Organize + Energize: Peeling Back the Layers of an Organizing Project

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalWorcester Organizing Expert

If you are a disorganized person, you probably don’t function with working organized systems. You will find that throughout your home there are probably bags of random items, rooms full of stuff that haven’t been looked at in years and closets that are exploding at the seams. You are probably purchasing duplicate items because you don’t know exactly what you really have. You are also probably wasting precious time searching for things.

If there aren’t any organized systems in place, you are going to find that once you decide to tackle a project, there may be many layers to that project. I think it’s really funny when I’m working with my clients and their husbands will come home and say, “What have you been doing for the past 3 hours? It looks like nothing has been accomplished.”

If you are decluttering and organizing and taking the entire room apart, there are going to be layers, and at the end of 3 hours it may look like nothing has been accomplished. When there are layers to a room, your project is probably going to be a little more complicated than you thought. The contents of every bag, every piece of paper, article of clothing and anything else in that room will be touched and gone through piece by piece.

Why Do These Layers Form?

These layers form because when there aren’t any systems in place; people will throw items into a bag or throw them in a closet or a pile. Usually, if there aren’t systems in place, people don’t want to take the time to create the system so things will just get thrown. Before you know it, you have piles all over the house, in bags, in closets and some really important stuff is getting mixed in with the non-important stuff.

As you are peeling back the layers, nothing found is ever categorized so this process will also take a little time, because you are sorting through all types of random items.

What’s in the Layers?

Items that don’t have a designated spot in your home will get tossed in the layers. Anything that you don’t have a system for will get tossed in the layers. You’ll state that you will get to it later, but it gets tossed in a room and you will forget that you threw it in there and it will become part of the layers. There will be important papers, money, memorabilia, and some unimportant items too. How much time have you wasted searching for those items? How much money have you wasted purchasing duplicate items that were found in the layers?

Why Are The Layers So Overwhelming?

Talk to any disorganized person and they will state they are overwhelmed. Most organizing projects don’t get finished because once people start peeling back the layers to a room, it’s too overwhelming. If they had to organize a closet with just the clothes in it that they wore frequently, it probably wouldn’t be as overwhelming. Once you start organizing a room that has many different layers to it, people begin to shut down because it’s too much to handle at once. The different types of categories will send people into a cold sweat.

When you are organizing a room with different layers, you have to have a plan to tackle this room. You have to break the process down and tackle it piece by piece. You have to stay focused and limit your distractions. You can’t look at the entire room on a whole because you will get stressed, anxious, overwhelmed and nothing will get done. If you have to fill one bag a day and take it out of the room you are working in, I suggest you do that. It may be too overwhelming for you to sit in the room you are working in. Take one bag a day and go through it and make your categorized piles. Before you know it, the room will be cleared and you’ll be operating with a space that has a purpose with working organized systems.

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, the founder and owner of Organizing in RI, has always enjoyed finding creative ways to streamline the environment around her. She has appeared on air on Patricia Raskin's Positive Business Radio and her articles have been published in the Rhode Island Small Business Journal and New England Home Life. Kristin's CD, Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to start. She is also available for organizing workshops. Tune into her weekly radio show, Organize, Energize! on talkstreamradio.com.

Related Slideshow: 5 Organizing Blunders

Avoid these mistakes and your project will take less time than you expected. You won’t be as stressed or as overwhelmed as you anticipated. You will be amazed at what you have accomplished. You will be motivated and energized to tackle another project.

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Not planning ahead

Getting organized is a process and you have to have a plan on how to conquer your project. You can’t tear apart an entire room all at once. You need to break the project down into small pieces. Plan to tackle your project in 3-hour increments. If you work longer than 3 hours at a time, you are setting yourself up for burnout. Plan ahead to try to avoid distractions and stay focused.

Click here for more tips on how to avoid distractions.

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Purchasing the incorrect supplies

I know you are excited to get organized, but don’t rush out to the store and purchase products just because you like the way they look. Get organized first. Figure out what you need to contain, and then purchase your container to match the items you need it to hold.

Click here for more on choosing the right container.

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Not letting others know about your system

Once you set up the organized system, you have to get everybody in your home on board. Show them the systems and how you are going to function with this system going forward. Label everything if you must, so everybody gets in the habit of putting items away. Remember, the simpler the system, the easier it’s going to be to maintain.

Need help creating those systems? Go here.

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Not maximizing your space

Use every inch of space and use it well. Take everything out of the area you are organizing. You can’t get a clear visual of the space if it is filled with clutter. Shifting items around is not going to work.

Here are more tips on maximizing your space.

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Repeatedly clearing spaces

You are creating more work for yourself if you continue to clear spaces once a month. Create a system and allow everything in your home to have its own place, and you will never have to clear a space again.

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