10 Organizing Hints for Combating Overwhelm
Author: Claire Tompkins, Clutter Coach

Even if you know how to get organized, sometimes it seems like there's so much to do you don't even know where to start! Here are some hints to get you going and keep you on track.

1. Break your job into small chunks. If you’re going through lots of paper, take a pile and put it in a nice looking basket. This is your project basket. Concentrate on sorting only these papers until you're done, preferably out of sight of the rest of the job. Then refill the basket and repeat.

2. Set aside small blocks of time. Don’t commit an entire weekend to organizing your closet. First, decide what your organized closet will look like and make a plan. Using a plan helps keep you on track and frees you from rethinking the project every weekend.

3. Promise yourself to work for 2 hours at a time, then do something fun as a reward. Working for a limited amount of time instead of working until a task is complete means there's a defined beginning and end to keep things in perspective.

4. Make a master list. This is a complete brain dump of all you want and need to do. It may be long, but getting it on paper will unclutter your head.

5. Hire an organizer. An organizer can offer you skills and experience, but also an objective, nonjudgmental eye to help you from getting bogged down.

6. Pretend it’s not your stuff. Try some tricks to gain objectivity such as pretending you’re an archaeologist, or you’re helping a friend.

7. See the trees, not the forest. To find the trees, try looking at your desk through a paper towel tube (professional organizer Judith Kolberg's idea). When you can literally only see one pile at a time the project seems more manageable.

8. Arrange your work space so that you have to get up from your chair regularly as you work. Movement will help dissipate nervous energy and bring you back into your body.

9. Think of getting organized as a gift you give yourself, because you’re worth it.

10. Know that you are not alone. Having clutter isn’t something people like to talk about, but it's very common and it doesn't mean you're a bad person. Overcoming it involves learning skills, not changing who you are.






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Claire Tompkins began her business, Clutter Coach, when she discovered there were professionals who helped people organized their lives and their stuff. As the child of a packrat father and a neatnik mother, Claire knows both sides of the fence. Her calm and nonjudgmental approach in addition to her decluttering savvy have helped her clients accomplish organizing tasks they thought were impossible.

Her website, www.cluttercoach.net, is full of useful tips on organizing. She also writes a monthly newsletter that you may subscribe to for free on the website. You can email her at claire@cluttercoach.net. Claire currently serves as the newsletter editor for the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers.

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