It’s the time of year when that “clean slate” desire is in the air and we’re motivated to purge and organize our home.  Finally, we are ready to get organized and we have big plans to organize the garage, organize the closets and even get the spices in our kitchen organized. So, what do we do? We rush out to buy some bins and promise to clean this weekend.

Saturday arrives and with a cup of coffee in hand, we start looking around where to begin. Soon enough we become overwhelmed. We try to stick it out but, we can’t help to mentally check out and call it quits for the day but resolve to try again the following weekend.

Sound familiar?  

Beginning and actually finishing an organizing project takes more than just buying containers and saying you’re going to do it.  You need a plan.  Without a plan, even just a simple one, it’s easy to get stuck, sidetracked and overwhelmed.   

Here are some tips to create a project plan so you can organize a closet, garage or office space.  MomsTown’s tips are courtesy of organizing expert, Tracy Paye. Also, be sure to listen to our podcast with Tracy. The link is at the end of the article.

Tip 1: Create a goal. 

When you start with a goal in mind, it’s easier to create tasks to accomplish that goal. For example, converting an office into a baby’s room, making room for exercise equipment in the garage or organizing the pantry.

Tip 2: Forward think and backwards plan. 

Now that you have forward thought to come up with your goal, now think backwards to determine the action steps.  Have an if/then conversation with yourself.  For example, “If I want to put the Peloton in the garage then I have to move the tires.” Continue to work backwards until you find the easiest step to begin.  

Tip 3: Write it down. 

Keeping visual track of the action steps will enable you to spend less time thinking and more time working on the space. I recommend buying a Franklin Planner, Basecamp or Trello to track your project and progress.

Tip 4: Schedule a specific time. 

Instead of saying, “I’ll do it this weekend”, commit a specific time frame, for example, 10am until 2pm and add it to your calendar.  The more specific you are, the better chance you’ll follow through.  

Tip 5: Prioritize. 

As much as everyone wants the project finished right away, it just doesn’t work that way. Look at your list of action steps and prioritize which ones need to happen first.   

Having a plan in place before you get started is the best way to ensure you will actually finish what you set out to do.  By following your plan, you’ll have that clean slate feeling before you know it. 

Listen: https://momstown-inc-25ead185.simplecast.com/episodes/tracy-paye-plan-your-way-to-getting-organized