Welcome to Day Two of the 31 Days of Organizing Tips series! I'm so glad you've joined me. Throughout this series I'll be sharing organizing ideas that I've found around the web that I love and that will help you on your journey from overwhelmed to organized. You'll find a complete list of all the posts in the 31 Days of Organizing Tips tab above, or at the end of this post.
Did you create your list of organizing projects yesterday and choose one or two that you want to start with? Great! {If not, go ahead and read yesterday's tip first and then come back!} The next step to getting organized is to plan your project.
It's important to assess what works with your current system so you can make sure you continue to incorporate that into your new organizational plan. You should also determine what is not working with the way you currently do things. Presumably there are some things in this category or you wouldn't be changing anything!
You may think you don't have a current system to evaluate, but in reality you do. Look at where the things you're looking to organize are now and how they get there. Whether it's paperwork, toys, or clothing, figure out what's happening with those things now and then decide how you want those things to be organized moving forward.
Knowing what your vision is will make it much easier to get organized and stay organized. Once you've worked out what you want to see happen you can plan the details that will help you get there (materials needed, time required, budget, and schedule). Sometimes you need to break a project down into smaller projects too.
To help you out with this planning stage, here is a planning document that I found online. It's from Ferly at Gifts We Use. Click here to see how she uses her planner and to download a free copy yourself (please pin from the original source!).
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| Room Organizing Planner Printable |
{Update: these printables are no longer available :( Here is a similar type of planning resource you can download though.}
The above picture shows parts of all four pages of the document. In her blog post you can see an example of each page filled in.
This planner is called a room organization planner but it could easily be adapted for any organizing project. If some of the categories don't apply to you, just skip them or create your own project planner tailored to how you work and think. The important thing is to take some time to plan!
I love that this document breaks down the planning process into smaller steps so there are no surprises along the way. It also includes an evaluation page to use when you're finished, because organizing is an ongoing adventure :)
For Day Two, print out this planner (or make your own) and plan out one of your organizing projects. If this seems overwhelming, start with something small like a junk drawer or linen closet. That will help you get used to the steps in planning a small project so you can build up to something larger.
Tomorrow I'll be looking at de-cluttering. It's such a huge part of getting organized, no matter what you are trying to organize! As the series progresses, I'll be sharing tips for various organizing challenges. I look forward to going through this series with you and hearing your tips too!
Have you used a project planner like this before? How did it work for you? What is the best organizing tip you've implemented?
Have a great day and happy organizing!
Here are all the posts in the series:
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