This week on the podcast, I talk about building muscles.
You are probably confused right now. Lisa Woodruff, muscles? Well, the muscles I’m talking about are your organizational muscles!
Are you ready to build your organizational muscles?
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not very good at physical exertion at all. In fact, I think sweating is a sin! I prefer to exercise my mental and organizational skills. Really, I am pathetic when it comes to exercise. I can literally go days when my step counter on my phone reads less than a thousand.
There was a time a few years ago when I was able to walk 10,000 steps, but I just don’t have the time now. And I don’t want to make the time to do it, but I am making an effort. My goal this year is 5,000 steps and so far I’m doing pretty good. Bear in mind, this is my whole exercise program. I’m just trying to move more. I’m not trying to lose weight, just maintain it.
Organization is similar to exercise in that regard. You have to match your organizational goals to the organizational outcome you want. Only compete with yourself!
Hitting A Roadblock
A lot of you will hit a roadblock this week.
Isn’t it freaky how I know that. Well, here’s what happens…
Over the Christmas break, you had time off and decluttered like a mad woman. The first step to getting organized is to declutter so you can see what you have left to organize. You got rid of everything that didn’t move. Even the dog and children were afraid to sit too still in your house!
You followed my advice and bought the bookshelves and bins from Home Depot. You’ve taken down Christmas and your holiday decoration area looks amazing. You feel like a boss, you’re on a roll.
You go from room to room, decluttering, taking out the trash, making donations. It looks better, but it doesn’t feel organized and you don’t know what to do next.
Maybe I haven’t recorded a podcast for that particular room and you’re stuck, but decided not to buy The Productive Home Solution. You’re saving money and it’s expensive. Maybe you’ll buy it later.
And you’re right, it is a little expensive and it should be. It was designed by a professional organizer and it works!
It’s OK, you don’t need to buy The Productive Home Solution. I’m going to tell you how to grow your organizational muscles on your own.
I am going to show you step-by-step how to tackle two areas in your home, the primary bathroom and your linen closet.
Organizing The Primary Bathroom
In just 15 minutes a day, you can organize the bathroom that you use every day to get ready to the point you feel like I came in and did it for you.
Day One – Take a look at your towels. Do you need all of them? Remove the ones you don’t need. Wash the ones you need out on display and freshen them up. Then, you’re done with towels.
Day Two – Make-up. Get rid of old samples and colors you don’t wear and perfume that gives you migraines. Consolidate them into one space. You could also add in some organizational tools like the Make-up Manager I use like this one.
Over the next few days, assess your nail polish, your jewelry, your underwear and socks (yes, I keep all of these in my bathroom). Then look around you at the walls, do you like what you see?
Continue until you have organized every single cabinet, drawer, and shelf, and then do it again.
This is how you get organized, by spending 15 minutes a day in the same space every single day until you can go into that space for two 15 minute sessions in a row and there is literally nothing to do. It takes repetitive action, but your primary bathroom will be amazing.
Organizing Your Linen Closet
Back in 2006, it took me about 4 months to organize my laundry room. Every 2 or 3 days, I would spend half an hour trying different things until I was happy… new shelving, new cabinets, new countertops. I had a blast doing it.
Nobody cared. No one goes in there, no one messed it up. I could do what I wanted. I would run the washer and dryer at the same time. It was like white noise. I couldn’t hear the rest of the family. It was amazing!
But in the podcast, I focus on the linen closet. First of all, you need to empty it all over the floor and check out the bulky items (towels, blankets, comforters).
Be honest with yourself here as these take up space. Do you need so many? Why do you still have towels from the 1980’s? It is a cycle… we buy new and store the old ones in the linen closet. It’s the same with bedding, get rid of them.
If you think you don’t have this stuff, just wait until you empty everything onto the floor. You’ll see that I’m right. I had four sets of 20 year-old flannel sheets that I loved as a child, but my children didn’t want them on their beds!
Get rid of old towels and donate others that don’t match your color scheme anymore to a homeless shelter along with any old single sheets. Be ruthless, what’s the worst that could happen?
That is how you organize your linen closet. But if you’re thinking, “Wait, wait. There’s still more stuff in here.” I know you’ll figure it out. And if you don’t know how to take the next step, then you need a professional organizer to guide you.
The Beauty of The Productive Home Solution
You can organize your house like we did in these two scenarios, going back in day after day. But, if like me, it takes you 4 months to organize your laundry room, you can see how long it would take to do your whole house this way.
But in addition to the 15 minute daily actionable tasks, the real beauty of The Productive Home Solution is that it comes with a lifetime membership. There are no renewal fees. Once you’re in, you’re in.
Am I Too Late To Join?
I launched The Productive Home Solution in December in order to capitalize on the momentum of January 1st. You’re all fired up and ready to go as we hit the kitchen.
Perhaps you didn’t sign up because you just didn’t have the money at the time. Or you had done the kitchen a couple of times already and didn’t want to do it again. Or maybe you thought you could just do it on your own.
Maybe now you’re starting to realize how beneficial it would be to have a professional organizer, one that has organized 100’s of homes, just to tell you what to do each day and you can go do it.
To find out more and sign-up, just click here.
I am SO excited to be able to offer you this opportunity and I hope you will join us as I know this program works.
It looks like it’s going to be a long winter. You’re going to be inside a lot, so let’s get organized while we’re there. Join us!
