"All great changes are preceded by chaos"
~ Deepak Chopra
When it comes to tackling a home organization project, it can be overwhelming. It can be especially overwhelming if you are a new mom just trying to survive the next few hours before nap time, and can't even bring yourself to pick up the dirty socks and toss them in the hamper! I was precisely in that predicament not too long ago. If it wasn't for deciding to start this blog, I might still be in that rut. Frustrated by the mess of my home and the growing needs of my son, something in me clicked and it got to the point where changed needed to happen. The quote above was so fitting to my situation and maybe yours too. Organization is my gift and passion and getting things in order energizes me in a special way, so deciding to make great changes came easy to me and fueled me in a way that only your passion can. I'm here to tell you that if organization is not your gift, I am here to support you to make great changes in your home by serving you with my gifts!
In addition to organizing, I adore technology and what it has done to ease so many aspects of my life. From socializing, to organizing inspiration for new projects, technology
has allowed me to take organization to a new level. When I dreamed of
creating a Room Organization Planner, building the templates were right
up my alley. The main inspiration for the process of organizing came
from a book I read years ago entitled Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morganstern.
I finished that book in no time flat, and she articulated what I
already knew to be true in my organization struggles in such a simple
way. It is still useful to me years after reading and I have referred
back to it often. Fully inspired, I began the creation of the planner.
The planner needed to be simply laid out, easy to use and versatile. I
also wanted it to include aspects that I rarely see in other planners,
such as budget tracking, reflection and follow up. Planning needs to
encompass all aspects from start to finish, so I have included four
pages; analyze, strategize, budgetize and finalize. As I walk you
through each page, plans to work on our garage will be revealed, so stay
tuned to see the planner at work! If your family is like mine, the
garage needs work. It often is the dumping ground for randomness and
things that could probably to go a better home. For that and so many
other reasons, I decided to use my garage plans as an example to fill
out the planner. Without further ado, allow me to walk you through my
Room Organization Planner {with the template greyed so you can see how I
filled it out}.
Having a project name for the room to be worked on is a given, but I
felt that having a due date was important so that the project could be
given a priority to be weaved in to our other many obligations.
Analyzing the space is the first step to changing it. Thinking about
what works, what doesn't, and what needs to be are crucial to the
success of great changes. I also included a space to diagram the space
so you can draw out the bewildering before, but as you can see, it
doesn't have to be an artist rendition. I simply listed out how items
were currently laid out. Another option would be to paste a photo in
that space.
Much of the strategizing was inspired by my reading. Greatly organized
spaces have zones. Keeping like or related items together makes for
easy searching and logical clean up. The next piece of the planner is a
plan of attack. Make your plan of attack realistic to your schedule.
If you think you'll be able to complete a garage project from start to
finish in one day {with kids}, you're bound for disappointment and
discouragement. It just doesn't happen like that, and if it does, the
systems are often not entirely successful because they haven't been
thoroughly thought through. That's what this planner does; it helps you
think through your true needs, beyond tossing items in a container, for
long term true success in organizing. Last on this page is another
space to diagram the vision. This works well if you have lots of
furniture to arrange, but in the case of the garbage garage, listing it
out was much easier and more organized for my thinking. Visualizing the
organized dream is another key step in the process that will give you
drive to complete the project.
I realize that "budgetize" is probably not a real word, but for the sake
of ending each page with the suffix -ize, I took the risk {smile}. If
you can get past the poor grammar, this page is the bread and butter of
the planner. It works as a wish list, doubles as a shopping list, and
functions as a register for all purchases. It even includes a
measurements box because the last thing you need is to lug home a huge
piece that is entirely the wrong size. After planning out what you want
{in the wish list}, itemizing it on your register {to see what you can
actually afford}, and including measurements of the room and other
existing furniture, this page can sit with you at your thinking station,
travel with you to the store and back to calculate how well you stayed
on budget.
You're almost there! I included a few finishing touches to remind you
that just because your space is organized, doesn't mean you can't make
it pleasing to the eye with color, pattern and accessories. Once you've
done the work, sit back and enjoy. After about 2 weeks {or a few go
rounds using the system}, answer the reflection questions and see how
you did. If something doesn't work quite the way you thought, it will
be much easier to tweak it in a system that works well overall because
you took the time to plan ahead. Good for you!
This has hopefully given you some fuel to hit the ground running. If
you were overwhelmed with a room or a space within a room because you
didn't know where to begin, start here and let me walk you through your
great change. With this planner, you don't have to be overwhelmed by an
organization project anymore. I've done all the worrying for you.
Gift! Now go and make great changes that will serve you and your
family well.
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