Organizing Encouragement - Baby Steps

It's the end of January. Many of you have made New Year's resolutions or have set goals for yourself in 2013. You shouted from the rooftop, "This is the year I'm going to get organized!'

Have you started yet? Made a plan? Mapped out some mini-goals for yourself? If yes, then great!

If not, that's OK. No beating yourself up about it. It's been cold. Maybe you or a family member has been under the weather. Maybe 'life' has gotten in the way. Or perhaps, you just don't know where to begin.

No worries--take 'baby steps.'

No one expects a baby to stand up one day and walk across the room. There's a lot that goes on before a child meets that developmental milestone. They sit up, they crawl, they practice standing up in their crib. They take 'baby steps' towards mastering their actual baby steps.

You can take baby steps to reach your organizing goals, too. Here are a few examples:

- Toss expired medicine. Next chance you get, do the same with health products.
- Sort and purge your piles of coupons while waiting for pasta water to boil.
- Schedule 15 minutes on your calendar to organize your sock drawer.
- Read a few posts on organizing blogs that pertain to your organizing challenge(s).
- Look at organizing ideas/products on Pinterest (don't get sucked in, though!).

All of these teeny-tiny organizing projects/tasks are baby steps that will eventually get you where you want to be.

I often tell my clients to visualize their organizing goal as an iceberg. Baby steps are equal to the act of chipping away at that iceberg. Some days you may feel like you're chipping away with a hammer, other days, with a toothpick. Regardless of your tool, if you keep working at it, you will reach your goal, however challenging it may be.

You can get organized in 2013. I know you can. Just take a baby step--one little step in the direction of the organizing goals you have set for yourself. In the beginning, it may feel as if you're not making much progress but let me assure you--every 'baby step' you take towards reaching your goal will get you one step closer to the day when you can proudly shout from the rooftop, "I did it!