking clean and organized.
Replace all wire and mismatched hangers with sturdy, plastic hangers or wooden hangers. Buy all one color for uniformity.
Statistics:
80% of what we keep we never use, Agency Sales Magazine,
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state unequivocally that 80% of our medical expenditures are now stress related, Fast Company Magazine, 02/03, pg. 88
Executives waste six weeks per year searching for lost documents, Fast Company Magazine,
Getting rid of excess clutter would eliminate 40% of the housework in the average home, according to the National Soap and Detergent Association, Ann McKinney, NAPO, Barry J. Izsak
80% of the clutter in your home is a result of disorganization, not lack of space, Ann McKinney,
IKEA did a survey of customers in which 31% reported they were more satisfied after cleaning out their closets than they were after sex, New York Times, March 2001, IKEA Study, Ann McKinney, NAPO, Karen Ussery