One way to be more consistent with decluttering is to make it a routine. Just like brushing your teeth or taking a shower, adding decluttering to your daily or weekly routine can help make it a habit.

1. Set Realistic Goals

Trying to declutter your entire home in one day is probably not going to happen and will likely just leave you feeling overwhelmed. Start with small goals like decluttering one room or one area at a time.

Sometimes, this can seem like an endless treadmill. You clean one room, and another one grows out of control. As with everything, it just requires balance. Keep adjusting till you find the right spot.

2. Start With a Small Schedule

Start small by setting aside 10 to 15 minutes each day to declutter. Once you get into the habit of decluttering regularly, you can start to declutter for more extended periods.

Habit-forming is about creating a scenario in which you feel automatically prompted to do something. You don’t have to start decluttering immediately: Rather, you have to create the opportunity.

3. Create a Place for Everything

A place for everything and everything in its place. By having a designated place for items, you can help reduce clutter and make it easier to put things away. Buy a label maker if you have to.

This doesn’t mean that you need to go out and buy a bunch of storage containers. Rather, look around your home and see what you already have that can be repurposed for storage. When you have a place for everything, you stop clutter from initially building.

4. Get the Whole Family Involved

Decluttering is not a one-person job. If your family is constantly creating new clutter, it will be difficult for you to keep up, regardless of the time you spend during the day. Instead of decluttering on your own, involve your family in the process.

Start by talking to your family about the importance of decluttering and why you want to do it. Then, create a plan that everyone can follow. Assign each person specific tasks and set a schedule for when those tasks need to be completed.

Remember, the goal is not to be perfect. Rather, it’s to create a system that works for you and your family.

5. Start with a Big Spring Cleaning

If everything is just too out of control and overwhelming, you might need to start with a deep clean. This will give you a blank foundation to start with. Once you’ve decluttered everything, you can start fresh with a new system.

Set some ground rules for what can come back into the house and be sure to stick to them. This will help prevent your home from quickly becoming cluttered again. If something is in your hand for longer than a few minutes, put it in a pile and try again later. Avoid overloading yourself.

6. Finally, be patient with yourself.

Making any kind of change can be difficult, and it may take some time to get into the habit of decluttering. Just keep at it, and eventually, it will become second nature.

Sometimes it seems like there are never enough hours in the day. But with a bit of time management, you can make time for the things you need to do, like housework. Here are some tips on how to manage your time for housework.

1. Set realistic expectations.

Don’t try to do too much in one day or week. Spread out your housework over a period of days or weeks so that it doesn’t seem so overwhelming. “I’m going to clean the entire house today” rarely goes well and will just make you feel defeated.

2. Make a list.

Once you know what needs to be done, make a list of the tasks and prioritize them. This will help you focus on what needs to be done first and prevent you from forgetting anything. You can also create checklists for things throughout the house so you can just move from one task to another.

3. Set aside some time each day or week for housework.

Dedicate a specific amount of time to cleaning each day or week. This will help you stay on track and get the job done on time.

4. Try to clean as you go.

Have you ever noticed dishes are easier to wash if you rinse them off immediately? This doesn’t mean that you have to clean up every single thing as soon as you finish using it. But if you can, try to put things away and tidy up as you go. This will save you time in the long run and help keep your house more organized.

5. Use your time wisely.

Make sure you are using your time efficiently while you are cleaning. For instance, if you are vacuuming, move all the furniture in the room first so that you don’t have to keep stopping and starting. Don’t dust before you vacuum; you’ll just have to redo everything later.

6. Take breaks.

Don’t try to do everything in one go. Take some time to rest in between tasks so that you don’t get too tired or overwhelmed.

7. Reward yourself.

When you’ve finished all your tasks, give yourself a pat on the back or a good treat like a good cup of coffee. This will help you stay motivated and look forward to the next time you have to do housework. Housework is always going to be a bit of a chore, but it shouldn’t be miserable.

8. Don’t try to do everything yourself.

Delegate some of the tasks to other members of your family. This will help you get the job done faster and free up some of your time.

With these tips, you should be able to manage your time for housework better. Dedicate some time each day or week to cleaning, and don’t try to do too much at once. Make sure you use your time wisely and take breaks between tasks. And finally, don’t forget to reward yourself when you’re finished!

Clutter is a daily challenge. It seems to appear out of nowhere and can quickly take over your home or office. The key to conquering clutter is to have a plan and be consistent with implementing it. Think about it like a war that you’re constantly fighting with yourself.

Here are some tips to help you get and stay on top of the clutter.

1. Make it a daily habit to declutter as you go so the mess doesn’t pile up

When you bring the mail in, toss the trash out. Try to declutter as you go. If you’re in the bathroom, take everything out of it that doesn’t belong there. If you’re preparing food in the kitchen, start cleaning as you wait for something to be done.

2. Start with small projects so you don’t get overwhelmed and discouraged.

Focus on one area at a time. Don’t try to tackle the whole house all at once. That will make it seem like an impossible task and you’ll be more likely to give up.

3. Set aside time each week to declutter

Designate a specific day and time each week that you will declutter for a set amount of time. Make it a routine. Whether it’s 30 minutes or 2 hours, make sure you stick to your schedule.

4. Put everything in a specific place each time you use it

One of the best ways to keep your home or office decluttered is to put everything back in its proper place each time you use it. This will help you avoid creating new messes and make it easier to find things when you need them.

5. Invest in storage solutions

If you don’t have enough storage space, things will be out of place no matter what you do. Take some time to assess your storage needs and invest in some solutions that will work for you.

6. Get rid of the stuff you just don’t need

One of the biggest causes of clutter is holding on to things you don’t need. If you haven’t used it in six months, chances are you’re never going to use it. Get rid of it and free up some space. If you’re having trouble identifying these items, pack them up. This brings us to…

7. Put things you don’t need immediately into storage

If you can’t bring yourself to get rid of something, put it into storage. This will help declutter your space and give you peace of mind knowing that the item is safely stored away.

Clutter is a daily challenge, but by being consistent and having a plan, you can conquer it. Do you have any great decluttering tips?

Many people are searching for homes with bigger closets or converting entire rooms into closet space. Fortunately, there’s an alternative that doesn’t involve sacrificing your guest room or spending huge amounts of money. You can use these tips to declutter and efficiently organize your wardrobe. This project doesn’t only free up space. You’ll spend less time searching for the right clothing when you wake up in the morning or get dressed for a special occasion.

1. Reduce

It’s easier to find enough space and fully organize clothes when you have fewer of them. Use a box to collect items you plan to donate, and consider keeping it in your closet. Before you start organizing, search for unwanted apparel that’s uncomfortable or doesn’t fit and get rid of it or donate it. Remember to do this again at least once every year. If it’s overwhelming, tackle one type of clothing at a time.

2. Sort

You will find things more swiftly if you keep each kind of garment in a separate place. Consider using different shelves, drawers or sections of a rack. Put frequently worn items in places that you can easily reach. It depends on what you wear, but potential categories include jackets, short sleeves, long sleeves, dresses, jeans, khaki pants, swimsuits, formal, casual and underwear. You could also separate lightweight shirts from heavier, warmer shirts and sweaters.

3. Divide

There are many ways to divide your closet and drawers into sections; do whatever works best for you. Among other things, you can identify different sections using specially made closet dividers, old compact discs or ribbons tied to hanger hooks. Shallow boxes could divide large drawers that you want to use for multiple types of clothing. You can also put adhesive labels on shelves and plastic bins.

4. Maximize

Make the most of your space with efficient storage techniques. Prioritize using drawers for socks, underwear, belts and other items you can’t easily hang. Fold and stack heavy items such as sweaters. Try to put shirts, pants and most other clothes on hangers. This will make them easier to find because they won’t get buried under other garments. Avoid putting large or heavy items on lightweight hangers.

If your closet is small and you have a lot of clothes, consider folding seasonal apparel and storing it in bins on the floor or under your bed. You might also benefit from a hanging shoe organizer. Think about installing more shelves or wall hooks in your closet if there’s enough room. To maximize the space inside of boxes and bins, roll up lightweight clothes before you store them. This technique works well for shorts, t-shirts, leggings and pajamas.

Basically, it’s best to reduce the total amount of clothing, divide it into meaningful categories and separate the categories in a visible way. You may need to use more efficient storage methods when you have limited space. If you have difficulty organizing your wardrobe, you might benefit from closet organization products, better lighting or a larger storage area for off-season apparel.

Procrastination is the boogeyman that most of us blame for our lack of productivity. It is a strange psychological phenomenon that often has roots in many other aspects of your life. Learning how to overcome procrastination is vital to your long-term success, though. How do you do that? Let’s look a little deeper at procrastination and how to overcome it. 

1. Understanding Procrastination

The first thing you need to do in order to overcome procrastination is to understand it. We know we procrastinate, but we often don’t know why. There is no blanket answer to this question. The causes of procrastination will vary greatly from person to person. Procrastination always has a root, though. Finding your roots can be very freeing and can help you become a more productive person. 

You can start better understanding your procrastination by reading about this problem. There are many great books out there that look at the psychological foundations of procrastination. If you have access to counseling or therapy, you could also talk with your therapist about this and how it specifically applies to you. 

The most important thing is that you do not excuse your procrastination and you do not simply accept it. This is a problem that needs work. 

2. Set Little Goals

Many people procrastinate because they are overwhelmed by the big picture of all of the tasks together. This overwhelm will cause some people to freeze and do nothing. The better option is to set small tasks and only focus on them one at a time. Remind yourself often that you only need to work on one task at a time. As long as the others are on the list and prioritized, they are okay for now. Pay them no mind until it is their turn. If you need to say it out loud. When your brain wants to think about all of the tasks at once, say, “No, you must wait your turn.”

Creating prioritized lists can be very helpful in controlling tasks. 

3. Identify

Once you start to understand this issue, it will be very important that you identify it every time it pops up. This will help to start signaling to your brain that this is not acceptable behavior and it needs work. One way you can identify procrastination is the small habit of writing it out. “I am trying to procrastinate.” Write the date and the time. Then write a note to yourself explaining why this is destructive and then write out which task you will actively go do right then. This type of accountability can help to rewire your brain for new behaviors. 

4. Re-Direct

Once you have identified the procrastination, you must re-direct immediately. As soon as you are aware of the procrastination, you need to identify the task that needs to be worked on right then. Immediately start that one task. Remember, you should not think about all of the tasks at once, just the next one on the list. 

Consistent, sustainable productivity is all about priority setting. Prioritization is a soft skill that can literally affect your success at every level. Without honing prioritization skills, the only thing you can really count on is frustration, decreased productivity, and high levels of stress.

Prioritization is the ability to sort through tasks and determine which tasks need attention first and which tasks need the most attention. It also includes creating lists of tasks in descending order of urgency. Setting priorities this way helps people to use their time more wisely, and also allows them to get more of the important stuff done in a timely manner. Once you have had these practices in place for a while, you will notice that productivity momentum will start to grow because the right things are getting done at the right time.

What should you do, though, when every task on your list feels urgent? How do you sift through those tasks and apply time and energy appropriately? This quick guide was designed to help you understand how to prioritize tasks when everything is urgent.

1. Create a List of Tasks

Prioritizing is always easier when you can do it visually. When everything is just bumping around inside your brain, you can start to feel overwhelmed and stressed. Put the tasks on a list so that you can visually see each one. The order of the tasks at this point doesn’t really matter. Just get them written out.

You should make notes of which tasks have a deadline attached. If there are deadlines involved, you will first want to consider these deadlines. Deadlines are an easy way to determine what is truly urgent and what is not.

You will also want to take a look at which tasks are foundational to the success of the entire project. There may be certain tasks that will need to be done in order for the others to get done. Take some time to clarify which tasks will be foundational to the others. This step will help you further determine urgency.

To make this step easier, you might want to consider digital organization options such as mobile calendars.

2. Determine Urgent Vs Important

The terms urgent and important may seem synonymous, but they are not. An important task is a task that needs to get done, but an urgent task is often connected with a deadline or it is a foundational task that must be done before anything else can be accomplished.

Look through your list again and re-write the list, now putting urgent tasks at the top to avoid feeling burnt out.

3. Create a Timeline

Now that you are clear on urgent vs important, you will want to create a timeline that will incorporate any deadlines that have already been established. With the deadlines in mind, how much time will you realistically need for each task?  Set up the list of prioritized tasks with these timeframes in mind. Your timeline should smoothly take you from start to finish within the deadline.

4. Be Realistic

One of the big mistakes people make when prioritizing is that they are not realistic with expectations of how much they will get accomplished. Be realistic when setting up tasks. Make time for hurdles and challenges. Expect hurdles and challenges, so that they do not completely derail you when they happen.

Prioritizing and organizing tasks in this way will help you to become more productive and less stressed.

Who doesn’t enjoy crafting? It’s a fun way to unwind after a stressful day, and many families enjoy it as a way to spend quality time together.

The crafts projects that you and your family enjoy working on are a great source of pleasure, to be sure. But if the various crafts supplies are sprawling all over the place, you run the risk of losing items or not being able to find and use them when you want.

And when you are working in a small space, it’s particularly important to come up with a way to organize your craft supplies.

1. Label Everything

Put labels on all of your supplies so you can sort them more easily. Think of sitting down to make crafts to give out at gifts, and how many things you need to keep track of, and you’ll see the value of not only labelling things but storing them in clear, transparent organizers so they’re easy to spot. Now, it will be a snap to find wooden popsicle sticks, Styrofoam balls, buttons, beads and googly eyes.

2. Tools at the Ready

Keeping tools at your fingertips is a better solution than having them in different locations, such as sandpaper in the garage inside a tool box, glue sticks in the kitchen drunk drawer, and so on. You don’t want to keep getting up to find a small pair of scissors or a pen with green ink while in the middle of a crafting project.

3. Open System

Adopt a system where you place open containers to hold clips, colored pencils, pens and other basic crafting tools. It saves you time from having to open boxes to get just what you need.

4. Use the Right Shapes

Maybe you are using boxes that use more room than is necessary. The original containers that items come in can be inefficient for use in tight spaces. That’s because their packages are also designed to help market them from the shelves of retailers. Keep in mind that square or rectangle containers will store more than round containers.

5. Don’t Hoard Items

After you’ve been crafting for a while, chances are good that you have collected many more craft supplies and tools than you currently need. But each item takes up valuable space that you’ll want to reclaim. A good policy to follow is to only hold onto craft items that you use often. Get rid of older, unwanted craft items at least once a year, such as during spring cleaning.

6. Staying Organized Makes Crafting a More Rewarding Experience

Craft making is a rewarding activity that helps you relax and explore your creative side, with the result being beautiful and interesting items to display, give away or even sell, depending on your level of interest and skill.

Making sure you have your craft supplies neatly organized with everything in its own place will make for a less stressful environment. It’s also a way to do crafts more easily, since you aren’t wasting time looking for a tool or item for your project.

Paper clutter takes up space, creates stress and makes it harder to locate the documents you actually need. Excess paper also results in unnecessary environmental harm. It detracts from the appearance of your home or office as well. Fortunately, there are several effective ways to reduce, organize and avoid paper clutter.

1. Prevention

Try to limit the amount of paper that reaches your desk to prevent buildup. If you receive unwanted mailings, ask the organizations or companies to remove your address from their mailing lists. Think about switching to online statements, coupons, bills and publications whenever possible. Some retailers give customers the option to receive their receipts via email instead of printing them on paper. Only print documents when it’s absolutely necessary.

If you often write notes on pieces of paper, consider using a mobile app or an internet-based service like Evernote instead. Another option is to create a computer document file for notes and put a shortcut icon for it on your desktop. If you really prefer writing on paper or find it time-consuming to manage notes on an electronic device, consider writing everything in a weekly planner booklet.

2. Decluttering

Try not to allow paper documents like bank statements and receipts to accumulate. Process, sort or discard them as quickly as possible. Set aside a single place or container that you’ll use to store papers until you’ve processed them. Don’t hide them or leave them scattered in different parts of your home or business. Choose a visible location that reminds you to sort new documents regularly.

One way to eliminate existing papers is to scan them and store the images on a computer (or removable media). You’ll be able to print them out if you need them again. However, it’s vital to keep the equipment in a secure location and use up-to-date antivirus software to protect confidential data.

After you digitize a document or choose to discard it, you’ll have to decide what to do with the paper. If it doesn’t contain confidential information, put it in a recycling bin. Otherwise, strongly consider using a shredder or shredding service. Strip-cut shredders provide limited security; micro-cut and cross-cut models destroy documents far more thoroughly. Many recycling programs don’t accept shredded paper.

3. Organization

After you’ve banished the papers you don’t need, it’s best to store the remaining documents in an organized way. One option is to sort them into folders and keep them in a file cabinet. Consider looking for a cabinet that’s the same height as your desk; you can use the top surface to expand your work area. If you need a more affordable solution, shop for cardboard filing boxes.

While this process demands some effort and at least a little cash, it’s definitely worthwhile. You’ll be able to concentrate on tasks more easily, and it won’t be as hard to find specific documents. Likewise, you can feel good about reducing your environmental impact and having a more organized work area with greater visual appeal.

Each person faces different challenges when trying to organize or declutter spaces. Unfortunately, these problems sometimes have the power to discourage people and make them give up. If you recognize and acknowledge your biggest obstacle to success, it may help you overcome this barrier. Let’s take a look at some of the most common challenges and a few effective ways to tackle them.

1. More stuff than space

Someone with few belongings might be able to declutter simply by rearranging and storing things wisely. On the other hand, it’s more or less impossible to get organized if you live in a two-bedroom home but own enough stuff to fill a mansion. You can only succeed when you make an effort to decide what you truly need and let go of it or maybe throw it away.

2. Random placement of items

This might be your biggest challenge if you often leave outdoor clothing on various pieces of furniture instead of putting it on the same hanger or rack every day. When you establish places to keep each of your belongings, clutter won’t multiply as easily. Take the time to find specific locations to put things like bills, newspapers, batteries, footwear, tools and so on.

3. Feeling overwhelmed

If you have a huge amount of stuff to declutter, you might get overwhelmed and lose ambition. You can address this challenge by concentrating on one part of your home at a time. Accept that the outcome doesn’t need to be perfect or resemble a picture in a home decor magazine. Feel good about what you’ve accomplished rather than worrying about what you still need to do.

4. Too little spare time

Decluttering is certainly more challenging if your job, family or other responsibilities demand most of your time. Still, you can make some progress a few minutes at a time. Try to build decluttering into routine tasks. For example, when you check the mail and see an advertisement that doesn’t interest you, discard it right away instead of leaving it on your desk.

5. Little self-discipline

You must be persistent and determined to achieve any major goal. It’s hard to organize your home if you put it off because you want to watch TV or eat dinner at a restaurant. The same goes when you don’t resist the urge to purchase unnecessary things that will clutter your house (or at least let go of something equivalent after you buy them).

6. Keeping things for later

A major obstacle for many people is that they can’t give up anything they might potentially use or need in the future. This sort of thinking could persuade you to keep shirts in three different sizes and spare appliances of every kind. Try to think about each item and objectively decide if you’re genuinely likely to ever use it.

These challenges are understandable and few of us are immune to all of them. Even decluttering gurus can sometimes get tempted into buying superfluous things or keeping an extra coffee maker in the closet. Still, the great benefits of a well-organized home make it worthwhile to find solutions and stop allowing these obstacles to thwart you.

A survey found that more than 50 percent of people struggle with household clutter. Around one out of five blame spouses or kids for this problem. Either way, it’s not uncommon for messy homes to cause stress and anxiety. If you feel like your family creates far more clutter than you, read on for some helpful advice.

1. Honest communication

Openly express your feelings about clutter to your children or spouse. Tell them if it causes you to feel stressed, have difficulty finding things or maybe it’s unhygienic. Don’t yell, nag or bring up unrelated grievances. Likewise, trying to convince them to believe in the benefits of neatness or minimalism probably won’t work. The reality is that it’s rarely possible to change someone’s mind through arguments.

2. Set a good example

You can’t expect other people to let go of seldom-used or maybe sentimental stuff if you refuse to do the same. When you declutter your own belongings, it may inspire others to join you. This is especially true if they can see the benefits of doing so. At the same time, make sure you’re not blaming someone else for the clutter you helped create.

3. Assign personal spaces

If your family is reluctant, consider embracing a compromise that lets people keep their own spaces as neat or messy as they like. For instance, you could disregard clutter in your spouse’s studio, closet or tool room. The same goes for kids’ bedrooms. They must keep all clothing, toys, school supplies, backpacks and similar items in their own rooms.

Under this compromise, shared parts of the home ought to be free of clutter. People shouldn’t keep personal belongings in the kitchen, living room or hallways. A belonging is personal if only one individual uses it. This approach makes decluttering shared spaces easier because anyone can do it and you won’t have to ask the right person to find a place for each item.

4. Respect others’ belongings

Never get rid of your spouse or kids’ things without asking them first. This mistake could lead to greater resistance and negative feelings about decluttering. Your spouse might do the same to some of your belongings. Remember, you don’t always know what’s important to another person. Avoid making assumptions about items that seem superfluous to you.

5. Help your family declutter

It’s possible that a person actually wants to banish excess stuff, but he or she finds it very difficult. Offer to help your child or spouse sort items and decide what to keep. You can add this to your family routine. Maybe they just need someone to complete one part of the process, like donating unwanted things or buying storage bins. At the same time, be aware that some people find it less stressful to declutter things on their own.

You can often achieve the best results by compromising when necessary and wholeheartedly following your own advice. Reflect on your actions before blaming anyone else; always take responsibility for any clutter you’ve created. Keep in mind that a positive example is much more persuasive than a strong argument.

You may not have set out to accumulate a lot of possessions, but now, as you look around your home, it seems you have way too many things.

Sometimes folks will hang onto items because they think it is practical to keep them for an emergency or a rainy day. Or, they feel sentimental about objects that they bought (like souvenirs).

It’s not unusual for people to keep gifts that they don’t like all that much, because they don’t want to insult the gift giver.

Or, perhaps you have a habit of retaining items, perhaps even to the point of hoarding too many things in your dwelling. A shopaholic whose favorite sport is competitive buying at the local mall can quickly turn a home into something that more resembles a cluttered storage facility.

There’s no need to fret about the situation. What follows are ways that you can get rid of that nagging feeling that you can’t get rid of something because “someday” you might need it.

1. Keep Possessions to a Minimum

Have only what you need. Having more than what we need does not mean happiness. In fact, it doesn’t feel that great to look around a crowded house stuffed with things you never use.

2. Donate Things Someone Can Use Today

If it’s something that can still be used but not in the near future, give it away or donate it. Who knows, someone might actually need it more than you do. From clothing to furniture to electronic gadgets that still work but are no longer “cutting edge,” you’re bound to find a lovely home to accept your unwanted things.

3. No Need to Hang Onto Gifts You No Longer Want or Need

If it’s a gift or there’s a sentimental value, it has already been given to you. You decide what to do with it. Decide to get rid of it if it’s not giving you value in your life. Your loved ones will not hold it against you if you give away an old gift that no longer really has a place in your life.

4. Keep Your Goals to Live Clutter-free in Mind

Remind yourself that your main goal is to have a nice house that is clean and easy to move around in. Stacks of things on the floors or boxes of old gifts stuffed into a closet don’t do anyone any good. By focusing on keeping your house free of clutter, you’ll be more likely to adhere to your goals.

5. Reduce Possessions to a Minimum, Going Forward

To avoid clutter building up again, make a habit of asking yourself if you really need to purchase a particular item or if maybe you want to buy it for reasons other than necessity.

Keeping on top of clutter and going through your home periodically to identify unused things and then get rid of them is easier than doing this task just once every year or so. 

Clutter can pile up over time and become quite overwhelming. If you’re facing this situation, you are definitely not alone. Different polls have revealed that around 55 to 90 percent of people find clutter overwhelming some or all of the time. Fortunately, there are effective ways to overcome this challenge.

1. How to think about clutter

Your thoughts have a major impact on your chance of success. Keep in mind that you’ll need to learn and practice before you can declutter efficiently. Don’t expect yourself to excel at it immediately; it’s not something everyone knows how to do. Luckily, you have access to plenty of helpful online advice.

It’s also important to look at the results of decluttering in the right way. Rather than thinking about giving up items that cost you money in the past, realize that you’re gaining space, time and peace of mind. You might also save cash because you can live in a smaller home or stop renting a storage unit.

2. Find the root of the problem

Decluttering won’t help much if excess items keep entering your house every week. Take the time to honestly identify the major sources of clutter. Maybe you can’t resist buying any product you see at a bargain price. On the other hand, perhaps your spouse or a friend is to blame. Take action to keep the clutter at bay.

3. Begin decluttering now

Don’t procrastinate, overthink or make excuses. A lot of big tasks seem overwhelming: building a house, losing 50 pounds, writing a book. Still, many people have accomplished them and so can you. Start now. The key is to take it one step at a time. Don’t think about decluttering as one huge, overwhelming project or you’ll never get started.

Focus on one area at first. For example, you might declutter your coffee table, a bookcase or the inside of a refrigerator. You could even start with a car’s glove compartment or trunk. After you finish this task, choose another specific area. You can split large spaces into multiple sections, such as the closet floor, shelves and hangers.

Listening to music may help you get things done as long as it doesn’t distract you. You shouldn’t have to choose each song or switch channels every five minutes. Avoid anything visual like a TV show; it will slow you down by taking your eyes off the items you need to sort.

4. Make decisions easier

It’s tiring to decide what to do with each of 100 different items. Should you keep, donate, recycle, sell or fix it? Whatever it is, simply decide. Decluttering takes energy, don’t let deciding to do a thing take up as much of your energy.

With the right techniques and thoughts, this process can be much less overwhelming. Remember that you don’t have to be perfect or finish everything this weekend. Even if you only find 20 or 30 minutes for decluttering each day, every step in the right direction will make a difference in your life.

If you haven’t been feeling as productive as you’d like to be, you’re not alone. But knowing that you can be doing more with the time and resources you have is a great first step. You’re ahead of the people who don’t even realize that they’re not making the best use of their time.

The following advice can help you become more productive at work or school as well as when taking care of chores at home.

1. List Down Your Priorities 

Instead of just thinking about what your need to prioritize, it’s a great idea to put these thoughts into writing. You’ll have a dated record of when you decided to really commit to becoming more productive. 

A few examples of priorities to encourage a more productive mindset include:

* Avoiding time-wasting meetings that could be taken care of with a few quick emails. This is especially important to keep in mind if you have been working at home to stay socially distant during the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic causing COVID-19 infections.

* Reduce or eliminate some of the mindless entertainment that’s been putting holes in your schedule. Maybe drop one hour of television from your viewing plans, or stop playing games on your phone or computer until late a night.

2. Create a Routine

When you get into creating a routine where you do the same kinds of tasks each day or week, it will be easier to boost productivity. You’ll know when to check your emails, update a budget, follow up with people about an ongoing project, and so on. A routine gives you the structure needed to take on projects more efficiently.

3. Focus: Aim to Work on One Thing at a Time

The idea of multitasking may be attractive, but for many people, doing so serves more to keep them distracted rather than helping them work more efficiently. Focus on one task before going to the next one.

4. Remember to Periodically Take a Break to Recharge

If you become burned out, it will be even harder to take care of everything you need to do. So remind yourself to take breaks once in a while to avoid burning out. Make an alarm in your calendar to remind you, if you have a habit of working too long without a pause.

5. Motivate Yourself With Your Goals in Mind

When you keep your main goals top of mind, it will be easier to stay on track with a productive mindset. It will become second nature to ask yourself, is this to-do item necessary and a requirement to achieve my goals? 

6. Write Down Your Accomplishments

After completing a major task or finishing a week’s worth of projects, write down what you’ve done, noting the day and time. Periodically review the growing list of accomplishments to motivate you to continue with your efforts to be more productive.

7. Maintain a Positive Attitude for Ongoing Productivity

Cultivating a feeling of optimism and staying positive can do wonders for being more productive. You will have a “can-do” attitude that withstands minor setbacks.

No one plans to live in a cluttered, messy house. But it’s easy for people to lose track of their goals to stay neat, and then they find they’re living in a messy space they barely recognize.

It’s a common scenario: You look around your home and finally realize that there is too much clutter. Things have been piling up for quite some time now. Perhaps you have been pressed for time lately, with more than the usual demands at work, school or family life. 

Chances are good that you’ve thought about getting organized, amidst all of the chaos. But as your house gets more and more messy, the task ahead of you seems all the more daunting.

A to-do list that prioritizes straightening up your abode and making things nice and neat is nice to have, but you have been ignoring this list for too long!

Here are some tips on how and where you can start to get organized.

1. Go easy on yourself

When you have a lot to clean up, with countless items needing to go into their own place, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Acknowledge that you may not get everything done on day one.

You don’t need any more stress, since a messy home is already enough to make people nervous. If you miss cleaning up one day, you can just take a few more moments the next day to make up for it.

2. Break the process down into a series of tasks

This makes the big burden of organizing your entire house easier to tackle. 

One approach is to look at the work by categories, such as picking up scattered toys or getting rid of a stack of old, dusty magazines. Another method is to focus on one task at a time. You might want to deal with cleaning the living room first, before the guest bedroom if you won’t be expecting visitors for the foreseeable future.

3. Make a schedule for future decluttering. After your home is organized and you’ve gotten rid of most, if not all of the clutter, you’ll want to keep it that way. 

For busy moms, a favourite tactic is to make a chore chart. List all of the main cleaning and organizing areas you want to pay attention to each week. This will help you and your family get into the habit of cleaning up as you go along. After a game night, for example, have one person gather up the trash from snacks, have another person put away the games.

You’ll feel better because it’s easier to relax in a clean and well-organized home.

After you get into a regular routine of organizing your home and arranging items to minimize clutter, you’ll be bound to feel more relaxed. There’s so much stress and anxiety from being in a cluttered home, it can affect your mood and well being. 
 

Parents are already tired enough from their job, which means that it’s not fair for them to be expected to do all of the cleaning at home.

Instead of fretting about the chaos and messiness of your home after no one has done their chores in a while, maybe now it’s time for a different approach.

Why not hold a family “organize-athon”? After all, the family that makes a point of cleaning together, stays together. You can spend time with your family while doing something productive and fun.

Here are tips on how you can encourage your whole family to get involved in this crucial task.

1. Set a Good Example

You want your kids to grow up to become responsible adults, and this training starts at home when they are young. So be clear about what you need to do as a family. When the parents demonstrate their commitment to weekly decluttering tasks, the kids will take this job more seriously.

2. Make a Schedule and Stick to It

Probably a weekend day will be the most easy to schedule for cleaning and organizing. But perhaps the middle of the week is best because of various commitments, from sports to other extracurricular activities. Once you come up with a schedule, keep at it, to reinforce the importance of staying clean and organized as a family.

3. Make it Fun

Who says it has to be boring, keeping your abode organized and clean? Use the organize-athon to have your family listen to your favorite songs together. Singing in unison will unite you in your cleaning labors and maybe, do some dancing too!

4. Give Rewards

Make a chart where you fill in with stickers of something colorful and fun, like stars or cartoon figures. When your kids maintain a pattern of staying organized every week, give them a special reward, such as a toy, or an extra hour of games or TV watching.

5. Take Breaks

Don’t expect your family to work non-stop when it comes to cleaning up and getting more organized. It’s best to build some break time into your schedule. For example, say you clean up from 3p-5p on a Saturday. 

For a break, you all can go for a walk, pick up a snack, or maybe play one of the lost board games that you uncovered while cleaning up the abode. Parents will want to instill in their children the notion that cleaning and organizing are basic activities to do without getting grumpy. Break time will reinforce that this is a planned activity that must be done on a regular basis.

6. Here’s to a Home With Less Clutter and Much More Fun

The best part about holding regular organize-athons is that your family will be working together as a team, and will be rewarded by a nice, calming, peaceful place to live. And once they get used to keeping the place nice and organized with just a little bit of extra effort, you can count on them being motivated, going forward, to stay organized.

Your kids will soon see that it’s more pleasant to live in a home that’s clean and organized. They can find their toys and other items more easily, and they won’t feel bad about getting nagged by their parents, since the whole family will be participating.
 

The habits you have in life can affect the mindset you carry into daily tasks. By changing your habits, you may be able to develop a mindset that suits you better, helps you accomplish more, and lets you experience more joy. Here are a few of the ways you can change what you think and what you do, for higher levels of success.

1. True Improvement Requires Real Effort

Many people want to improve their lives, but they aren’t putting in the effort to do so. They’re hoping it’ll happen on its own, as if by magic. While that’s a nice thought, it’s not realistic. But the good news is that you can make small changes that can improve your mindset over time. You don’t need to make huge changes, or do everything at once. Small steps can have real value.

2. Changing “I Can’t” to “I Need to Learn How To”

Not knowing how to do everything is a normal part of life, but a lot of people see it as a personal failing. Instead of saying “I can’t,” try reframing your mindset to “I need to learn how to.” Then you’re not telling yourself you’re incapable of a particular task, but only telling yourself you haven’t learned how to do it just yet. You can take the learning experience as an adventure, and feel happier in the process, as well.

3. Failure is Learning, Not Failing

When you get something wrong (and everyone does!), don’t see yourself as a failure. People only fail when they completely give up on something. If you try something, and it doesn’t work out, you’ve just learned a way that doesn’t work for you. That opens up the door for finding other ways that do work for you, and meet your needs.

4. You Can Declutter Your Life and Your Mind

Clutter can become a big problem in life. Whether you have too many things in your space, or it feels like your brain is chasing its tail all day, you may benefit from moving toward having less. Make a list, so you can take the racing thoughts out of your head. Go through one room or other space at a time, to reduce the physical clutter. A refreshed, renewed mindset can often come from a few small changes, and good habits often snowball into even better choices in the future.

5. Choose Just Three Things to Avoid Overwhelm

Start small. Choose three things to work on, so you’re not getting completely overwhelmed. While it’s important to work toward your goals, and you might have a lot of areas of life you want to focus on, you can’t do everything at once. That sense of overwhelm could lead you to basically stop doing anything, because you can’t pick a place to start. Instead of risking that, just choose three things to improve, and take small steps in those areas. As you do that, you’ll find future ways to incorporate other things, as well.

Most people start the new year by making one or more resolutions. Sadly, around four out of five individuals don’t achieve these goals, according to Forbes. The good news is that you can boost your likelihood of success by creating practical plans and following these tips:

1. Be Realistic

Many people fail to reach their annual goals because they expect far too much of themselves. A resolution ought to challenge you, but it shouldn’t detract from every other aspect of your life. For instance, perhaps you want to save more money. Try setting aside one-tenth of your income rather than aiming for a huge sum.

2. Work Steadily

Some resolutions fail when people try to completely change themselves in a very short time. You’re more likely to succeed if you take gradual steps and follow a long-term plan. Smoke fewer cigarettes every week rather than expecting yourself to quit tomorrow.

A lack of time can interfere with certain goals. Other obligations would probably prevent you from organizing your entire home in a single weekend. Again, it’s better to steadily make a little progress each day than to keep putting off a big project.

3. Be Confident

If you don’t really believe that you can succeed at turning your resolutions into a reality, you probably won’t. Remember: Many famous individuals experienced numerous failures before attaining great success. Previous defeats don’t have to affect what happens in the future, especially if you learn from them.

4. Enjoy It

Find ways to make the process fun and interesting. Losing weight, cutting your living expenses or decluttering might seem boring at first. However, such efforts can become enjoyable when you take a walk in a new place or combine a coupon with a sale to pay less than you ever spent before.

5. Share Goals

People often achieve their resolutions when they talk to friends or family members about these goals. Another person could encourage you, offer helpful advice or participate in the same process. Many individuals don’t give up as easily when someone else knows about their plans.

6. Stay Positive

Never underestimate the power of your thoughts. They play a tremendous role in determining if you succeed. Don’t concentrate on the person who reaches goals faster than you; remember that many others aren’t even trying. Give yourself credit for continually making an effort to improve.

Tackle fears and long-held beliefs that hamper progress. It becomes far more difficult to succeed if you believe there’s something inherently wrong with you or you feel afraid of completing a mission that involves long-term commitment. You might take steps toward an objective while subconsciously undermining yourself at the same time.

To sum it up, your annual resolutions have a better chance of success if you believe in yourself, set realistic goals, achieve gradual progress and find other people who encourage you. We wish all of our readers a happy New Year and the best of luck in making your dreams a reality.

The sounds of happy celebrations and relatives reuniting are starting to fade, as have the leftovers from your holiday feast. After all of the joy and fun you experienced during the holidays, it’s about time for you to go back to work. 

It seems like you just started your holiday, but now you have to say goodbye to relaxing with family and friends. Soon you will be putting your nose to the grindstone again. 

Here are ways you can cope with returning to your job following the holiday season.

1. Declutter Your Space

When you get back to your job, you might feel a bit nervous because of so much clutter in your space. Get rid of all unnecessary items, including old paperwork. Any hard copy documents you have should go into folders that you keep organized in a cabinet. Sort through your inbox to remove junk. When your desk is clear of debris, you’ll feel better about being back at work.

2. Make New Goals and Set Your Most Urgent Priorities

This year can mark a progression in your career if all goes well. To get started, set some new goals to help you envision what success will look like at your job. You might aim for a promotion or ask to be cross-trained so you can work with people in different departments. It’s also a good idea to make a list of the most urgent priorities, so you can view them clearly and figure out a plan to attack each one.

3. Remember to Take Care of Yourself

Rather than becoming overwhelmed with a huge crush of new tasks when you get back to work, it’s a good idea to take things slowly at first. If you don’t take care of yourself, who will? A burnt-out employee is no good to anyone, after all. So remember to take breaks on a regular basis, especially the first week back.

4. Catch up With Colleagues

One great thing about coming back to work after a break for the holidays is that you have an opportunity to catch up with your work friends and share how your holidays have been. Catching up with colleagues is an excellent way to smooth out the process of getting back into your work routine after the relaxation of the holidays has ended.

5. Enjoy Your Work But Leave it Behind When it’s Time to Go Home

Employees will be happier when they are able to focus on work while they’re in the office, but then let it all go when it’s time to finish at the end of the day. Strive to leave your work baggage in the office, so you can relax and enjoy time with your family in the comforts of your home.

6. A Smooth Transition Back to Work, Post-Holidays

The transition back to work after some much-needed time off for the holidays can be a bit jarring for some. But if you take a moment to gather your thoughts and then try using these various ways to cope, chances are very good you will have a better time, coping with being back on the job after the holiday season.
 

New Year’s resolutions are a really common way to set goals. The beginning of another year seems like a great time to make a change, but the reality is that a lot of those resolutions don’t make it longer than a few weeks into the new year. Here are a few of the most important things you can do, to have the best chance of sticking to your resolutions, in January and beyond.

1. Choose a SMART Goal

Just wanting to be healthier, for example, isn’t really a goal. It’s more of a wish. Instead, choose something that’s specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. In other words, a SMART goal. With a goal that fits these criteria, you have something more defined that you can work for and it’s easier to see whether you’re meeting goals or not.

2. Start With Small Steps

Trying to get up January 1st and be someone different isn’t realistic for most people. Instead of trying to make a huge transformation right away, choose some small things you can begin to do, that will move you toward your goal. Starting smaller also helps you reduce the risk of burnout, which could cause your resolutions to falter.

3. Learn From Past Mistakes

If you’ve made New Year’s resolutions before, but they haven’t been successful, it’s time to explore what’s causing them to fail. There may be some important changes you’ll need to make for this resolution, so it has a better chance of working for you. Learning from any mistakes in the past is one of the best ways to give yourself a brighter future.

4. Motivate Yourself

Willpower and discipline are both important when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, but so is motivation. If you can motivate yourself to stick to your resolutions and keep moving forward, you’ll be more likely to see your dreams come true, and your goals met faster. It’s not always easy to give yourself a pep talk, but it’s an important way to keep your focus on what matters.

5. Get Support From Family and Friends

Your family and friends can be a great support system when you have a New Year’s resolution that’s important to you. They can encourage you, give you tips, and help you feel loved, just the way you are. It also gives you someone to share your accomplishments and struggles with, both of which can help you stay on track and focused as you work toward your goals.

6. Keep in Mind That Change is a Process

Changing how you do things, whether for a New Year’s resolution or some other reason, takes time and effort. Some days will be easier than others, as well as some parts of the change you want to make. Understanding that it’s a process can keep you from getting frustrated, so you can continue to work toward your goals, even if some setbacks occur.

Don’t give up on New Year’s resolutions, even if they aren’t easy, or they take time. Permanent change can be difficult, but it’s generally always worth it.

The beginning of a new year offers a great opportunity to try new things and change for the better. Perhaps you’d like to become more organized, improve your health or have a beneficial impact on the world. This advice can help you make the most of these positive intentions:

1. Goals

Take the time to develop specific goals. Set a realistic deadline, find ways to measure your progress and write everything down. Choose something that really matters to you and would enhance your life. One person might benefit from losing weight while another individual achieves greater happiness by meeting new friends.

2. Variety

Every three or four weeks, try something genuinely new. You could play tennis, travel by train or eat at a Japanese restaurant. Maybe there’s a park you’ve never visited. Write down a list of ideas. These experiences will help you enjoy life and make a fresh new start.

3. Generosity

Find ways to help other people. You don’t need a lot of time or money to accomplish this. Donate useful things, offer to assist strangers and give compliments. You could clear the snow from a neighbor’s driveway or steps.

4. Exercise

Good health can help you feel better about life and achieve other goals as well. Consider jogging, visiting a local fitness center or riding an exercise bike at home. If you write your time and distance in a calendar or journal, it might motivate you and make it easier to track your progress.

5. Gratitude

As you strive to accomplish new things and better yourself in the new year, don’t forget to be grateful for what you already have. Think about your gratitude daily and remember to speak appreciative words. Don’t make the mistake of improving your life only to take it for granted.

6. Organization

Schedules and calendars play a crucial role in bringing goals to fruition. They can help you budget your time equitably rather than spending too many hours on one or two tasks. Try to select a planner that’s portable, provides ample writing space and stays open when you put it down.

Make an effort to banish unnecessary items from your desk surface. Shred or file papers, get rid of expired coupons and throw out pens that don’t work. You’ll appreciate having some open workspace, and the burden of clutter will be lifted from your shoulders.

7. Missions

Our “52 Organizing Missions” program could help motivate you to simplify and declutter in the new year. This affordable internet course consists of practical tasks that you can complete in 30 minutes. You may chat with fellow learners and track your progress online. Among other things, the course tells you how to streamline:

• A house or apartment
• Time, household chores
• Desk and office space
• Briefcase or purse
• Garage and vehicle
• Your to-do lists

“52 Organizing Missions” doesn’t just teach people to declutter places. It helps you develop the habits and mindset needed to organize your life in the long run. You can begin and complete the missions at any time of your choosing. Please visit the course page to get started.