January, 2003
Source: Pioneer Press
Keep Your New Year’s Resolution And Get Organized
Invariably there are small household projects we would find great satisfaction in completing. Yet, sometimes these projects linger either because there isn’t time to attack them or, more likely, we just keep putting them off. Who wants to spend a week or more of evenings organizing the basement or the garage? The better question is who wants to feel guilty for months for not doing it?
Now is your chance to attack a long awaited household project. Get it over with during the dark, cold days of January when the holiday celebrations are over and there appears nothing to look forward to except, perhaps, the joy of getting that organizational monkey off your back!
Make A Plan
First decide what project(s) you want to complete. Second, make a list of items you may need to actually complete the project. For instance, if your project is to organize your garage, look around and see what kinds of hooks, shelves or storage cabinets and bins would be best suited for the things you need to organize.
Next, consider the price, quality and function that are right for you. Where to buy these items depends on the scale and type of project undertaken. For large-scale projects like the garage or basement, consider Home Depot, the Container Store, Hold Everything or your local hardware store. For smaller areas like a closet or pantry, consider World Market for baskets, the Container Store for plastic or metal bins or Target.
The other alternative is to call your trusted handyman who would be happy to help you get organized. If you are planning to tackle a project like organizing your family photographs from the past decade, get an Exposures catalog and review the possibilities. Target may be a good alternative source for basic photo albums and storage boxes. The Container Store also has a good selection. Even Office Max may be worth a visit.
Make A Schedule
Make an implementation schedule for your project. Be realistic about how much time you can devote to a project given your regular obligations. Figure how much time you will have in one week. Next, estimate how long the project should take. Break the project down into various stages or parts and determine how many parts can be accomplished in one day or one week. The stages might include cleaning, sorting, labeling and assessing what would best hold certain items. If you will need outside help like a cleaning service, painter or handyman, make these arrangements.
Lay out your project schedule and put it on your calendar. Don’t give yourself too generous a time frame. The point is to be disciplined about this process so that you can accomplish your goal and be done with it. The quicker you can get this task behind you, the longer you’ll have to gloat about it.
Put Your Plan Into Action
Buy any items you need to complete your plan. Make any other arrangements that may be necessary for you to put your plan into action (like calling the handyman for those who are not do-it-yourselfers). If you have young children at home, this might be the time to cash in on any play-date credits you have or ask grandparents to help out on a day or two.
Now you are ready to go. If at all possible, complete the project in the next two months. This will give you the month of March to wish spring would come by the calendar. Most important, you will have actually kept one of your New Year’s resolutions.