Blog How to Get Organized and Stay Organized - Strategy 3 Decision Strategy

How to Get Organized and Stay Organized - Strategy 3 Decision Strategy

03/08/2024


I’m going to guess this has happened to you before, and I only know because it has happened to me too!

You finally feel motivated to get organized. You have the whole weekend planned, you’re going to start with your office, then do the junk drawer in the kitchen. You know it’s a stretch goal, but you totally feel up for it. Saturday morning hits, you get up, get your cup of coffee and dive in starting with your desk. It’s cluttered, stuff piled up all over it so you start there. You start with a pile of paperwork, you see some old bills and think oh no! Did I pay those? You take a look online and find that they are paid. OK, still feeling motivated you dive back into the rest of the piles. There are some of the books your kids used to read, you page through them and feel a pang of sadness. You brush that to the side along with the books. Now you open a drawer, you know the top of the desk isn’t done, but that all needs a lot of hard decisions, the drawers should be easier. But they’re not. You forgot that the last time you got organized you shoved a bunch of old paperwork inside. UGH! Maybe the junk drawer will be easier and you need more coffee. It’s noon and nothing is done yet! You make lunch, sit down to watch a show and pretty much never return to the project.

This happens because making decisions is HARD. And it’s ok. If making the decision of what to do with your kids books was easy, they wouldn’t be piled on your desk, right?

As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.

Instead of starting with cute bins and resolving to just get rid of everything, you can put together a Decision Strategy. In this episode I’ll share with you what a Decision Strategy is, why you need one and what to consider to create your own.

So let’s start with what a decision strategy is and what it is not.

A decision strategy helps you know how best to decide what to do with all the things that you’ll be sorting through during your home organizing journey. The volume of decisions we make on a normal day is a lot and we can experience decision fatigue. When we put even more decision making on top of a normal day, it can become just too much. Instead we create a decision strategy where we decide in advance exactly how we will handle the decision of what to do with different types of items. This allows you to think well in advance of taking action. You no longer have to decide on the fly.

A Decision Strategy is NOT cookie cutter. I can’t be the one to tell you what you should do with your things. Only YOU can make the decision. Only YOU know how you feel and think. I wholeheartedly believe that not even a professional organizer that you hire and pay should tell you what to do with your stuff!  It’s such a personal choice. And you should never ever feel bad about your choice or feel pressured to get rid of anything you’re not ready to.

Having a decision strategy in hand when you tackle any home organizing project will give you freedom because you won’t feel weighed down with every item you touch. The overwhelm you normally feel will subside because you’ve already figured out what to do with the stuff! I’m not saying there won’t be difficult steps to take, but a decision strategy resolves the biggest challenges you face in your home organizing journey. You’ll also gain confidence as you begin sorting through all the things more quickly than you would otherwise. Thinking through this in advance saves you time in the long run, you’re not reinventing the wheel every time you want to organize a space in your home.

Now that you know what a decision strategy is and why you want one, let’s take time to create yours.

You can access a free download to help you create your own decision strategy in the free program The Secrets to Lasting Home Organization

To create your decision making strategy, you’ll need to set aside time to really think through each of these things.

  • Sentimental items - will you keep, take pictures, store, or display them?
  • Paperwork - will you keep hard copies, store digitally or throw away?
  • Do you have storage space or space constraints to keep in mind?
  • Who will have the final decision? You, your spouse, kids? 
  • What is your current mindset in regards to parting with things? Does the thought make you feel sick or are you ready?

I can tell you that up until about 2 years ago I didn’t want to get rid of anything sentimental. I kept it all, but all of a sudden I was very tired of the boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff I had stashed all over of kids toys, artwork, school papers. I was READY to part with it. But had I gotten rid of any of it before I would have been so upset about it.

There is absolutely no wrong answer to any of these questions. You can keep it all, you can throw it all away, donate it… or even decide not to decide yet!

You can dive deeper into devising your decision strategy with me by your side. Sign up for The Secrets to Lasting Home Organization at www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com.

Join me next week as we dive into strategy 4, Right size. I share what it means to right size your home organizing project, why you need to and how to make it happen.


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As a mom looking for a fresh start in her home organizing journey, you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right? That means you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.

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