November 2011 Five reasons that keep you from organizing and how to move forward with your organizing goals (part one) Please be sure to check back in December for the remaining five reaons! (1) NOT ENOUGH TIME: There is never going to be enough time to make your life perfect. And trust me, as a Virgo perfectionist; I personally have had to be very realistic that it's OK not to be perfect. You may feel you need a large block of time to work on your projects but other things always come up. Plus, you don't want to give up your free/relaxation time to work on your clutter issues. Regularly schedule (and literally put it in your calendar) shorter increments (maybe 1 hour, maybe 15 minutes) to work on your projects. Try weekly or every other weekend. (2) LACK OF VISION: Lack of vision keeps some people from starting their overwhelming projects. I helped a client with his cluttered basement and could envision the room with shelves with clearly labeled tubs containing items. The client couldn't so for 12 years kept filling up the basement with purchases/replacements without getting rid of old items; more and more memorabilia covered the floors; kids moved away and left their old schoolbooks and papers. Start small. Just sort and box one category at a time. Use tunnel vision to start so you see (slow is ok) progress being made. At least you've gotten started! (3) OBJECTIVITY: You need an objective person to help you with your organizing projects. You may get bogged down keeping unnecessary items because your friend/relative has their own issues about letting go of "stuff." Working with a Professional Organizer removes the emotional involvement to your clutter project. (4) DISTRACTION: It's easy to get distracted. Clutter has been defined as postponed decisions. It's common to start reading through papers; telling stories about your past when photos and memorabilia appear. It's important to stay focused and set fun items aside to look at after you've finished the project at hand; take a phone call later; arrange to have your kids be elsewhere so they don't need you while you're organizing. (5) STORAGE UNITS: Do you have out-of-home storage units housing "maybe I'll use/need someday" items? You're paying a lot to rent the storage unit and probably haven't missed or needed the items being stored. My brother paid for a storage locker for 10 years. When I helped him clear it out, he donated/threw away every single item! Suit styles change; old schoolbooks are no longer good reference; current luggage is lighter weight. He estimated he spent $10,000. What a shame. Please don't be afraid to make decisions and clean out your storage units!