Preventing and Postponing Procrastination

Over the years I have noticed that people seems to accumulate so much stuff that when moving time comes they are beyond overwhelmed. I have often thought about the many years we have lived in our home and the thousands of times I have enter our door with bags of stuff I have purchased. Often times far less leaves the premises each week. If we do not have quite a bit going out, simple mathematics tells us eventually we are going to be creating a path to get from one room to another. And, that is often what I see when I go into a home to do a staging or redesign consultation.

Recently I entered a home that was out of control in this department and it reminded me once again to spend more time each day just reordering my home. Often times we will look at something like a pantry or closet or something that needs doing and actually spend more time putting it off than it would require to just jump in and do it. So yesterday I reorganized my pantry and my bathroom closet. It took some time but not nearly as much as I had envisioned. It was such a freeing experience.

Now I know exactly where all my grocery items are and what I actually have to work with in preparing meals. This will save me time and money and also free up my to do list and fretting about it.

My husband and business partner, Jim, has a saying that I think applies to having certain lifestyles. He says, "Be careful what you get use to." This applies to so many aspects of our lives, but for our purposes here it is so easy to just overlook the clutter and disarray and then get use to it. In that getting accustomed to something, we often do not realize how much it slows us down and interrupts our accomplishments, saps our energy, etc. I have found that once something is in order, it is easier to maintain it than to spend time tripping over or looking for your stuff.

For most of us ordering our lives is a daunting task. For my clients I recommend a few things. You have to sort through your things one by one and make a decision. Keep it, toss it, or donate it. It is a long process for most of us and you cannot "eat the elephant in one bite."

Try to stay focused on one room at a time, or one closet, one drawer, etc. Set your kitchen timer and clean out a silverware drawer in 15 minutes. Flitting from room to room or project to project can be counter productive and frustrating.


I like to keep similar things together like brushes and combs, hair equipment, make-up, etc. The little bins just keep it from all running together and gives us a place to return the item to after using it.

One or two projects at a time is enough. Find some containers to group items according to their use. Yesterday I went through our over the counter meds and organized them all into kits by putting them in plastic bags. All the cold meds in one bag, all the flu meds together, etc. It is much better than rummaging though all these half used boxes and bottles of stuff when you are sick. Now we can just pull out the plastic bin and get what we need without disturbing every things else.

Organization is maintenance once you get to a point of being on top of things. I know we have heard this before but the goal should be to 'have a place for everything and everything in its place.' Honestly, it makes such a difference in what else you will accomplish each day. The important thing is just get started with some aspect of it and once you feel the difference you will be motivated to continue. Every woman, no matter what stage of life she is in, is busy. That is just part of the culture we live in these days. Rarely do we have huge amounts of uninterrupted time. We have to learn to seize the moment and do things bit by bit.

I didn't take any before photos as I had no idea these projects would become a post until this morning. But I do have the photos of the results from this morning. I feel a sense of accomplishment just looking at the pictures! Little things can make a big difference in how you feel. Again, your environment sets the tone and mood for everything else. Feeling good, decluttering and accomplishing more by working smarter ~ is the goal.

It is hard to clear out many years of accumulated junk when it is time to redesign or to relocate. Also all the clutter makes cleaning so much harder. One day at a time is a good motto. Make it a way of life.

Then you will have time to do the fun things..for me, I love watching movies. Jim built this 'just the right size' shelf and I organized all of our DVD & videos alphabetically for easy access and more time to relax and kick back at the end of a busy day.

This is a quote from the book, Eat, Pray, Love that I really like.

"The beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated. The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement."

For me, what that means is that the end result of your hard work is having some leisure time to just relax and do nothing. And to that I would also add, in a lovely and peaceful environment.

Enjoy the view!