“Aim for improvement over perfection”, my old therapist used to tell me. Pretty tough advice to hear when you’re a controlling, anal Virgo like myself. But it stuck with me. If I could simply tweak what wasn’t exactly working in my life instead of completely overhauling it, I would still see a vast improvement. This doesn’t just apply to neurotic behavior, it applies to organizing as well.
Hi, I’m Jeni Aron, the Clutter Cowgirl, and I’m a reformed perfectionist. Welcome to my very first blog post about organizing your life! If you have trouble getting started with an organizing project and need a jump start, you’ve come to the perfect place. Well, we won’t use the “p” word too often, actually. You’ve come to a helpful place, how about that?
People often ask me for “quick tips’ to getting organized. Sadly, anything that sticks is not going to be quick. Like gaining control of your eating habits or instilling any new behavior into your lifestyle, organizing takes time. Be patient with yourself and ease into organzing with small bite-size changes. For example, let’s talk about mail. One tip I have for clients is that they open their mail at their mailbox. Literally right there. Are you in your bathrobe? Hopefully it’s cute and you have matching slippers. Most of my clients live in Manhattan or other urban areas so they open their mail inside their apartment building.
By opening your mail right away, you are making a distinct decision not to bring any unwanted catalogs, credit card offers or supermarket savers into your home. This is the first step to getting organized. Congrats! By eliminating the “import” of clutter into your home, you’re halfway there. Now some clients forget to do this, they’re harried for time or they just want to get the heck home already. So try it once. How does it feel to discard junk mail right there at your mailbox? Don’t litter, look for a garbage bin. I bet it felt great to walk into your home with only one piece of mail or maybe even no mail at all. Can you do this tomorrow? Try it. If not, wait a few days and see how quickly your mail piles up on your dining table. Not such a great feeling, huh? But we’re not here to beat ourselves up, we’re here to notice our habits and then make small effective changes that will better our lives. Remember, improvement, not perfection. I know you can do it. What other small change can you make today?
With love, light and less clutter,
Jeni