Organizing and streamlining are similar yet different. When we think about organizing and the words that come to mind are:
- Sort out
- Arrange
- Classify
- Put in order
To streamline, on the other hand, we think about:
- Create efficiency
- Restructure
- Simplify
- Declutter
We complicate our lives with our possessions and the vast amounts of information we collect. When clients call me for help to organize, be it in their home or in their businesses, they talk about wanting to get organized and not knowing where to start.
Some of you may have watched the television shows such as Clean Sweep, Mission Organization, or Neat. Others may be flipping through magazines or store catalogues, dreaming about the organized spaces on the glossy pages. Perhaps, money has been spent attending another Time Management Workshop?
In all cases, we come away with great ideas centred on a product. We come away in search of that ever-elusive desk sorter or that perfect basket or ideal cabinet. How much money and time have you wasted on buying products and secretively hoping that the order will follow?
Stop wasting your time and money on products and containers that only sit in their shopping bags or lay unassembled in their boxes. Waiting… until you make enough space to accommodate your purchase.
The 5-step S.P.A.C.E. Process
Instead, what I recommend to my clients is to concentrate on a 5-step process called S.P.A.C.E.* This process can help us with organizing and streamlining.
Organizing is nothing more than sorting through all your ‘stuff’ and re-arranging it in an order so that you can easily access it. Streamlining on the other hand is taking it a step further so that it is more efficient and simpler. What is the point in having all your information and possessions if you can not get at it? Streamlining means you may have to reduce, and yes, that means to let go.
In its simplest form:
S ort everything you have and take inventory.
P urge what is not necessary nor of value right now.
A ssign priorities and categories to all that you are keeping.
C ontain once you know what you have and how frequently you access it.
E valuate your work or living space for function and form. It may not look pretty, it just has to function (Remember that ‘pretty’ can come with a pretty expensive price tag).
A professional organizer can provide the perfect kick-start to help you create the efficiency you crave in your personal and professional life. Be sure to contact Out of Chaos Professional Organizing Solutions.
Photo by Héctor J. Rivas on Unsplash
*The S.P.A.C.E. process was originally developed by Julie Morgenstern in her book Organizing from the Inside Out.
Thank you Linda..Great stuff.
Today Oprah had guestioned Peter Walsh…all about clutter and not focusing on ‘stuff’. I have already started to do what you said in my spare bedroom and feel good already!!!
Clutter is choking us. I really do know that it is just a matter of putting your steps into action and you gave me the encouragement to just do it!!!
I look forward to your email newsletters.
Great to hear that even Oprah gets it. I could have told Oprah that myself – hint, hint – lol.
Congratulations on taking the first steps. Just remember that it did not take you overnight to create your piles, so it will be your consistant efforts which will pay off in the end.
Keep motivated and let me know if you need a verbal boost!