It is with great pleasure I introduce to you a new member of our guest blogger program, Debbie Lillard.

As a Professional Organizer for the last 7 years, I usually get called in when a person is overwhelmed, at their wit’s end or when a situation has reached critical mass.  Everyone’s situations are different so my solutions are as varied as my clients.  However, there are some general rules or “absolutes” that I have found which organized people follow and disorganized people don’t.  I discuss these in my book “Absolutely Organized: A Mom’s Guide to a No-Stress Schedule and Clutter-Free Home.”  My reason for writing this book was to illustrate to people (specifically busy moms) that “You don’t have to live this way!”  If you are constantly running and never have time for yourself, if your house is in a constant state of disarray, if you are winging it every day without a clear idea of what happens next, know that it doesn’t have to be this way and you can change your situation.  Let’s talk about how and where to start.

The first thing you have to do is identify the worst or most out-of-control area of your life and start there.  Finish this sentence, “If I were more organized I could…” and let that become your goal and your motivation.  Write this down and post it somewhere you can see it every day. You may be motivated to have more quality time with your children, or have more time to yourself, or you may just want your house presentable enough to have company over, or organized enough to find what you need.  So decide what you want.  That’s the first step. Organized people are not afraid to make decisions and move on.

If your focus is on time management it’s important to organize your time from big to small, which means look at all you do in a given year. Write a list of all your big time commitments, then break it down by season.  Then you can look at a month, a week and a day.  You may find that you are doing one thing way too much and one way too little.  Think about the balance between work and family, your kids and your spouse, your family and yourself.  Plan activities that support your priorities, but don’t forget to leave yourself some down time.  On a micro level, create morning and evening routines that help you operate efficiently. To keep up with all you have to do and want to do, routines are a must.

In addition to your daily routines, there are usually  bigger “house projects” that every homeowner has on their TO DO list, even if that list is just in your head.  Make your dreams for your home a little more concrete by writing them down. I suggest doing a walk through your home with your spouse and taking a copy book.  Think about the function of each room and make sure what is in that room supports the functions.  As you go to each room, write down what you need or want to do in there.  This becomes your plan book.  Put a timeline on the projects even if it’s just a season (Example:  landscape in the fall, update kitchen in the summer, etc) Set your budget and then prioritize the projects based on season, what you can afford or which is the most critical work to have done.  When you complete one room, move on to the next one.  Always finish one thing before you start another – that’s one of my absolutes!

Sometimes a project is smaller than a room and only involves an area or a category of stuff you want to organize.  For this type of organizing, try a little “CPR.” This is my organizing method which stands for:  CATEGORIZE, PURGE, and RE-ARRANGE. If you have a category all over the house, (like paperwork or photographs) bring it all into one room so you can see the scope of the project. Make your categories general at first and only make subcategories if one pile gets too big.  Purging involves recycling, donating and trashing items that you no longer need, want or use.  Re-arranging involves deciding where an item should be kept and actually moving it to the right room or container.  Many people make the mistake of buying containers first and trying to make their stuff fit.  I recommend only buying new containers when you know exactly what size and type you need.

Paperwork is one specific area where most of my clients need help.  Now is a great time to clean out the old and make a system for the new paper coming in.  As you are gathering what you need for your taxes, clean out your files and create new ones if necessary.  Start with general categories and only create specific ones or subcategories if one file gets too big. When new paper comes into your house or office each day, categorize it into 3 piles:  TO DO, TO READ, TO FILE. The rest can be recycled. Then move these piles to a place where you will handle them.

If the thought of organizing is stressing you out, don’t try to do it on your own.  Involve your family, a friend or call a professional organizer (www.napo.net ) I try to make clean outs a fun family event by scheduling the time, putting on some music or setting a timer.  Then we all get rewarded after the clean out is done.  As you look at your organized room this should be your inspiration to keep going!  So many of my clients tell me once we finish a room, they just keep going back to it to enjoy it. Once the project is done, the process of maintaining involves straightening daily, cleaning weekly and cleaning out on a seasonal basis.

Debbie Lillard is a Professional Organizer serving the Philadelphia area
since 2003. Since starting her business, she has appeared on several
episodes of HGTV’S Mission Organization as well as national radio talk
shows.  She is a published author and nationally recognized expert on
organization in the home.  She is also an active member of the National
Association of Professional Organizers Greater Philadelphia Chapter
(NAPO-GPC). For more information on Debbie, please visit:

http://www.spacetospare.com/