Countdown to Our New Home!!

Buying A Home

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Let's get ORGANIZED!!

I can remember my Monnie (great grandmother) saying, "We need to get you organized!" or "Let's get organized before we go" and I didn't know exactly what that word "organized" meant. But I knew I liked it.

Organizing is actually what led me to a career in Interior Design. I had forgotten until very recently that in high school I wanted to become a Professional Organizer before I decided to study Interior Design. I wanted to be like Peter Walsh on Clean Sweep. 

 
Well, my passion for organization has returned with a ... a passion. 

And I need it more than ever these days! I have felt so incredibly flustered, unfocused, and vague. I feel like I am always in the wrong place trying to accomplish the less important task. When I am at work, I think about all the things I want to do or accomplish at home. When I am at home, I think about all the things I need to accomplish at the office. 



 Most of the time, I feel so overwhelmed by my ever-growing to-do list that I just veg out or do busy work that doesn't really address the big important tasks.

So while in high school, I loved organizing my pens and books and school papers and wardrobe, now I have a huge need to organize my thoughts and my time. I want to create systems or routines that make my life easier and give me a focus point so I have laser beam precise productivity! 

Pew! Pew! Pew-Pew!!

I completely believe that an organized space helps create an organized mind. If my mind is organized instead of cluttered, I have more space to be creative, spontaneous, and fun! 

This is not about "managing my life" like some people want. Life is an experience not a mutual fund! I do not want a home organizing binder with emergency phone numbers and take out menus at my finger tips. I do not want every moment of my day planned out days or weeks in advance. I want to have clear objectives everyday so I can get the critical items done and move on to the fun things. 

I want to identify my vegetable so I know I will be able to have 
DESSERT! 
 

I've been watching a lot of videos by Alejandra from Color-Coded. She's super cute, and she has a lot of good advice for FREE on her YouTube channel and her website.
ClutterDiet has a ton of good tips, too.

So here are a few of my goals
Organizing Time Power & Thought Power Goals!  
Pew! Pew!

Cleaning-
*Keep apartment consistently clean. Make a chore chart for all the maintenance cleaning I need to do weekly/monthly. Use stickers to reward myself when I complete my cleaning. . . Or maybe use chocolate rewards instead. Either way, I will make the chart and start the system by the end of July. (You know you are supposed to put dates on your goals right?)
*Make my bed everyday! Starting now!
*Develop a routine for laundry (difficult because I use the laundromat, but not impossible.) This will go on the chore chart.

 Work-
*Break down projects into small chunks and assign a time limit to each chunk. Put this timeline on the calendar leading up to project deadline. New project phase starting next week. I will have my project objectives and tasks laid out by next Thursday.
*Schedule 1 hour a week to be inspired. Take a break from projects and from the computer to browse magazines, books, resource library, or a showroom for inspiration.

Personal-
*Meal Plan! Start today!
*Wake up with extra time in the AM. Start today!
*Schedule and limit time to veg out on Pinterest and YouTube. Otherwise I just get stuck for hours accomplishing nothing much at all.

Also, I want to make to-do lists like my friend RamandaB. When we lived together, I remember her making 1st and 2nd drafts of her to-do lists and the final edition was always beautiful. 

Probably not a bad idea to have several rounds. Helps you weed out the unnecessary busy work.

What tips do you have for time and thought organizing?? Comment below!


I know your Holiness. I know. 
*sigh* 
I'm working on it.

2 comments:

  1. Very spot on!
    I loved that you wrote about getting organized because it is so relevant to what I need to be doing right now! It can be overwhelming, but you know me and my lists. Haha! Like you said, it's about having clear objectives and not trying to organize your whole entire life. Break those to-do lists into clusters of obtainable and realistic tasks you can complete.
    I loved your goal of taking an hour break from work AND the computer to do something different. I love magazines but I never take the time to actually sit down and thumb through one! I'm definitely taking that advice.
    You're going to hear a lot from me when I finally move in and get settled into my new apartment because I need to learn how to stay focused and not spend countless hours on YouTube or my blogs. This is going to be my first time living alone and can organize not only my apartment but my time as well!

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    Replies
    1. Thank RamandaB! I love your lists! Thank you for the tips on breaking down my goals! I'm sure you will have plenty of opportunities to creatively organize your physical things as well since Japan typically has smaller living spaces. You should watch these videos!
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RbxkrmuQ5E
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx-GF_oaJTM
      I cannot believe some of the cool multi-purpose spaces they created!
      Let me know what you are doing to stay focused! :)

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