Getting organized is not like going on a diet. Granted, it is like putting your house on a diet, but it is not personally painful like giving up french vanilla creamer in my coffee in favor of skim with Splenda. I would rather give up caffeine altogether. Not so with uncluttering. Its the one thing I have found to be immediately gratifying without breaking any rules or commitments to myself or others.
For the impatient, the impulsive, the undisciplined, getting organized is great for immediate gratification without the guilt or negative consequences. There are no stomach crunches involved, no weigh-ins, no calorie tracking. You dont need a support group. You dont have to wait for the numbers to go down on the scale. There is no delayed gratification in getting organized. You feel better immediately.
A friend recently had a sabbatical from work as a bonus for 20 years of service. Do you know what she did with that time in addition to international travel and spending time with family? She devoted a week getting things organized around her house. You would have thought she had visited the spa by how she talked about it. I dare you to clean out a junk drawer and see for yourself. Doesnt it feel great? Why not feel that good every day? Why put off this kind of satisfaction? Following are ways to get organized and get immediate gratification.
First, picture where you spend the most time each day, whether its your office, your home, your car. What do you see? Do you like where you spend most of your time every day? Is there anything that bothers you about your personal space? Write it down. How does your space make you feel? Cozy, productive, content or stressed, down, and anxious? Dont minimize any feelings you have. Write it all down without judging yourself.
Next, identify what you can do about your space right now all by yourself without any outside resources of manpower or money. Usually, at the top of every list is clearing some clutter, with a fresh coat of paint ranking a close second. You know the drill, so get started. Sort into piles of put away, give away, and throw away.
What are you tripping over daily? Whats bugging you, distracting you from feeling pure peace in your space? Start with a small area and complete it. Thats why you want to start right where you live to get a quick burst of feel better fast. You will get addicted if you try it.
Next, start a list of the repairs that you could make with some help of muscle or money. Then schedule and budget for those items. Committing projects to a written to-do list gives you a goal to work toward and immediately frees you to use your brain for better tasks than worrying or procrastinating. The only delayed gratification involved in getting organized is waiting for time and money to do more of it.
Dont most dieters at parties seem miserable? Dont you feel sorry for runners with that pained grimace plastered on their faces? No one feels sorry for the organized because its pure pleasure to always find your keys and never rifle through important papers looking for past due bills. Being organized just feels good.
For personal clutter coaching, send your questions to StephanyCraig@gmail.com or follow Stephany on Twitter or FaceBook.
