As a part of our FRESH START series we have been tackling organization this week.  When organizing, first you must declutter, second you must setup a system of organization, and lastly you must maintain the system.  For me, maintenance is the hardest part.  Unless I’m completely committed to a project it’s hard to maintain the routine.  But, there are some things you can do to help in maintaining your organization.

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5 TIPS to MAINTAIN your ORGANIZATION:

  1. MAKE a DATE
    In Accounting 101 I tell people to mark a date on their calendars for the following 12 months that you will commit to doing 2-4 hours of accounting monthly.  This is also the same for your organization.  Give yourself a day each month (or each week) where you declutter and organize.  This is also the day that you should go thru your inbox and the files on your computer.  If you have the date on your calendar months out you are less likely to schedule anything else on this date.
  2. LIMIT your PILES
    My inbox is not very big.  I use the small Mackis drawers from IKEA and I just discovered they no longer exist.  (Sad face.)  But, they do carry small paper size boxes with lids.  It should hold no more paper than you can sort in one hour.  Otherwise, you’ll be too comfy in a big box that you won’t file or sort papers until 5 months have gone by.  You also want to make sure it has a lid or is a drawer unit than you can close so that it is out of sight and out of mind.
  3. Get a FRESH OUTLOOK
    When I feel like my organization needs some maintaining, I try to get a fresh perspective on my office.  I walk out of the room.  When I enter I ask myself, “what are the first 10 things that stand out and are eyesores?”  So often we become so comfortable in our environment that we don’t always see the mess we are sitting in.  Identifying and organizing 10 things can make your office so much more peaceful.
  4. SPEED CLEAN
    This is a little trick I learned from FlyLady.net:  At the end of each day, take 10 minutes to run around and clean or organize something – anything.  If you spend 10 minutes tidying up at the end of each day, you’ll have far less “stuff” accumulate over time.
  5. LITTLE by LITTLE
    If you have a larger organization project that is going to involve a lot of time, commit yourself to work on it little by little.  I moved to Miami from Seattle one year ago and I’m still working on boxes in our garage.  Every so often I bring out a box or two, go thru it while I’m watching TV: trash, put away, store.  Little by little my garage has come together and it is not the insane cardboard factory it was a year ago.

What do you think?  What are your tips for maintaining organization?