This article by Natalie Conrad of Organized Habits, and a Paper Tiger Expert, lists a few of the reasons behind why clutter piles up in our lives; and how to get started on a system for moving forward to get organized. Natalie also recommends Paper Tiger Filing System Software for Document Management to get everything in your life organized — not just for filing paper.
I was helping a client recently who has a beautiful home. Everything seemed to have its place and the home was very warm and inviting. I was asked to help with the home office. The office had a desk piled with papers, bills and receipts as well as boxes of more of the same tucked under the desk. I have seen much worse than this, but my client was struggling to get the home office organized and back into a functioning room. As we began to work, we talked about the reasons for the room’s unorganized state. There is always a reason behind the clutter. I am not saying this so that we can justify the clutter, but to help us recognize that there is something behind the physical clutter we see. Below are a few examples of the reasons why people now have clutter when they used to be able to handle it.
All of these reasons have something in common; change and transition. This is a very common trigger for many of us that causes a once under-control home to become cluttered and less functional.
“Every time we go through a major change,
we experience a breakdown in our organizational systems.”
~ Julie Morgenstern
Periods of transition, such as the ones listed above, require that we give ourselves time to adapt and adjust and then rework our organizational systems to be more in line with our new, current reality.
“Our life is not static and neither are our organizing systems.”
~ Natalie Conrad
In other words, give yourself a break. You are going through, or have just gone through, a transition. Once you feel the earth is a little more solid under your feet again, then get some help and get back to being organized. Tweak your old systems or set up a new organizational system.
But here’s the thing – start with the present. Don’t try to go back through all the things that were “let go” during your transition. Deal with the things that are presently coming in the mail, the projects at hand, and the bills to be paid this month. Set up a system to manage today and if you have time, go back and straighten up the past later.
If you need ideas on how to get started on being more organized now that you’ve gone through a transition, keep reading Natalie’s blog for ideas to get you started. Use the “search” function and key words to get help for your particular situation or room in the house. You can also leave a comment for her and pick her brain a little!
We also found this great video by Natalie on her blog that gives great tips in how to set up an action file system for your day to day paper files. Click here to watch how simple setting up your own system can be! Of course, you can always call Natalie to get her help on the more overwhelming clutter situations in your life.
Natalie Conrad is an organization consultant, speaker, and author in Northern California. She is also the founder of Organized Habits, a premier organizing firm, serving national and local clients in homes and small business settings. She is passionate about organizing as she believes that the clutter holds one back from pursing their life long goals and dreams. Visit Natalie’s blog for more articles like this by going to www.OrganizedHabits.com/blog
Tags: Clutter, Declutter, get organized, Paper Tiger "finding" filing system, Productivity
