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It’s About Time Ruth Wong |
‘Oasis of order’ is
a place of refreshmentHave you ever looked around your home or office and been overwhelmed with the many things that needed to be done?
Do you have paper piles and mounds of unopened mail?
Everywhere you look do you see things that have to be sorted, cleaned or put away?
Do you long to have company over but are too embarrassed or have no room for them to sit?
Do you have closets that make "Fibber McGee's" closet look tame? The 1930s to '50s radio show featured a running gag in which Fibber went to his hall closet to look for something, only to have all sorts of objects come crashing out, leaving Fibber to mutter "gotta clean out that closet one of these days."
This was the case with a friend of mine. She finally couldn't stand it any longer and began sorting and organizing one area. But then she became distracted and began on another area.
The result was so many piles of stuff that she could barely walk through the clutter!
That led to overwhelm and she was back where she started.
In order to be effective we need to be selective, so I suggested that it would be best to pick one area to focus on.
Where to begin? A good starting place is the area of greatest frustration and an area important to daily life.
In my friend's case, it was the piles of loose papers and mail that cluttered the coffee table, sofa and floor. These UPO's (unidentified piled objects) were an eyesore and source of anxiety and stress.
She said she was late paying bills, had expired uncashed checks, and couldn't find important documents.
Since having important papers stored in an organized way is critical to the smooth running of a home or business, we set up a simple filing system. The old adage "A place for everything and everything in its place" applies not only to objects, but to important papers too.
Once the coffee table and sofa were clear, she had an "oasis of order" to enjoy.
The key is to maintain that order and then move on to another area, create another oasis of order, and maintain that. In time, those oases of order will merge!
It IS possible to divide and conquer the mess one area at a time.
One woman lamented that any oasis of order she created wouldn't last long with her family's daily contributions to the dumping pile. If she can get her family to agree that life would be easier if they were organized, she might gain their cooperation. To remind them, I suggested she put up a fun sign reading, "Clutter-Free Zone."
Today is the next-to-last day of Get Organized Week. It's not too late to observe it!
It's about time to tackle that mess one area at a time. Your assignment is to focus on one disorganized area and create an oasis of order. And then maintain that order.
Just as an oasis in the desert is a place of refreshment, so will your home or office once you create that oasis of order.
See you in two weeks!
"It's About Time," by Ruth Wong, owner of Organization Plus, runs the fourth Friday of each month. Contact her at "It's About Time," care of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or e-mail features@starbulletin.com
