De-cluttering to save your precious time

Secrets to reclaim your space.

We all have something in common with Jagger, Obama, and Winfrey. We only have 24 hours in a day.

Time is our most precious resource and being disorganized affects us negatively. Our productivity, state of mind, motivation, and happiness are also impacted.

I help clients reduce stress caused by lack of time. We usually start by de-cluttering spaces to significantly increase quality of life.

In a recent survey, 82% of Canadians believe that if they were more organized they would have more time to accomplish their goals and that their quality of life would improve.   

Here are a few simple and quick de-cluttering tips that I share with my celebrity clients, so they can positively find more time.

Make an appointment to organize

In a UCLA study, a direct link was discovered between stress levels and the density of household objects.  

Whether cleaning a small drawer or an entire home, it won’t happen unless you make an appointment with yourself. You must honour this calendar block the same way you would stick to a doctor’s appointment or an exciting dinner party.  

Even if you schedule an hour and then procrastinate so you only have five minutes left, do those five minutes. You’ll be amazed at how your desire to finish will increase and how much you get done after you actually start.

Tackle the most painful area first

I always start my clients on the area that bothers them the most.  What area of your home gives you stress just thinking about it? Wouldn’t it be best to clean out that negative space right away?

If you are most annoyed by the junk drawer in the kitchen or the overstuffed hall closet that won’t close, my advice is to completely empty the space you are organizing, and group everything by category.  If it is the drawer you are tackling first, make a pile of pens, utensils, junk mail, random objects you can’t identify, etc. This will allow you to take an inventory of how much you have and what can be eliminated.

Once you’ve put items in these groups, thoughtfully return only what is necessary, paying special attention to the things that may belong elsewhere.

Think about all the time you will save when everything is easily found.

Organize your online life

Online life takes us the majority of our time these days.  For some of us, a lot of that time may be spent searching for emails and important documents.

There is no time like the present to clean up your inbox!  

• Set a specific time each week – an hour – to focus on your inbox until it is manageable

• Sort your inbox by “From” rather than “Date” so you can select multiple emails at a time and file away.

• When you reflect on your day and plan for the next, take 10 minutes to do a last minute sort.

Now, let’s schedule that time to de-clutter and start saving hours!

And check out this article on spring cleaning for a healthy home!

Find Tara on Instagram at @tarra_concierge or visit her website: www.takeiteasyconcierge.com