Spring Cleaning Success

Spring is here which may put you in the mood for some spring cleaning and organizing. In order to keep the enthusiasm up and not overwhelm yourself, remember this: you don’t have to completely organize your life or even your garage in one day.

Think about it this way – on those organizing shows where they completely overhaul someone’s home, they take a full weekend with a full crew of professionals doing all the heavy lifting. Most of us don’t have a full crew to do that for us. And organizing gets tiring if you try to do it for hours on end. So make it easy on yourself by breaking it down and making your goal achievable. After all, what is more inspiring then achieving your goals?

Set aside a small amount of time that is realistic to dedicate to organizing (this means don’t answer the phone, don’t get sidetracked by children, don’t answer email). Whether it is 15 minutes or two hours, make sure that it is dedicated time where you won’t be distracted. Start with a small section at a time. Pick a closet, a cupboard, a drawer or a corner of the garage. Focusing on a smaller area is less overwhelming and more realistic. Take everything out of that space and divide it into three piles: keep, throw away, or donate/sell. After everything is sorted, put the “keep” pile away in an organized manner. Immediately discard the “throw away” pile, and then either drop off donations or start the selling process of the remaining items. Don’t be tempted to put things away in the middle of this process. That can be done later, after your time is done.

Chip away at the big project. Make your goals small and realistic goals so when you achieve them, you are inspired and motivated to continue on. Congratulate yourself on a job well done! Lastly, make another appointment with yourself to do more organizing. Give yourself the gift of that dedicated time to make your life run more smoothly and be less overwhelming. Being organized is a huge stress reliever and will save you time in the long run. Go for it!



Meagan Farrell, professional organizer, is the owner of Clear the Clutter organizing services. She can be reached at (360) 631-7268 or at clear_theclutter@yahoo.com. Check out her blog at http://cleartheclutterprofessionalorganizing.blogspot.com/

Managing Greeting Cards

Something that seems to haunt many clients is greeting cards. We usually find them in all kinds of places, well after the date that they were supposed to be sent. The solution? I have two options:

1 – buy a greeting card organizer and keep it in plain sight. Keep it stocked with cards and close to a calendar. When you notice that a birthday is coming up, take out a card and get it in the mail.

2 – join Send Out Cards - http://www.sendoutcards.com/celticblessings. With send out cards, you can plug in birthdays and special occasions well in advance. You can even do your Christmas cards in March and they will go out on the date in December that you choose.

Meagan Farrell, professional organizer, is the owner of Clear the Clutter organizing services. She can be reached at (360) 631-7268 or at clear_theclutter@yahoo.com. Check out her blog at http://cleartheclutterprofessionalorganizing.blogspot.com/

Just do it

How do you stay organized? Handle things right away. It is as simple as that and you will make others very happy in the process. Got a party invite? Sit down and RSVP right away and put the date on your calendar. Not only is it off your plate, but your host/hostess will truly appreciate your prompt response. Borrowed a book from a friend? As soon as you finish it, give them a call and arrange a time to get it back to them. You will have one less thing sitting around your house and your friend will be more apt to loan you stuff in the future. Have a bag of stuff that needs to get donated? Put it in your car right away and the next time you are driving by Goodwill, you can quickly drop it off. Goodwill can use the help and you will have less stuff in your house.

You set things aside thinking that you don’t have time to deal with it, but then it weighs on your or you forget it completely. Stop the cycle. Deal with things immediately. Not only will you be happier and less stressed, but those around you will deeply appreciate it too.


Meagan Farrell, professional organizer, is the owner of Clear the Clutter organizing services. She can be reached at (360) 631-7268 or at clear_theclutter@yahoo.com. Check out her blog at http://cleartheclutterprofessionalorganizing.blogspot.com/