Organize 365 Podcast

Most of us like to form our own opinions about what maintenance means to us. On the podcast, we talk a lot about the cycle of getting organized and increasing productivity. But what about the maintenance stage of your organizational journey? What does it really mean to maintain something? According to the good old dictionary, maintenance is the process of maintaining or preserving a condition or situation or the state of being preserved. While this gives us more clarity on the meaning of maintenance, it doesn't dive into the details or tell us how it equates to the maintenance of our homes. As we go through the 100 Day Home Organization Program and declutter and organize each space in our homes for the third or even fourth time, we enter a phase of maintenance which I want to unpack with you in this episode of the podcast. What Maintenance Looks Like In The Physical Areas Of Your Home If you asked me what stage of the organizational journey I'm currently in, I would say I'm living in maintenance. I don't do much. Everything in my house is decluttered and organized (I am a professional organizer, after all). But that doesn't mean I don't do the dishes or laundry. I still have non-organizational, cleaning related tasks to do just like anyone else. I still have to put things away at the end of the day. However, once you've decluttered and organized your entire house, it usually stays organized. One reason why your house might not stay organized is because of the kids. I don't mean just the toddlers either. No matter what age they are, kids are like little chaos creators. They tumble through the house like mini tornadoes and just have a way of messing things up. But if your kids tend to mess up their own rooms and the joint family rooms but stay out of your storage room and master bedroom, etc., the work you've done to get the majority of your home organized is probably well maintained. To me, living an organized life that's maintained is when you reach the end of the day and you don't have to start decluttering and organizing everything. All you have to do is pick things up and put them back to where they go. It's simple. In the podcast, I dive deeper into... Maintenance In Different Seasons Of Life Maintenance In Everyday Home Life What Does Maintenance Mean With Your Paper? One thing that you need to come to grips with when it comes to organizing is that your home will never be perfect. Perfect is not the end goal here. The end goal is to live a more organized and functional life and being able to maintain it as a result. View the full post here: https://organize365.com/what-is-maintenance/

Your inner thoughts can have a serious impact on your state of mind. If you see the world through a darkened lens, that negative way of thinking can quickly become a way of life. When I tell people that I used to be the queen of negativity, they find it hard to believe. I've since adopted a more positive outlook on life which I talk about in episode 261 of the podcast, My Personal Seven-Year Transformation. Nowadays, thinking positively comes easy to me. I like to think about negative thoughts as weeds in our mind. Weeds that need to be pulled out from the roots. If the garden of your mind has become overgrown with persistent weeds that you can't clear, it's time to tackle the root of the problem. When I gave myself the quest to declutter my negative thoughts, I did three things. First, I realized how negative I was. Second, I replaced anything negative in my life with a positive difference. And finally, I eliminated all the ways that negativity was coming into my life. In this episode, I reveal the steps you can take to overcome your negative mindset and start living a more positive and happy life. Ready to say goodbye to negative thoughts? In this week's podcast, I cover these 3 points: 1. Be honest with yourself 2. Replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts 3. Eliminate the negativity I hope that these tips help you to declutter your negative thoughts so that you can start living a happier life with a positive outlook. The more I press into this, the more I truly believe that we are in control of our thoughts and feelings. You can literally design any future you can imagine. Have you ever cut something negative out of your life and replaced it with something positive? Let me know over on Instagram or Facebook, I'd love to hear from you! View the full post here: https://organize365.com/negative-thoughts/

Whenever spring hits, do you feel like you're in a mad rush to get everything organized? I know I do. I've often talked about the fact that I like to divide my year into three trimesters. Each one is carefully planned and, although it starts out completely organized, it ends in a chaotic whirlwind. If you feel like you're caught in an enormous tornado of tasks, not unlike the one from The Wizard of Oz, I want to help you step out of the chaos. Focusing on what's important and finding more planning time to eliminate some of the to-dos from your list will help you lead a more peaceful life. In this episode, I reveal why you need an admin day. An entire day where you can go through your Sunday Basket and knock tasks off your list in one epic swoop. Why You Need An Admin Or Errand Day If you're anything like me, you'll discover a lot of administrative tasks when you go through your Sunday Basket. Things like forms that need to be scanned, scheduling doctor's appointments, emails that need your attention, and so on. The only problem is that a lot of these things can't be done on a Sunday. The doctor's office is closed, so you can't call up to make an appointment. Before you know it, you've got a stack of administrative tasks or errands you need to do on a different day other than Sunday. This is why you need to assign an administrative or errand day (or both!). An errand day is when you take a full day to do your errands. You're probably in the car going from one place to the next. An administrative day is when you're at home (probably in front of the computer) and you're plowing through things that can't be done on Sunday. If you're new to Organize 365, you're likely wondering why I talk about Sunday's so much. Well, it's because I have this thing called The Sunday Basket System. This is where you can defer all your ideas, mail, paper, forms, and to-dos into a pretty box that sits on your kitchen counter. Each Sunday, you systematically go through the basket. To find out more about the Sunday Basket and how it can help corral all your kitchen counter papers and to-dos, click here. Getting Organized In Each Trimester On the Sunday before the start of each trimester, I go through my Sunday Basket as normal. I pay the bills, update my calendar, and all the rest. But there will also be an exorbitant list of things that I can't get done on Sunday. I need a full workday for these things. And you might, too. If you work nine to five for somebody else, finding the time during the week for these things can be tricky. But, it's totally worth it to take a vacation day to do this. You can get a lot done with just one day off work. So, the next time you do your Sunday Basket at the busiest times of the year, I want you to do something slightly different. Instead of putting everything that can wait until next Sunday, keep everything in front of you in a pile. You'll probably have a lot of index cards and papers you've repeatedly put back into the Sunday Basket and that's okay. In previous podcasts, we talked about eliminating such pockets altogether in what I like to call Sunday Basket 3.0. We also talked about decluttering obligations out of your Sunday Basket, and now we're going to get into clearing all of the things you've been putting off time and time again. Creating Your "Brain Dump" List To help organize your time, I suggest making two lists. One for all the errands you need to get done and another for all the administrative tasks list. Or, you can combine the two. So over on the errand list, you might have things like buy the end of year teacher gift, post that parcel to your mother in law, and things like that. The administrative list will be home to tasks like changing your passwords, replying to emails, making phone calls, and so on. Make the biggest list you possibly can. Next, start crossing things off that you really don't want or need to do. Then, grab a pencil (yes, we're going old school for this one) and write down how long each task is going to take to complete. When you've got that done, add up all that time to figure out how long you'll need to complete the entire list. If it's going to take you five hours, you'll need to set five hours aside during the week to get those things done. You might find that some things will take time and money that you just don't have or want to invest in right now. That's okay. Just cross it off your list. Now that you have your lists cut down, it's time to prioritize the tasks on the list in order. That way, you know what's the most important things that need to get done compared to the things at the bottom of the list that you can probably do later. You'll end up with a concrete list or plan that you can follow on your admin or errand day. Give it a try! Go through your Sunday Basket, do a big brain dump, and make a list of everything you want to get done. Then, set an admin or errand day and work like a trooper to get everything on that list done. If you decide to have your own errand or administrative day, I'd love to hear how you got on! Follow me on Instagram and join the Facebook group for more great organizing tips. Don't forget to share your photos with me by tagging me @organize365 or using #organize365! Full the full post here: https://organize365.com/adminday/

When our life gets unorganized, we tend to blame outside sources such as our spouse, our lack of money, not having enough time, and so on. But the truth is that your cluttered life (and home) has nothing to do with any of that. Those are just the things we like to think are holding us back. What's really holding us back from living a more organized life is having a plan to achieve that life. If you've tried to get organized in the past and failed time and time again, you're in the right place. Today's podcast is designed to help get you organized and decluttered once and for all. Before we dig into the good stuff, I need you to download this fun worksheet to follow along with the podcast. We have ALL been unorganized at some point in our lives... even me. Before I turned 40 back in 2012, I reached the most unorganized stage of my life. My home was so cluttered, it was tearing at the seams. My "epiphany" moment hit me on a random afternoon when I came home with a few bags of groceries and realized I had nowhere to put anything that I bought. The fridge was packed and some of the things in there were way past their expiration dates. The cupboards were the same. But the madness wasn't confined to my kitchen. Oh no. The clutter rampage had spread throughout my entire home. Every drawer was a junk drawer. So, I sat down and made a list of every single space that needed to be organized and I spent the next 100 days organizing. I needed to regain control of my house and my life. It wasn't easy, but I got there, and now I want to help you do the same. Sometimes life just gets moving too fast and we literally get run over. Unfortunately, it is not a matter of if this will happen, it is a matter of WHEN. And when it does, it takes a herculean effort to get back up and get organized again. Many of you ask me... "How do you know what I am thinking or what my house looks like?" Well, because we have all been there. I know you feel like no one has ever ended up with their house as disorganized as yours, but we ALL have. And after analyzing when and why this happens, I have actually determined that there are some key seasons in your life where almost everyone will feel like you do today... In the podcast today, I unpack... 1. What's your why. 2. What season of life are you in. 3. Understanding the Cycle of Organization. And why we can get organized in one phase of life and everything seems to fall apart as you move from one phase to the next. Now is The Best Time to Get Organized :) Don't roll your eyes at me! You know you are itching to clean out the garage, wash everything in sight, and declutter! And you will... for a weekend. And then you will fall back into your daily routines and stop your organizational efforts. It is not you. It is totally normal! But do you want ordinary? Or are you ready for EXTRAORDINARY? Living an organized and productive life is extraordinary! The 100 Day Home Organization Program is your plan to move from an ordinary reactive life to an extraordinarily productive life. Sign up! We start on Monday! View the full post here: http://organize365.com/3reasons/

I received an email the other day and it honestly had me in tears. It was from a listener of the podcast who reached out to thank me for being so open and honest about the struggles of motherhood in episode 261, "My Personal Seven-Year Transformation." She also talked about her own challenges that she faces on a daily basis as a mother of three boys, one of whom was born with a very rare, life-threatening disease. As you can imagine, she is not your everyday mother. What many of you find normal, she does not. You ARE The Mother That Your Children Need The subject line of this email read, "All I ever wanted to be was a mom." When I first read that, I was immediately hooked. As many of you know if you've been listening to the podcast for a while, I shared the same dream when I was younger. I always wanted to be a mother and I knew I could relate to the sender almost immediately. We all have an idea of who we will be as a mother. But, more often than not, that vision never comes into view. I am keenly aware many of you have never been able to birth a child... like me. Which makes posts like these about parenting, or announcements about our Mother's Day coupons, hard to hear. It is also why the 100 Day Home Organization Program doesn't organize kids, it organizes YOU... any woman in any size dwelling. For me, when I found out I couldn't get pregnant, I hit a roadblock and it almost floored me. But, I steered off that path and made a new path to motherhood. My own path. Adoption turned out to be my road to motherhood and I wouldn't have it any other way. Motherhood Is Never What We Anticipate... Easy Or Hard Let me share a few lines from her email: "Our boys are not typical. Our oldest was born with a very rare disease and will most likely not make it to 18. Each time he gets a cold or any type of illness, it can cause brain damage. He has spent a good portion of his life in the hospital as we fight to give him the best chance he has." As you can imagine, not many mothers prepare themselves for such a heart-breaking and difficult roadblock. How can you prepare for something like that? You can't. It's so easy to doubt your ability as a mother, but you ARE the mother your child needs you to be. Motherhood might not look or feel the way you thought it would. But it doesn't matter. This is your story as a mother, and you are the mother that your children need. Parenting A Child With Additional Needs Whether your child has learning or physical disabilities, your role as a mother becomes so much harder when faced with more than the everyday parenting challenges. For me, the hardest part of mothering was stepping into and owning the mother my children needed me to be and not the mother that I thought I would be. If you are struggling with the weight of your mothering right now, listen to this week's podcast. Don't let society's expectation and what everyone else is doing change how you view your child, your relationship with your child, and what your child needs. You've got this and I'm right there behind you. Happy Early Mother's Day! Still looking for a gift for your mom or what to ask for yourself? We created Mother's Day coupons you and your family can use to give the perfect Organize 365 gift! View the full post here: https://organize365.com/not-normal-parenting/

Do you ever feel like you've got too much on your plate? Sometimes, we can be so focused on making things more organized, efficient, and productive that we forget to pull the brakes. Do we really need to do all the jobs we're doing? If you've been listening to the last few episodes of the podcast, you'll notice that I've talked about shifting mindsets and changing habits a lot lately. We revealed how you can eliminate your to-do list, and what an organized life feels like. We also uncovered the Sunday Basket 3.0, which isn't a new product, but a new way of tackling your Sunday Basket when you're a seasoned pro. Now we've reached the fourth episode of this mini four-part series, where I talk about decluttering jobs and obligations. You know, the things that have loomed over our heads for weeks and we really don't want to do. You might feel like you don't have a good enough reason to get rid of them, which is why they've stuck around for so long. But, I'm here to help you kick the guilt monster out and shut the door on some of those jobs that you just don't care about anymore. So, if you want to finally declutter those jobs and obligations that have gathered dust at the back of your mind, tune into this episode and find out how to: Take a step back and evaluate your current obligations Identify your unique vs. competent abilities Eliminate tasks from your calendar And the controversial one... How to break away from a direct sales company. I received a question about how to quit direct sales. It was a loaded question, but I could really relate to it because as many of you know, I used to work in direct sales. I loved it at the time. But I reached a point in my life and business where I knew I had to break away from direct sales. Even though you work for a direct sales company, it doesn't mean you're obligated to stay until you're old and gray. You're a unique person with a unique gift and ability. Don't sell your soul to any company. You don't know what's going on behind closed doors. A company, no matter what size it is, will always put their best interests first. So, you should do the same and put yourself first, too. I talk about all this in more detail in the podcast, but what I will say is that if you think now is the time to leave your direct sales gig, or any job for that matter, you're probably right. Ask yourself if you were asked to re-join the same company all over again, would you say yes? If not, it's time to pack your bags and move on. It's Okay To Say No It's time to eliminate jobs and obligations from your calendar that you just don't want to do anymore. Remember – it's okay to say NO. No can be a complete sentence if you want and need it to be. If you decide to eliminate things from your calendar using any of my suggestions, I'd love to know how it went for you and how many things you managed to eliminate? Follow me on Instagram to follow our adventures at the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention this weekend! Registration for the next round of the 100 Day Home Organization Program is OPEN!! And.. we now have PAYMENT PLANS! I'd love for you to join us! View the full post here: https://organize365.com/decluttering-jobs-obligations/

A few weeks ago in my regular Facebook LIVE on Tuesday mornings for the women in the 100 Day Home Organization Program, I started to expound on and articulate how I have moved into a new level of using my Sunday Basket. The first thing you need to know about Sunday Basket 3.0 is that it is not a physical product. Lisa, what do you mean it's not an actual product? You got me pumped up for nothing! Hold on! I say it's not a physical product because it's an evolution of the original Sunday Basket System you already have. If you're not familiar with the Sunday Basket Club or the Sunday Basket System, let me explain real quick… A Mini Lesson On Sunday Baskets The Sunday Basket is a system for processing ongoing household projects and developing a weekly routine of collecting, processing, and maintaining it all in one place. You start with a basket. Well, it's more of a box but kind of looks and operates like a basket, hence the name. You can buy the Complete Sunday Basket System for $97.00 and receive all the necessary workshop materials you need. This includes two sets of slash pockets called the 1.0 and 2.0 slash pockets. With the 1.0 slash pockets, you get red, orange, yellow, green, and blue slash pockets. Everything you put into these slash pockets are things that need to get done this week. So, any errands, events or bills, etc. that need to be completed this week will go inside the 1.0 slash pockets. The 2.0 slash pockets are monochromatic and include five pink, five blue, five green, and five purple slash pockets. With the 2.0 slash pockets, each color represents a category. So, purple is for anything household related, blue is for family members, green is for financial, and pink is for your own hopes, dreams, projects, and goals. When Sunday rolls around, you take everything out of the basket and sort through what you'll do this Sunday and what can wait until next Sunday. Eliminating Things From Your Sunday Basket When your home is organized, you'll generally have a lot less to do in terms of organizing. Another gift that leading a more organized life will give you is TIME. Time to do a puzzle in the evening, give the dog a second walk around the block, and time for yourself. But, when you have all this free time, many of you talk about feeling guilty. It's like if you're not doing something "proactive" and productive, you're lazy or even selfish (which is crazy!). One rule of the Sunday Basket System is if it can wait until next Sunday, it must wait until next Sunday. But, what if something in the basket can always wait until next Sunday? Do you keep it moving onto the following week for months or even years? Well… you can if you want to. But if you want to get it out of the way, I suggest picking a time during the day or week to work on it and do it then. The more you live an organized life, the fewer things you'll have in your Sunday Basket. If you become a seasoned pro like me, you might not even need all the slash pockets in the Sunday Basket anymore. But getting to that stage of eliminating things from your basket will take time. And, as each task is completed and each week you're organizing more and more, you'll receive an extra gift of time each week. So, what does all of this have to do with the Sunday Basket 3.0? The Sunday Basket 3.0 is about eliminating things out of your Sunday Basket that are no longer serving you or that you just don't want to do anymore (or ever). Deciding What To Do With Your Free Time When you are in the process of eliminating your to-do list and moving to the Sunday Basket, you develop the habit of writing down every idea that you have in your head onto index cards. You're also continuing to defer those things until the following Sunday when you can. This process helps you to make the decision if you're going to do it at all, and if so, when. For the most part though, you can knock out a lot of your index cards on Sunday. You may have to set time aside to do some of the things during the week and then anything that can be put off until later goes into your 2.0 slash pockets, which are for projects. If you're in a stage similar to me where your kids are grown up and everything's pretty much taken care of, you'll have all this time you don't know what to do with. Can you relate? If so, here's a little challenge for you… Think back to when you were a teenager. What did you like doing? How did you spend your free time? I hope you can come up with something because let me tell you, I can't. I always wanted to be a mom. I got a teaching degree because I knew it would help me when I did have kids. But, after I got married, we realized we couldn't have kids. So, we adopted. My entire life has been about wanting kids and being a mom. And, I did it all. But now the kids are grown up and my "mommying" is kind of over. So, now what should I do with my free time? I have no idea. Well, that's not totally true. I like doing puzzles. Yes, I'm like a retired old lady, but you know what? Those guys in the retirement homes are up to their eyeballs in puzzles. They have a library, and they get their dinner made for them each day. Plus, they're surrounded by their friends, and they don't even have to go outside if they don't want to. To me (a.k.a someone that doesn't like nature all that much), that sounds like a dream. So, yeah… I guess when "I grow up," I want to be retired and doing all the puzzles in the world. The Sunday Basket 3.0 So, when you reach the stage where your house is organized, and you've entered the Sunday Basket 3.0 era, it's okay to have projects in there that you have no intention of doing. Just get rid of them. You don't have to stick to the same projects you wanted to do before you got organized. Heck, you don't have to pick up the same projects you wanted to do yesterday! It's OKAY. Just because you had a passion for something before, it doesn't mean it has to be your passion for the rest of your life. Passions aren't always forever. Sometimes, a passion hangs around for a season and then it transitions into something new. And, that's okay! So, the next time you go through your Sunday Basket, and you sort through your 2.0 slash pockets, ask yourself if you still have the passion and desire to do that thing at all. If not, it's time to say goodbye and move on! No guilt necessary! Are you in the Sunday Basket 3.0 stage yet? Let me know over on Instagram or Facebook and tell me, what are some of the things you like to do just for the fun of it? Any puzzle fans out there? View the full post here: https://organize365.com/sunday-basket-3-0/

I talk about organizing a lot on the podcast (it's called Organize 365 after all!). I've covered everything from discovering your why to the Psychology of the Sunday Basket and how to know Which Workbox is Right for You? But surprisingly, I've never addressed what living an organized life actually feels like... until now! In this episode, I reveal what an organized life really looks like. No unrealistic expectations. No idealistic dreams. None of that. Just an honest look behind the curtain of an everyday, organized life. Setting Realistic Expectations I'll be honest with you. There was a rather delusional time in my life when I pictured a perfectly organized life to mirror Martha Stewart's. You know, with everything neatly packed into pretty containers, angelic children floating around the house, and waking up to an adorable puppy licking my nose as he waits for his morning walk. Like I said, delusional. Once I started to declutter and really focus on living a more organized life, my previous expectations were, for lack of a better phrase, shot to hell. I realized that you're never going to have everything you want just perfect. You can drive yourself crazy trying, but it's like trying to reach the end of the rainbow. It's never going to happen. The sooner you get rid of unrealistic expectations and focus on the achievable, the sooner you can start living not only a more organized life, but a happier one, too. In the podcast I explore... How an Organized Life Looks Different in Each Stage of Life How an Organized Life is Being "Company Ready" How Living an Organized Life is Having More TIME So, what does an organized life feel like? An organized life feels like all your basic needs are met and all of the things in your house are done. And then the real work of stepping up to who you were uniquely created to be takes center stage. THAT is what I want to see. WHO were YOU uniquely created to be and give to this world? It sounds so Oprah like, but it is for YOU, too. It is my greatest fulfillment in life to have found the time to create a curated program for you to get your home organized to free up your time so I can see what your unique gift is to the world. Thanks for letting me be a part of your journey! PS - If you are stuck in your organizing and are not sure why, I'd love for you to join me in my masterclass this month: 3 Reasons You Can't Get Organized And What To Do About It. View the full post here: https://organize365.com/what-living-an-organized-life-feels-like/

Last week, we talked about why it's impossible to be behind when you're organizing. We covered how organizing will always pay you in time and finished with a discussion about why you should aim for progress, not perfection. Shifting your mindset to focus on progress rather than perfection takes practice. We become so obsessed with ticking off every task on our to-do lists that we lose sight of the progress we've made. A few of you recently messaged me and asked me to talk about how you can change the way you structure and plan your time. It's easy to let your to-do list control your time and how you spend it, which is only part of the reason why I think it is time to eliminate your to-do list. Yes, you read that right. Eliminate your to-do list. Don't re-prioritize it. Don't take tasks off and move them onto next week's to-do list. I want you to take your to-do list, hold it up and set a flame to it (you know, hypothetically). You might not know this about me, but it's been 18 months since I wrote out and completed my last to-do list. I just don't need it anymore. If you want to join me over here in the (almost) stress-free zone with more free time than you know what to do with and no to-do lists to worry about, this is the podcast episode you've been waiting for! How I Got Rid of My To-Do List There was a time in my life when I lived for my to-do list. Or rather, I lived through my to-do list. I would list everything I needed to get done that day and, like most of you, ticked them off one by one as I completed each task. When a task was left unfinished, I carried it onto my to-do list for the next day. It helped me to get things done, most of the time. But I found myself constantly referring to my list throughout the day, so much so that it honestly felt like I couldn't live without it. To go from that level of dedication to a to-do list to not having one at all is quite the turnaround, don't you think? The funny thing is, I didn't even realize I didn't have a to-do list anymore until people started asking me for advice on what to do with theirs. As someone who had an answer for every question about organizing, I was stumped. Then, of course, I had the "a-ha!" moment when I suddenly realized I was living my life without a to-do list. And, you know what? The world didn't stop spinning. I didn't lose focus, and my productivity levels were better than ever. At some point over the last seven years, I went from being depressed, overweight and in debt to feeling much happier, thinner and debt-free. But it didn't happen overnight. It took a lot of small steps, and one of those steps was ditching the to-do lists. I can't wait for you to email me and let me know that you too have ditched your to-do list! PS - Do you feel stuck in your organizing? Sign up for the April FREE Masterclass, 3 Reasons You Can't Get Organized & What to do about it Masterclass here. PPS - We just made our BIGGEST announcement of 2019... You can now buy the 100 Day Home Organization Program and ALL ACCESS with PAYMENT PLANS! View the full post here: https://organize365.com/stop-to-do-list/

Do you ever feel like you're behind in your organizing routine? Maybe you went on a sunny vacation and came back with a stack of mail to sort? Or, perhaps you skipped a few days in the 100 Day All Home Program? You might feel anxious, worried, or even a little guilty. But, here's the truth… After you start, it's physically impossible for you to be behind in organizing. Don't believe me? Listen to this episode of the Organize 365 podcast to find out why your organizing journey is more like an endless escalator than a staircase with an infinitive first and last step. The Organizational Journey To put all of this into perspective, I want you to think about organizing in a similar way to how a baby learns to crawl, walk, and run. In the beginning, a baby will learn how to crawl on the floor. In organization land, this is basically you when you're decluttering your house. Next, the baby might stand up and take a few steps while holding onto furniture for support. This is when you've reached out for help and taken the first steps in organizing (congratulations, by the way!). Maybe you signed up for the 100 Day All Home Program, or perhaps you hired a professional organizer to help you out. It's all going well because you've got that extra support and encouragement. Eventually, the baby lets go of the coffee table and starts taking its first steps on its own. Granted, they're wobbly steps, and the baby looks a little like a duckling with its bottom stuck out and arms flying everywhere. But, at least they're finally walking unaided, right? Sure, they might fall a lot but they're making progress, just like you. When you "go it alone," you might stumble and even feel like giving up at times. But you'll get there. Soon, you'll organize all the main areas of your life so well that when you return to re-organize them the following year, it won't take you half as long. As you go through your organizational journey, your skills, or "organizational muscles" as I like to call them, will continue to develop and grow. And, like the baby in this analogy, eventually you'll start running. Organizing is Hard. Productivity is Fun! In Episode 251, I talked about the fact that decluttering is easy. Organizing is hard. And, productivity is fun! Once you've got the hang of things and you start building your organizational muscles, you'll become so much more productive. Remember that organization is a learned skill. You can't learn it overnight. When you first start decluttering like a mad woman, you'll be left with things that you're not sure if you want to keep or not. The things that you do want to keep will need to go into containers. At this stage of your organizing journey, you've swapped your declutter hat for a productive one instead. When you go through the 100 Day Home Organization Program for the first time, it can be a bit overwhelming. You'll get a lot done in your first round. You'll declutter the house, and by the time you're done, you'll think, well, that should do it for another five or 10 years! The truth is that you'll never be done organizing! In fact, I'd go as far as saying that it's not until the second or even third time through the 100 Day Home Organization Program that you start having those big "ah-ha!" moments. You'll discover that organizing your kitchen for the second time with the program is so much easier and fluent than the first time. You'll have productive formulas and routines in place for your paper. And, because your processes are more streamlined, you'll be able to get a lot more done in that 100-day time frame. Snap Photos of your Progress When you're in the middle of organizing everything, it's tough for your mind to see the progress you're making. So, grab your camera and snap a few before and after shots. Give yourself that instant gratification of seeing what things looked like before your inner organizing ninja got to work. You don't need to show anybody the photos if you don't want to. They can be there for you to look back at on those terrible days when you feel like you're never going to be organized. Whenever you feel that way, you can look back at the photos and see how far you've come. You'll know that you have made real progress, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. Be proud of yourself. You've decided to start living a more organized life. You've put the gears in motion, and you're building organizational muscles. That is something to be proud of. On a side note… If you do decide to share your before and after photos, I'd love to see them on Instagram! Please remember to tag me @organize365! Organizing Pays You In Time In Episode 269, I talked about the time, money, motivation trifecta that's necessary for change. Organization always gives you more time. It doesn't pay in cash, but it does give you the time you need to balance other areas in your life. When you've got more time because you don't need to spend hours organizing paper, you can put that time to better use. The 100 Day All Home Program is designed to give you the freedom to live your best life without worrying about organizing your home 24/7. It gives you the tools you need to make a lasting, incremental organizational change in your home throughout the seasons. Once you complete the program, you'll find that the areas in your home where you spend most of your time are all better organized. But, when you're in the heart of the action all the time, it's easy to look around and think about all the areas lacking the standard of organized heaven that you were reaching for. But, if you take a closer look, you'll realize that you've come a long way since taking those first baby steps. Your organizational muscles are growing. By the time you do the 100 Day Organization Program for the second or third time, you'll find areas that you perhaps didn't address the first time. And, you'll realize that organizing comes a lot more naturally to you now. Don't aim for perfection, aim for progress! Realize that reaching the perfect organized life takes time. It's not instantaneous. But, even by taking that first baby step, you're already ahead of the game. You're one step closer to living a more organized life that gives you the time you need to live your best life.