You’ve done it! You finally finished organizing your (fill in the blank – files, pantry, closet, etc.). It feels so good! You are glad the project is finished.
But wait a minute. It is really not “finished”. It needs a maintenance plan. Just like laundry or dirty dishes are not “done” forever, neither is your finished project. When you finish working on any organizational project you need a plan to keep it organized.
Let’s look at some examples:
If you have finished setting up your filing system and everything is now filed neatly away. You need to have a plan in place to keep those files working. When paper comes in, it should go in a file immediately – do not lay it down on your desk “just for now”. Papers should either be trashed, shredded, or filed. If you don’t have time to do more than a rough sort now, have in place a landing pad and schedule a time to work on emptying it. At least yearly have a time scheduled to go through your files and empty out what is now redundant or not needed.
Your pantry is beautiful! All expired foods have been disposed and your goods are nicely lined up, in containers, labeled, and reachable. Now, every time you come home form the store, put all your pantry items away correctly. Don’t just put them in the pantry wherever there is a space. Have all the soups in one space, all canned fruit, all pasta, etc. It should look like the shelves at the store. If you bought a can of tomato soup and you already have a can of tomato soup, the new can should stand behind the old one, so your foods are rotated. At least once a year, schedule a time to take items out of your pantry, clean it out, and check expiration dates.
Your bedroom closet is a sight to behold. All blouses are arranged by short sleeve and long sleeve. Your slacks are hung by color. There is space between hangers. Lovely! Now, take a moment and turn all your hangers backwards. The first time you wear an item, turn the hanger to the correct position. This way you keep track of what you are actually wearing. When you buy a new item of clothing, consider getting rid of something you already have. When laundry is done, hang up what goes into your closet in the correct place right away. When you take an item out of the closet to wear, put the empty hanger to one side of the closet. Once or twice a year schedule a time to reorganize and clean out your closet.
I recommend using a zone plan for maintenance on your whole home. This keeps you from zig-zagging around with your projects. Divide your home into zones and schedule one zone for each month.
I offer a teleclass to help you with this process. Check out htttp://timespaceorg.com/teleclass/.
Jonda S. Beattie Professional Organizer
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