An organized mission!

I'm currently designing a "life organizer" written by Lisa Montanaro, a certified professional organizer. I've been reading the content as I go, and it's really got me thinking about how I'd like to implement some of the ideas into my own home.

My husband uttered a few words yesterday that are magic to my ears, "we really need to get organized this weekend." I know, not the most romantic words, but he's actually really GOOD and EFFICIENT at it when he puts his mind to it (so I'm hoping he'll remember these magical words this weekend!) I'm more likely to be the one to implement the system, but a project like this is almost too time consuming and overwhelming for me at the moment, because I rarely have more than a couple free hours to take on something like this, so I don't. BUT, with his efficiency, a good teamwork project like this would be great (and I actually think it's fun to things like this with him, even though he dreads it!) and I for one will appreciate the ease that it will add to our lives going forward.

While I would say that we are generally organized in our day to day lives, our basement (which was gutted/redone due to our flood last winter), and garage have remained clogged places for far too long. It will be a huge relief to me to have organized storage areas in these areas.

The book/organizer I'm working on has several interesting points on organization...

Here are several passages in the Life Organizer that I found particularly interesting and in keeping with my desire to free up some clutter:

Why is living an organized life so important? Let’s examine some of the benefits. Being organized positively affects your time, money, health, space, reputation, and relationships. Organized people save time (time lost to searching for missing items), save money (not buying duplicates anymore as they know what they have, avoiding late fees by paying bills on time, etc.), have lower stress, and are able to focus on what they really want to accomplish, whether that is work related, self time, or family time.

One thing the book points out is (this is me!):
If you are overwhelmed, just thinking about getting organized may cause you to suffer from what I’ve termed “Organizing ADD.” That is when you have so many pockets of clutter and disorganization in your life that it’s overwhelming, making it difficult to begin the process.

And the benefits? Lisa writes:
Always keep in mind that as you release clutter of any kind, you are freeing up precious space for new (and hopefully better!) items and opportunities to come into your life (or maybe just open space so that you have room to breathe). From an energy standpoint, many cultures believe that until the clutter is cleared, beauty cannot flow in. Regardless of what you believe, I have seen the results hundreds of times. When people clear clutter and get organized, even in some subtle ways, positive change occurs. So try to enjoy the journey itself, and let the power of the process unfold naturally and work its magic.

And now to begin:
Stalled out on a task or project? Take a cue from Nike, and “Just Do It!” Once you get started, you gain momentum and energy. Usually, all of the thinking about and dreading the task is worse than actually doing it!

In keeping with my organize, simplify, and de-clutter theme today, I came across a nice guest post by Courtney Carver on Rowdy Kittens who writes:
When you make the choice to change and live simply, you are rewarded immediately with peace of mind. The simpler you make your life, the easier it will be to make a change. Things don’t always happen right away, but by making the choice to change, you fill your life with hope instead of uncertainty, optimism instead of doom. That hope and optimism will inspire your journey as you move from where you are to where you want to be.


P.S. The book I'm working on will be available next Spring...so stay tuned!