Did you know that January is National Get Organized (GO) Month? And we are giving you 30 days of tips on our Facebook page to help with organizing your home.
[su_icon_panel radius=”1″ icon=”icon: folder-open” icon_size=”48″ url=”http://www.napo.net/”]GO Month, which began in 2005, is dedicated to raising awareness of the benefits of getting organized (and of hiring a NAPO professional organizer). During GO Month, NAPO’s dozens of chapters and thousands of members hold public events, including shred-a-thons, clear your clutter days, reduce-and-recycle events and volunteer organizing throughout the country.¹[/su_icon_panel]
The next 30 days will be dedicated to organizing your home with tips you can use in every room. If you are feeling overwhelmed, you can always hire a professional to help you get started by checking out the NAPO website.
Getting Started Organizing Your Home in Metro Atlanta
Do you shudder when you think of people coming over to visit unannounced? Do you panic when you get a message on your answering machine that family is coming—and they left 4 hours ago (and it’s a 5 hour trip)? Do you try to clean before your cleaning service comes? Can you not afford a cleaning service and try to do it yourself, ending up discouraged, frustrated, and thinking it’s just impossible?
When I downsized my personal home this past spring, I realized more than ever, that organization would be critical. Downsizing brings its own set of issues – evaluating furniture, kitchen dishes/appliances, and so much more. It was freeing to sell items no longer being used, donate items to others that could use them, share items with family members. But the best part was organizing what was left into closets and cabinets designed for them.
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Pantry before with standard builder shelving -
Pantry after with ELFA shelving
The real key here is to take it a step at a time. Take it at your own pace. This IS a fight that you CAN and WILL win! You will have to commit to having less stuff if your home and letting go of the sacred-cows you’ve hung on to for all these years (but please note that these cows haven’t lifted a finger to help you get organized or clean—they only collect dust and take up space!). This isn’t having “Clean Sweep” come to your home and do the work for you—it’s all your work.
Don’t worry. It can all be done in a few minutes each day. Yes, you, too can occupy a relatively clean environment as long as you relax and let go of “it’s-got-to-be-perfect-itis”.
Ready for step one? Good. We’re going to declutter first – set a timer and put on some energizing music to get you going. Decide that you’re only going to declutter for 15 minutes in one certain room. Then if you want to work longer, say, another round of 15 minutes, you can. But you don’t have to. This helps you get motivated, even when you feel like cleaning is the last thing you’d want to tackle. Yep- psyche yourself out.
Go from room to room one day, just decluttering – 15 minutes in each room. Some rooms might take only five minutes – there’s a good feeling! Others might take 30 minutes before you can walk through the room without tripping over something. It’ll all average out.
Then on day two, go back to your first room and surface clean. Wipe off counters, sinks, flat surfaces. Then spot vacuum. If there’s a stain on the kitchen floor, spot clean that baby. Day three, pick another room. Day four, still another. If you’re so motivated one day and get on a roll, surface clean two rooms.
After you’ve decluttered, we’re going to take fifteen minutes a day and do some deeper cleaning in each room. You know, vacuuming thoroughly, dusting, swatting away cobwebs, etc.
Now, if you just repeat this simple schedule, you’ve got a house that would at least make the grade on a pass-fail system. That takes a load off your mind and alleviates stress in your family relationships.
Remember, it’s better to do a little each day and get the job done, than to stress out in an embarrassingly cluttered environment because you’re too overwhelmed to even start. Go ahead – set that timer!
Are you considering selling your home? We’d be happy to meet with you to discuss our listing marketing strategy and share our book on 30 Days to Staging Your Home For Sale.
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