Getting Organized

So as part of my 2011 plan to work smarter, not harder I think a good starting point should be to get organized. Ultimately the idea of working smarter is about being more efficient. It is really about using my time more efficiently. The best way to do that is to start off from a well organized, efficient space.

Right now I can honestly say that my house is very disorganized. A few things have a place but many things do not have a permanent home. We have major drop zones where things tend to collect, like bills, toys, laundry. They languish there until someone gets sick and tired of stepping over them or shoving them to the side -- that person is usually me. It is hard for my girls to put their toys away when there is really not one specific, designated spot for the toys. I think all this clutter in my physical world is cluttering my mind. I have long wanted to declutter and get organized but it is an overwhelming tasks when you are doing it for the entire house and everyone who lives here. Complicating the matter is that we have a friends stuff still in our basement and my husband has office stuff at home ( all over the house because we haven't found a permanent home for it yet). The plan is to make the basement a kid zone,  with toys,  play area and a T.V area.

So since January is usually when people start getting organized I thought this would be the perfect time for me to tackle this task. I think it is fair to say this task will likely take me all month to tackle. We have a four bedroom house with a basement and a home office so there are lots of spaces that are cluttered in our home.  This week I am tackling just the general, daily clutter and mess. I reorganized the kitchen counters on Monday.  I moved things around, to what I think is a more efficient set up. I gave myself a bit more working counter space. I also started to organize the bathrooms. I cleaned and decluttered the counter tops. I figure if the spaces are tidy and clean then I can start the hard work of streamlining and decluttering ( by that I mean getting rid of things that we don't use) and then really making our house an efficient and workable and organized home.

This week I am also going to start going through receipts and old bills. We seem to have kept every receipt known to man - many of which should really be filed in the trash. I am going to sort them and drop them in file folders and ship them off to the accountant. I will get organized for tax time -- something that we have fallen behind on -- and also clean up the office area. I think that if I had a clean, tidy and beautiful work space to write in I would be more production and creative.

Being cluttered and disorganized is cluttering my mind and holding me back from being truly happy and successful. Life could be so much easier and less stressful if everything has a place. Imagine how easy it would be to get the kids out the door in the morning if everyone knew where to find their coats, boots, mitts, backpacks and car keys. I hope to start crossing some things off my to do list on the road to working smarter not harder. I will update you on how I am doing. I also hope to learn some tips and tricks along the way that I will share with you.  And if you have tips you want to share with me  I would love that. Anything that can help reach my goal faster would be greatly appreciated.