One of the barriers to getting organized is time. And one of the barriers to staying organized are habits. It’s one thing to take the time to get organized and it’s another thing to keep it that way. So, after working with hundreds of clients, I am convinced that given the time and support, your organizing habits can change.
I’m kicking off a 2014 Organizing Challenge starting February 1st and each month a new challenge will be issued with some guidelines.You have all month to work on the challenge and practice your new habits! I can’t wait to hear how you do and help you work the kinks out of getting organized and living better.
So, you ready?
February Organizing Challenge Kickoff 2014
Yes, we are starting with the biggest first because hey, why not? Mail and paper seem to be the biggest organizing challenge for clients across the board. From businesses to homes, paper can take on a life of it’s own. In this February Organizing Challenge you are going to work on establishing first, what you do with all the paper and second, new habits in dealing with the mail.
1. Every day in February when you get the mail, you are going to OPEN the mail. Seriously, I cannot tell you how many stacks of unopened mail I have gone through with folks.
Once you open the mail, you will make 3 decisions: 1)What needs to be kept (bills, invite, important letter or info) 2)What is immediate trash (flyers, advertisements, etc. 3)What needs to be shredded (credit card offers, medical information, anything with a social security or bank account information on it)
2. Create an inbox for kept mail.
This is ONE place you will put the mail you are keeping. This is an active inbox, meaning it’s not meant for storage. Everything you are keeping in the inbox should be something you need to pay or act on.
3. Go through your piles of paper.
I know this one is huge, but if you have piles of mail, paper, and magazines, this month you are to go through it. 90% of your piles can be thrown away, but you do need to eyeball each piece to pull out stuff that needs shredding. Pick away at your piles a little each day. I encourage you to set a time for 10-15 minutes at a time to work on your piles. Use the 3 decisions from #1 to sort through your piles. If you are coming across pieces of paper that you need to file away, just set them aside and we will talk about files in a blog post this month. Wondering how long to keep paper? Click on this link for a guide to what papers to keep and how long.
The goal of this Organizing Challenge is to get you through your piles of paper and establish new habits this month! At first it’s going to seem like you’re thinking about paper all the time, but by week 3, your new habits will start to feel less annoying and start to give you freedom. Remember that a pile is NOT a file system, so by the end of February you will only have a stack of papers that need a new home, preferably a hanging file home. Some of you might have not only piles, but also bags of paper. The challenge is to get through it all this month, so for now, focus on one pile at a time!
Post your progress in the comments or on the Simplified Living Today Facebook page! You can do this!
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