Organize Your Life. Organize Your Home. Organize Your Desk.

Learn how to organize your life, organize your home, and organize your desk. Here are some great executive function strategies to keep your organization in check from Sara Wiener Consulting located in Bend Oregon. 

Is your life full of messes? Do you feel like your brain is full of a mess like the one on your desk, in your bedroom, and in the kitchen?
 
It’s true. The mess in your space reflects the mess in your brain. And vise versa. Let’s fix that!

First of all, let’s talk about stuff. You have a lot of it. It’s everywhere. There are piles on the floor in every room. Your counters have piles, your tables have piles, and your kids’ rooms are a disaster. How do you begin to fix this mess? Take a deep breath and come with me….
 
Start out by grabbing at least three to five tubs, boxes or grocery bags. Label each one with the words:

• Keep
• Garbage
• Recycle
• Take to thrift store
• Other

 
Now, take a photograph of your piles, your office/desk, your counters, your bedroom floor- whatever you decide to tackle first.
 
Next, set a kitchen timer or the timer on your phone or watch, for 20 minutes.
 
If you take a photo of your office/desk, this is the best place to start. Begin by putting each item on the desk into one of the bags. Continue this for 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, take another photo so you can compare and see the progress you have already made. Take a five-minute break and come back and set the timer for another 20 minutes. Once the desk is cleaned up and you can actually see it, tackle the piles on the floor.
 
Key idea: If you are cleaning off the desk and there are several files that need to be put back into the filing cabinet, put them in right when you pick them up off the desk. Do not set them down anywhere else. Do it now.
 
This is called, OHIO- Only Handle It Once. This is the most important tool you will learn when it comes to being organized and not messy. Touch an item once and place it where it belongs. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.00. If you do this enough times, you can give yourself a $200.00 prize for your success!
 
Only work on organizing one room for a total of one hour at a time. You don’t want to overdo it and say that it was so awful you’ll never do it again. We want success. Small steps lead to great changes with time.
 
I challenge you to repeat the above steps a few days or a week later in one of your other rooms. You will find that it is quite satisfying and you may just decide to do the whole house!
 
Remember, OHIO is your best friend. Teach this concept to your partner, kids, office mates, everyone. It’s also really helpful to post an OHIO sign with big bold letters on the wall where you will see it.
 
Someday you might just tackle your files and really get organized!
 
To learn more executive function strategies please follow our blog. If you’d like to ask me questions about how to organize your home and your stuff contact Sara Wiener Consulting located in Bend Oregon at sara@sarawienerconsulting.com.