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CRAVE BlogCome Clean in DC
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Given the recent Snowpocalypse, it’s hard to believe that winter is coming to an end. It’ll be spring cleaning time before you know it… The question of the hour is, will you be ready to face your closet, let alone your entire house or office? Below, two local ladies who make a living out of organizing other people’s stuff give us their top five organization tips in anticipation of spring cleaning!
D. Allison Lee (dallisonlee.com)
phone: 301.502.3835
From organizing your home or office to helping you with home staging and storage solutions, D. Allison Lee will de-clutter and de-stress your space in the most efficient way for your lifestyle. A Certified Professional Organizer since 2008, Ms. Lee offers a variety of packages for virtually any budget and promotes innovative, structured, and organized living.
1. Set Organizing Goals. Figure out what you want to accomplish, and put those items in order of priority. Sometimes it feels like our whole house needs help, and it might. However, there are likely to be specific areas that bother you the most. Start with those areas first.
2. Gather Everything You Need. Once you’ve set your goals, get everything you need to work successfully on your project. For example, when sorting and categorizing documents, be sure that you have a shredder, recycling bin, file folders, etc.
3. Work When You’re at Your Best. Most of us don’t do anything well when we’re hungry, tired, and/or in pain, so be sure that you’re mentally and physically ready to work. Also, think about the time of day that you’re the most productive. Are you an evening or morning person? Do you get your “second wind” in the afternoon? When do you feel the most alert? Finding out when you perform at your best will help you to complete tasks more efficiently and with greater success.
4. Play Your Favorite Music. When we exercise, we play up tempo music. It makes the whole process more fun and it can be very motivating. The same is true for organizing. Who says you can’t sing while you organize the kitchen cabinets?
5. Do a Little Bit Every Day. Have you ever tried to tackle a large project all in one day? It can be pretty daunting and overwhelming to manage it all at once, so spend 10-30 minutes every day doing some type of organizing activity. Not only will you keep the momentum going, but you will also get a chance to do other things you love to do. You’ll be surprised by how much you can get done when you do a little bit at a time.
Put It Away! (putitaway.net)
phone: 240.242.PIA1 (7421)
Catering to homes and small businesses, Kim Oser’s professional organizing service customizes its services based on each client’s particular need. Her business uses the most up-to-date organizational tools and trends to help you get rid of the clutter in your space! Put It Away! also does a great deal of community service, including supporting local non-profit organizations.
1. Schedule time to get organized. Mark it in your calendar. Set aside 20 minutes to 2 hours. Are you more productive in the morning, mid-day or at night? Schedule it like you would a doctor’s appointment. If you wait until you have spare time, you’ll never get started. Adding organizing time to your calendar establishes a commitment.
2. Grab a buddy. Do you ever feel like you get more done while you have a repair person at your home or you get the laundry folded quicker while the kids are doing homework? Have you noticed the kids get their room cleaned faster when you are standing at the door even though you never lift a finger? Invite over a non-judgmental friend, your mom, the dog or turn on the radio. This is the concept of body doubling. The body double’s only job is to stay in the room with you and help you stay on track, keep you from getting distracted. The presence of the body double serves as a physical and emotional anchor whose existence helps keep you focused on the organizational process. Plus, doing anything with company usually makes it more fun.
3. Spend 10 minutes setting goals. Why do you want to get organized? What is preventing you from being organized? By getting this information out of your head, it gives you an idea of what you want to accomplish and purpose for moving forward.
4. Drop a perfectionist attitude. We tend to think “I can’t get started because I won’t be able to make it perfect”. Our desire for perfection inhibits any success. So rather than tackling the whole office or closet, start with one drawer, or just the shoes. If we plan for small accomplishments, we feel success and inspiration to move forward.
5. The organizational process starts at home (or your office). When getting organized, our first inclination is to go buy a bunch of bins, new bookcases, file folders. While buying these supplies may get us excited, we tend to get home, pull out our supplies and go “now what?”. The organizational process starts with your stuff. Pick an area to start organizing. Sort the items in the area, match like items with like items. Determine do all of the items in this area belong here? Do empty shopping bags really belong in your closet? Do your heels belong in your file drawer? If items are out of place from where they are being used, set them aside to be returned to their appropriate area. Once an area is sorted, pick appropriate containers, label them and assign a home. By assigning everything a home, you always know where to find things and where to return them.