WHERE TO BEGIN? and WHITEBOARD Done is better than Perfect! Sandra Felton, THE ORGANIZER LADY® -------------------------------------- Contents of New Ideas for Today Message of the Day - Where to Begin? Habit of the Day Family Reminder of the Day Quote of the Day Question of The Day From the Trenches - White Board More Info ----------------------------- **Learn how to get organized with Marsha's (FREE) YouTube videos!** ***If you are having problems with Yahoo Groups mailing, you can subscribe to https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3490310591173841338#allposts to receive the exact same messages.*** **The Messies Anonymous website, www.messies.com, is back up! Thank you for your patience.** ------------------------------------------- 1. Message of the Day WHERE SHALL I BEGIN? Company is coming. You are ready to start! You have the desire, the energy, and the time to start clearing out the clutter that faces you but you are stopped dead in your tracks because you can't decide where to begin. If you have a party or house guests coming at a specific time, you need to narrow your focus down to only the activities that will make the biggest difference in the order of your house. I recall someone who had house guests coming and decided the most important thing to do in the cluttered house was to clean the oven. But, whose guests ever see the oven? This is inability to prioritize. Apply the 80/20 percent principle of Pareto, an Italian economist. Twenty percent of your actions result in eighty percent of the improvement in your house. Ask yourself where you would ask the neatness fairy to wave her wand. Do those few things. Twenty percent of your house is used and seen eighty percent of the time. Where will people go? What will they see? Work in these areas first. Look around and think about your goal. Force yourself to stop and evaluate where the powerful twenty percent are (three or so items.) Write them down if necessary and check them off as you go. Stay focused. ------------------------- 2. Habit of the Day Commit for just this one day. FOLLOW THE FOREST CAMPING RULE, Leave the area you enter as good as you found it, or better. ----------------------------- 3. Family Reminder of the Day Pick one of these reminders or make one of your own to share with your family each day. In our family, the person who uses the last sheet of toilet paper puts a new roll on the roller. In our family, we write what we need to buy on the whiteboard. In our family, we move the garbage cans out of sight when they are emptied at the curb. ----------------------------- 4. Quote of the Day "Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." Calvin Coolidge I think this was his way of saying "Baby steps" or maybe "The secret to success is making very small, yet very consistent, changes." ----------------------------- 5. Question of the Day How would you describe your ideal home? It will help you to verbalize it using the words, "In my ideal house I see..." Tell us by posting on Friends-of-The-Organizer-Lady.http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Friends-of-The-Organizer-Lady ----------------------------- 6. From the Trenches by a Wise Messie WHITE BOARD To-Do Tip: One thing I bought to help me was a big white board. I put it in the kitchen where I can see it as soon as I get into the house. I write on it all the things that need to be done that day or the next. It makes me feel I DID something when I can erase an item. And it makes me realize I need to take it serious, when I have to leave an item for the next day (which DOES happen still too often). For me this works better than the To DO list book, because it stares me in the face all day long :D (Thanks to this Wise Messie) NOTE: If you have a white board, write your list of the POWERFUL 20% items here! ----------------------------- 7. More Information This is a simple program. We stick with the basics as they are presented in these messages. Keep reading. Keep adding one part of the program at a time. Repetition is important. Forward to friends if desired but not to other sites. Read this whole posting or only what you can take in today, then delete it. Don't forget the daily reminders!!! Do you have a copy posted somewhere? Click here to print a copy of the daily Reminders and How-To's ------------------------------------------- 8. Extra Help Stop letting clutter get the upper hand; there is hope Click here to learn about the Organizing Mastery class where you can get rid of clutter forever. Click here If you'd like to speak to an organizer about your clutter problem. -------------------------------------------- 9. Free YouTube Videos Learn how to get organized with Marsha's (FREE) YouTube videos! --------------------------------------------------------------- Are you at home thinking about the organizing you need to get done? Take a look at our SOS program designed to jumpstart your organizing immediately. Buy now: https://sortitout.thinkific.com/courses/SOS-Organizing-Program For more information: http://www.sortitout.net/sos-solutions-solutions-program-sf MESSIES ANONYMOUS SLOGAN Please memorize this slogan and post it on your wall. The secret to success is making very small, yet very consistent, changes. Or to make it short, "Baby steps, baby steps" in the right direction. "Never underestimate the inevitability of gradualness." 18 © 2010 Sandra Felton THE ORGANIZER LADY® is a registered trademark of Sandra Felton, founder of Messies