Looking to the Future

Here are a few articles for you to read now that you have started your organising journey. My favourite saying is that "Organising is a journey not a destination" and people can beat themselves up too easily when they start trying to be organised, and things don't go as planned. Some things stick and become habits, and some things fall by the wayside. The key is to find what works for you, what makes you more organised, and what is important to you. In understanding this, and recognising how far you have come already (even by reading this section shows you want to keep learning!), you will be able to work out what being organised means for you, and work out a way to make this part of your life - forever.

REWARD IDEAS FOR A JOB WELL DONE!

As Mary Poppins once said "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun, you find the fun and SNAP that jobs a game" - well - this couldn't be more true for when looking at getting organised. Getting organised is a job that should be done, but can be thought of as boring and mundane. Once you start rewarding yourself for these smaller jobs, then suddenly you have got the fun back! - Take a look and see what you think to the following suggestions for fun ways to reward yourself - whether it be for organising a small drawer, or for how far you have come overall (look around your home and pat yourself on the back!!!) - you deserve a reward!

• A magazine and a coffee in peace and quiet for half an hour
• A lazy lie in
• A bath
• A holiday
• A meal out
  
• A glass of wine
• Listening to a favourite album
• Watching a TV programme
• Watching a film
• A long walk
• An exercise class
• Starting a new hobby that you have always wanted to do (you have the time now!)
• Taking up a new sport
• A night class
• Delegating a task - a cleaner could be just what you need now that you are back in control of things
• The list is endless................
  

CONTINUING THE ORGANISING HABITS

You have now made organising a way of life, and the only way foward is to keep working on those habits day by day - making them as much a part of your life as cleaning your teeth and getting out of bed in the morning. Here are some of the easiest habits to adopt on a daily basis - I aim to add one to my list each week - see how many you already do subconsciously!

• Make the bed each morning
• Wipe down the shower / bath after every use - saves time when it comes to cleaning
• Ensure you take what doesn't belong in a room out of that room and put it back where it belongs regularly - keep on top of things
  
• Wash dishes before going to bed
• Tidy the house each evening - 10 mins is all it takes
• Do a load of washing daily (if required) and keep on top of the washing and drying cycle
• Keep a current meal plan
• Keep a current shopping list where the family can access it
• Adopt a paperwork system and maintain it daily
• Create ME TIME every day
• Always put items back where they came from
• Once you read a magazine, take out any articles you want for reference and then recycle the rest immediately
• Try and have your home GUEST READY at any time
• Create routines for morning and evening times, especially important with children
• Allocate days for specific tasks, then you can forget about them until the right day (weekly / monthly schedules are great for this)
• Book in appointments for dentist / hair etc... straight after you have had the last appointment
• Always leave things in the same place such as keys, bags, shoes etc...  
• Check your diary for the following day so that you know whats ahead can prepare the day before

HOW FAR HAVE YOU COME!

Every time you start a new area of your home, a great trick is to take a photo of how it looks then, and then look back at this once you have finished. The before and afters are usually enough to give you that real energy boost that comes with doing something good.

Take time to look at how much better things look now, how much better they are on a practical sense as well, whether you are feeling more relaxed or happy as a result of what you have done, has it influenced others to get organised in your home, have you learnt anything about yourself in the process - and have you created any fantastic new habits? - Write down anything that springs to mind, and make yourself aware of how far you have come

KEEPING MOTIVATED TO CONTINUE

LINK TO GETTING STARTED PAGES FOR ARTICLE ON MOTIVATION

Comment on anything about organising that you feel like - we look forward to hearing what you think!