Wednesday True Confessions: Think Time

True Confession #36: I need time to let things evolve. In education, we call this "think time" -- the space we leave between a question we've posed and the answers our students provide. When it comes to organizing, it's the space between the start of a project and its completion, especially when we're taking small steps and working on something a little at a time.

That's exactly the approach I've been taking with the counter in my office. As promised here and to myself, I'm working on it for 15 minutes every day until I get it de-cluttered and looking nice. I've chipped away at it since we got home from the beach, missing only one day (but spending way more than 15 minutes on it on other days) and I'm discovering that the closer I get to finishing the project, the more think time I need. 

Last night, for example, I don't think I got rid of anything. I'm down to one small pile of miscellaneous items, none of which is likely to be tossed and all of which need a home. Instead of tackling those decisions, I spent my 15+ minutes cleaning the counter and rearranging the decorative items that are vying for a place of honor on the finished space. Some might call this procrastination, and they wouldn't be entirely wrong.

But it's more than that. When I set the timer last night, the first thing that caught my eye was a mini display I'd created. It was too tall and, even though it was organized, it made the space look cluttered. So, I took it apart and played with the arrangement, moving this item and relocating that one and, in the end, the counter looked better than it had when I started, which is my only goal in my daily plan of attack.

If we want to organize in a sustainable way, we need to take our time, considering what belongs, what doesn't, what deserves a home, (even if it's somewhere else in the room or in the house), as well as what that home should look like. One reason I like taking small steps is that I'm more likely to remember what I put where and to create a space that's not only organized, but also pleasing to the eye. Because the line between the right amount of stuff and too much stuff can be very thin, this process takes time.

I'm happy with the gradual uncovering of clear space this project has yielded, and I enjoy hearing my family comment on it as well. But, once I've removed all the papers and clutter, I want the counter to look nice not just because it's clear, but because it's a reflection of the inhabitant of the space as well.

And that takes not only organizing time, but think time as well.

 

True Confessions Wednesday: The Strange Co-existence of Order and Chaos

True Confession #34: My house is a blend of order and chaos. Okay, maybe chaos is too strong a word, but, as I've said before, I'm a work in progress. That means that there are places in my house that are exactly as I want them to be and then there's....

The rest of the house.

While a couple of rooms are consistently under control, order and chaos often co-exist in other rooms. Since we have a small house, this means there may be a lovely, clear organized surface two feet away from an organizing challenge in the works. 

My office is a prime example. I have conquered my desk, long an organizing challenge, and now it's usually cleared off unless I'm working there. On the other hand, the counter across the room (and "across the room" is a generous description) is a perpetual clutter magnet and the space in my house that comes closest to actual chaos. I make progress on a weekend, only to find that, by the end of the week, I've dumped new items there. It's a process, and not one I am winning.

While I'm a big fan of seizing small chunks of time to make progress, there are some areas that need either a continual succession of small chunks of time or a dedicated time block of an hour, an afternoon, or even a weekend.

I think my counter falls into that category.

Since I believe in taking small steps, and since I'm unlikely to have a totally free afternoon in which to tackle this organizing challenge, I'm going to set a small, approachable goal. Each day, I will spend at least 15 minutes de-cluttering my counter (even if that means three increments of five minutes each) until I whip it into the lovely, clear space I want it to be. 

Long-time readers who are feeling a sense of déjà vu are not wrong. Seven years ago, I launched Operation: Clear the Counter and I made progress. But, in the past seven years, I've re-vamped, re-organized and de-cluttered a lot of other spaces in my house and within the piles on my counter are items rendered homeless by those projects. Oh, and I retired, bringing all new piles home with me. 

As someone who writes about organization and has mastered it in many areas, I don't like admitting to harboring chaos. This counter project is a big one -- one that has the potential to be just the tip of the organizing iceberg -- so I'm hoping my small steps will not only yield big successes but also help keep the frustration of an tackling an enormous challenge at bay. And I'm hoping that going public will be yet another nudge to creating that Jerry Seinfeld calendar that truly does provide motivation.

Time to put some STYLE into action, fifteen minutes at a time.

Way Back Wednesday: Take Small Steps

Today's post is the second in a series on using the STYLE process to take your organizing to the next level. Last week, we focused on the "S": Start with successes. This week, we're moving on to "T": Take small steps.

My desk  -- or the clearing off thereof -- has been on my list for over a week. Unfortunately, since it's merely annoying and not time sensitive, it keeps getting bumped to the bottom of the list by tasks that have actual due dates. Meanwhile, I do what I can in small snippets of time -- filing this paper, recycling that one -- until I have time to dedicate to giving the surface my full attention.

We all know that getting organized is a time-intensive task. It's easy to forget, however, that staying organized also requires a time commitment. It's easier (and faster) to just put something down on a flat surface (the desk, the kitchen counter, the dining room table) than it is to put it where it belongs, but the time we save in the moment isn't really saved time. We spend that banked time when it comes time to put away the things we set down in a convenient spot.

We can take small steps in lots of ways. We can spend just a few minutes tackling a hot spot (Give it Five!) or work to improve our habits (Don't put it down, put it away!) We can set small goals, tackling one spot, one drawer or one shelf at a time until the whole area looks just the way we want it.  Or, we can pick up as we go, concentrating on making things just a little bit better. We can focus on finding one container that does double duty by creating a home for wayward items and looking pretty in the process. We can work on broadening the good habits we already have in place, taking all the out-of-season items out of a closet or finally getting that bag of donations out of the trunk of the car and to its destination.

No matter which steps we take, it's important to notice the improvements we make. Taking small steps can get us to our destination, but only if we recognize that we're on the right path.

What small step did you take today? Acknowledge it, congratulate yourself and pay attention not only to where you're going, but also where you've been.