Are you embarrassed to invite people? Tired of living in a messy place? Well, don’t stress anymore. Help is here. See your home through the eyes of your visitors and take action. Sort it out and finally get going with these 5 quick, easy, acronym-forming steps: GO AHEAD, as a well-known man and motivational speaker once said, “Now is the best time you’ll ever have to get ahead!” Zig Ziglar .
1) Attack your cleanliness with a vengeance.
At a minimum, approach this project little by little, such as one hour or one room/area per day. Even a day-to-day cabinet or desk/dresser drawer can work well. The bottom line is this: do something. No slackers allowed. Decide that you will continue until you finish each room, including the garage, basement, and outbuildings like sheds. Include the exterior of your house as well, removing trash from your lawn, clearing flower beds of old unused mulch bags and old flower pots, etc.
Track your progress from the get-go. Use an online spreadsheet or a simple electronic or email document listing rooms and other areas to clean. Print out your list and use colored markers as you go, highlighting areas ending in green, for example.
2) Go to stores, online and offline, blogs, videos, social networking sites and other places.
Visit local stores and online sites to review the latest trade organization tools. See which one suits your needs and check your budget. Find them on Pinterest, Facebook and other social networking sites, blogs, videos and other content.
Save by recycling things you already have around the house into organizational tools. You can use old plastic milk jugs, cut off the tops, and use the bottoms as storage containers for your family room remote controls, pet toys, children’s blocks, etc.
3) Visualize plans with room for growth.
Take your #1 tracker. #1 above and incorporate it into a journal or journal where you also add notes for each area that needs clearing. Start your own outline for that area or set up numbered spots like in this article where you list each room and then have subheadings on what you want to do there. For example, you could list “Family Room,” highlighting the word in yellow, with bullet points below that say things like:
- Throw out old magazines or donate them to your local library.
- Place the remotes all together in a small basket or bag on a small table.
- Remove things from the room that belong elsewhere, such as exercise, equipment (set up an area or another room just for this).
Use colored pencils, markers/highlighters, stickers, and other writing tools to make your plans stand out and mean something to you. Paste or paste cut-out or printed images or insert digital images of the products you have in mind for each area, like a magazine rack for the living room and a CD/DVD case for the teen’s bedroom.
4) Ask for feedback.
Take digital photos to share on Facebook, Pinterest, and/or other social networking sites for feedback. Ask your friends and/or neighbors. They may even offer suggestions for improvement and have organizational products to donate to your project.
5) Dig, split and defeat the messy beast!
Once you get some feedback, dig in and review/update your plan. As something new comes into each area, discard something old, donate it, or recycle it. However, don’t let the Clutter Monster take control again. Break that clutter cycle once and for all.
As a wise man once said: “The secret to getting ahead is to start”, Mark Twain.
Now up to you. It’s time to move on and get ahead. Begin!