Dear Consider It Done:

I am feeling so guilty for the clutter I have created. I read and have heard all about being organized and I just don’t know where to start. I want to be an organized person but I don’t know how. ~ Confounded by Clutter

I have been noticing that many people are looking at being organized as the ultimate goal... like a destination. Even organizing book titles support that viewpoint... Get Organized Now, Organize Yourself, The Organized Executive, and Totally Organized are just some of the titles that want us to believe that we can be organized.

Organizing, like life, is a process. You could get your kitchen, bathroom, closet, garage, or office organized and as long as you didn’t use it again, it would stay that way. But life happens!

The object, and my definition of being organized, is being able to find what you want when you want it. It’s not about being neat and clean or having a spotless house. Organization needs to support your lifestyle.

If you have multiple interests and activities you need and will acquire “stuff,” whether it’s books, supplies, or paper. If that stuff is all mixed up together and you can’t find anything you want then change how you store them so the stuff is useful to you.

I suggest that you notice what isn’t working for you and find a solution, one piece at a time. For instance, are you constantly looking for your car keys? Think about the logical place you would look for them... bag, table by the door, hook in the garage... and make it a habit of putting them there every time! We’re told it takes 30 days of repetition to create a habit. That’s not very long for you to solve one pesky annoyance.

Are the tools you need for household chores never at hand? If you keep a tool box in the garage, duplicate the most commonly used ones near where you use them most. Two screwdrivers (flat and phillips) needle-nose pliers and a small hammer in a kitchen drawer or in the family room will inspire you to make a repair when it’s first noticed.

Having a set of basic office supplies (pens, pencils, note pad, stapler, tape, calculator, rubber bands, scissors, and files) close to every place you handle paper or pay bills will help keep your paper blizzard in order. I keep my pens, pencils, a pair of scissors and a letter opener in a coffee mug next to every phone in the house. If you suspect your pens and pencils sprout legs and run away, you can buy a pen with a chain attached so it’s held captive where you need it.

Maybe searching for your reading glasses is the bane of your existence. I chose to wear mine on a beaded chain around my neck. (I had to get over how I think it looks to other people for the convenience!) Another solution is to buy extras... one for next to the bed and your favorite reading chair, your bag, and the car. Create a home for them in each place, and make it a habit to put them back each time you take them off.

Instead of saying to yourself “I need to be organized,” solve just one dilemma and then let “I am organizing” be your mantra. Give yourself a reward... like a nice hot bath... not more “things”... for your accomplishments. Focus on what you’ve achieved, not on what is left undone. There will ALWAYS be more to do, because life happens! It’s the name of the game.

I want my grave marker to read “She had a lot of fun but she didn’t get it all done!”

On a different subject, I want to share another excerpt from Claire Josefine’s book, The Spiritual Art of Being Organized.

“In the grand scheme every action we take is a choice. Where we live, whom we live with, what we wear, what we eat, what we buy - everything. For years, I had a fading photocopy of the following quote on my refrigerator. I have no idea where it originated, but it serves as an excellent reminder to choose my purchases, and actions, wisely.

We should see in every disposable fork an oil well up in the Arctic, a pipeline crossing the tundra, a tanker in the straits of Valdez, a refinery creating toxic wastes, a chemical plant polymerizing styrene, a fabricator pressing polystyrene into utensils, and a truck delivering plastic: all that for about 10 minutes of active use.

Julia Butterfly Hill sums this up well. She instructs us to ‘begin by respecting that all life thrives or dies by our choices. When we truly respect life, rethinking our choices becomes automatic. We discover that we don’t need to fill the void with stuff because the greatest things in life aren’t things at all and so reducing consumption is easy.’”

The Spiritual Art of Being Organized (with great organizing tips) is available from Claire Josefine at www.wintersdaughterpress.com or 1(800)505-3881.

Judy Lynn is a Professional Organizer, and the owner of Consider It Done, providing safe, supportive help in organizing and making life transitions. You can reach her at consider@whidbey.net, or www.consider-itdone.com, (360) 678-0712 with your questions. It you’re emailing, please note “Marketplace” in the subject line.

You can send your questions to the Marketplace at PO Box 1043, Clinton WA 98236 or fax them to (360)341-2190.