462 - Learning the Skill of Organizing - Step 2 Organize

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FINALLY!

Don't you just want to jump right to the step where you get to go buy cute matching containers when you are organizing a space? ME TOO!

BUT every time I do that... it influences what I keep and how I store things instead of my THINGS influencing those decisions. (In the podcast I share how I figured that out as a professional organizer.)

First, let's talk about what being organized means. For me it means:

• Everything has a place.
• I know where to find things.
• I do not spend time LOOKING for things.
• I FEEL organized and put together.
• I can have friends over and feel great.
• My house looks good - not perfect - but good.
• I feel confident in my abilities.
• I don't have too little or too much.
• I have choices of how to spend my time.
• I am able to make forward progress on my goals and projects.

Before I dive into the 5 steps to organizing I want to give you one caution...

You will not get it 100% right the first time.

Yep, no matter what you are organizing, your goal is to get 80-90% better. The last 10% comes in step 3. Which I will cover next week.

Ok, so you know how you will feel and are not going for perfection, let's dive in!

5 Steps to Organizing

1. Get a big picture plan for the space.
2. Combine like items.
3. Match your items to the space.
4. Buy organizers.
5. Clean and finish.

Organizing feels amazing! But after a while... you realize something is missing. The last 10% is Step 3 of organizing — Increased Productivity.

Links to things mentioned in the podcast:

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