Happy GO Month!

For professional organizers, the entire month of January is practically a national holiday. It’s GO Month! In other words, it is Get Organized Month. GO Month is an initiative of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) that celebrates how NAPO members (like me!) improve the lives of their clients by helping them create environments that support productivity, general health and well-being. 

It may also be no coincidence that January is the designated month since it is a popular time to put organizing projects into action, what with new year resolutions and all. There seems no better time than the start of a new year to give yourself a fresh start. Although the holiday season is one of happiness, it can’t help but be chaotic in many ways. Turning the page into a new year gives us the chance to rid ourselves of the chaos, gives us permission to reset and head toward calm.

Our home environment is often the most common area that we equate with wanting to be more organized. It’s typically the quantity of stuff surrounding us that one day stops us in our tracks and spurs us into action to get organized. Our time is often cluttered, too. Whether obligations of work, family or community, our calendars and that of our children are regularly jammed packed, leaving us to wonder why there isn’t enough time to get it all done. Our finances, especially during the post-holiday weeks, may need some decluttering too, as we look for new ways to reduce debt and curb spending in the new year. Collectively, the build-up of many different types of clutter can produce very negative feelings.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Organize Your Way Out of Disorganization

We’ll stick to the physical clutter for now. When there is so much clutter and chaos all around us, it can be daunting just thinking about how to get organized, never mind taking any action towards it. But lots of clutter can be eliminated quickly. Let’s start with getting rid of the super easy stuff, otherwise known as trash. Grab a bag and fill it with:

·         Expired foods and medications

·         Junk mail

·         Holey and single socks

·         Empty boxes and packaging…to name a few.

These truly are the easy things to let go of because there is no emotional attachment to them. They have hung around for whatever reason – often a reason that you can’t explain. Ridding your house of these items is a first, easy step that will instantly help you feel better, and that sinking feeling of overwhelm will begin to disappear. Once the decluttering momentum has started, you can move on and apply a more methodical approach to the review and removal of additional levels of clutter. That will then give way to creating functioning organizing systems.

Keeping an organized home is all about having the support systems in place that work best for you. They do not need to be difficult or complicated. They just need to make sense to you. When creating customized, functioning systems, pay attention to where things accumulate, and there you will find a solution. A basic organizing principle is to create homes for things close to where you use them. So, it should be just as easy to put something away as it is to put it down. Every journey begins with a single step as they say, so choose just one small area to begin your organizing journey, like the infamous junk drawer. Keep in mind, also, your own style of organization. Do you prefer visual access or items hidden away? There’s no wrong answer if it makes sense to you. And since it’s a repeatable process, it will work in any area of your home.

Importantly, maintaining the created systems is essential to success. For some, that might mean creating new habits or establishing rules for yourself and other household members. Consistency is key. A few examples of rules may include:

·         Make your bed before you leave your bedroom.

·         Put dirty laundry in the hamper every day.

·         Wash the dishes or load the dishwasher after every meal.

·         Sort the mail everyday…to name a few.

There are so many ideas that you could easily come up with. It might sound like a lot of work initially while you’re getting into the rhythm of it, but before long, you will see and appreciate the effort - and never want to go back to the old way.

While this introduction to GO Month is not meant to provide a detailed plan of action, hopefully it does whet your appetite to begin creating your own, customized home organizing systems. You will be sure to reap the rewards of an organized house. It’s a new year and a new you, and you are worth it.

Now get GOing!