Organizing: Where to Start

We all know that feeling: your to-do list is miles long, you go out to your garage to grab something and stand in the doorway feeling overwhelmed. You've been meaning to organize and clean out there for months and you just can't seem to get started. What are you to do? Whether it is your garage, your kitchen, your closet or a whole house you have to start somewhere.

I will throw the obvious out there.... Call me! I'm happy to help with organization tasks :) But, if you want to tackle it yourself I do have a few pieces of advice:

1) Start with the smallest or most rewarding project first.

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2) Start with the space that affects you most.

If you go with the smallest project first, you get that rewarding feeling quicker. It then becomes easier to "chase that high" and tackle other areas that need organized. It could be just one cupboard in the kitchen; seeing how much difference you made and how much more functional it is can give you the motivation to work on the rest of the kitchen. Cleaning out your junk drawer feels like a huge load off your shoulders; it can be easier to let go of unnecessary items in other areas of your life (hall closet next?).

Doing the space that affects you most can take a larger time investment, but can compound that "reward high". Organizing the garage may take a whole weekend. Organizing your garage not only makes room for you to park your car inside, but you probably also found items you forgot you had (preventing purchasing duplicates), you may have cleared enough space to avoid getting a storage unit, and you can easily locate your tools, camping gear and seasonal decor. It is a huge accomplishment and maybe the next weekend when you are sitting around debating what to watch on Netflix you might choose to organize another part of your life instead.

Whether you start small or start big.. getting started is usually the biggest hurdle. Once you get going it is considerably easier to continue to ride that momentum through the rest of your organizing tasks. Don't forget, calling me is always an option!!