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source: Organizing Made Fun

7 Ways to Stay Organized All Year Long

The following post is from Becky of Organizing Made Fun: 7 Ways to Stay Organized All Year Long

Most of us make goals or resolutions at some point in our lives, whether or not it’s at the beginning of the new year doesn’t really matter. But, many of us seem to do it at the start of the new year. If you are like many, you have decided that you are going to get organized this year, right?

The stores play up on this fact, hoping you’ll buy lots of their organizing containers and bins. It’s true. We do it! We buy them up and vow to get organized. But, come mid-year, the organizing bug starts to wane. Where is the inspiration now?

Stay organized all year long with these simple strategies:

1. Enlist in organizing challenges.

Some people LOVE competition or a challenge to get them motivated. If you are like that, this is a great place to start. There are many blogs that have 30-day challenges or one-area-a-month challenges or weekly challenges and these can be great to get you moving and try out things. {Google “organizing challenges”, and you’ll find many}.

2. Read organizing blogs.

Many of the challenges are on organizing blogs that will keep you motivated. Visit Organizing Made Fun, Clean Mama, or Simple Organized Living for inspiration and motivation to organize. Type in “organize your home” in Google and look up some great bloggers who have similar taste and areas that they organize to what you can do.

3. Browse Pinterest.

My number one place to get motivated is Pinterest! I have many, many pinboards for organizing all kinds of areas in my life! I’m sure most of you are on Pinterest, so if you are, use that for your inspiration – especially if you’re stuck in a place where you don’t know how to organize an area. Type in your organizing area in the search bar and you will likely find plenty of inspiration.

4. Do a little every day – and keep it up.

My one piece of advice to those who ask where to get started is to just start – one drawer, one small square foot, one small cupboard. I know it’s daunting for some. But, once you get that one area cleared of the clutter or trash or whatever you have in there, just maintain that. Then, move on to the next place. Little by little, 15 minutes a day of organizing.

5. Ask friends for accountability.

If this is an area you really do struggle in, I’d recommend that you have a friend help you out or hold you accountable. Maybe he/she can just check up on progress for you daily or maybe just encourage you to keep going. But, having a friend there to share with about trying to keep organized is always good motivation.

6. Have people over a lot.

Most of us clean up and get rid of clutter when people are supposed to come over – I do! I notice all that stuff out that I normally ignore and I start putting it away, throwing it out, clearing it out. I  have people over a lot, so it has actually been a blessing to help me stay on top of clutter. I see something and realize it’s been sitting there for weeks, and I haven’t even put it back. That’s when it kicks in that THIS is a time to finally run around the house and put things back where they belong!

7. Hire a professional.

If you just feel like you aren’t ever going to tackle a huge amount of clutter and are organizationally challenged, it might be time to hire someone who is good at this. You hire someone to do your taxes or a contractor to fix your house. Why not someone who is able to help you organize your stuff? Sometimes it’s better having an outside person helping you, someone who isn’t attached to your stuff and can be honest and helpful to get your whole house organized. Hiring a professional organizer isn’t saying you can’t do it, it’s just saying that you can do it with the right guidance.

Keeping your home organized and clutter-free is a constant battle – even for organized people. We live with others, papers constantly come in from everywhere, and we have to make decisions on what to bring in and what not to bring in. Finding ways to keep yourself motivated to organized all year long may be more of a task for some than others. I hope you are encouraged.

Are you an organizer or a not-so-organized person? How have you tried staying motivated?

Becky blogs at Organizing Made Fun. She has been married to her college sweetheart for 18 years and is a mother to two children. Becky organizes just about everything and she enjoys motivating other women to learn to organize, schedule and run their homes imperfectly but efficiently.