In our last post we explored the truth that order and organization bring the promise of balance, harmony and discovery in your life. So how do we turn those promises into actual practices in our lives and get organized? Mastery over our physical space in our office or home all begins with understanding the Five Steps: Remove, Sort, Eliminate, Contain, and Return.
- Obviously, you begin this process by removing all the items from the space you are organizing.
- Sort them by making piles of “like” items.
- Next, you will focus on eliminating everything that you do not need or use. Donate your gently used stuff to someone out there who really needs it. A great place to start this process is with your kids and their stuff.
- Before returning your stuff to its proper place, use containers to assign a place for everything. Containers can be anything from plastic baskets to drawer organizers to woven baskets to bins.
- Finally, return all your beautifully organized containers, baskets and drawer organizers to the new clean space.
In Sue’s work with clients for over 30 years, she observed that the two main obstacles to turning promises into practice are our long-held habits and firmly entrenched attitudes.
Available now: Part 2: Our Habits