A Fresh Start New Year’s Resolutions Are Made To Be Broken, Right? Not Necessarily. If You Plan Your Time Wisely, Anything Is Possible.
Here it is, New Year’s Day-plus-one, and some of us already wonder how we’ll keep even half those lofty resolutions.
The key to success, according to Pullman resident Susan Swanson, is organization.
“Most resolutions - losing weight, exercising more, whatever - require more efficient use of time,” says the $35-an-hour organization consultant. “But people don’t see that.”
Typically, Swanson says, we aim for dramatic changes without allowing adequate time. Two weeks into January “people feel overwhelmed and give up.”
Swanson suggests putting less emphasis on resolutions and approach the new year as a fresh start. “Commit yourself to getting more organized in general,” she says, “but realize that it’s not something that happens in one day or one week.”
A good place to begin is with paperwork.
“Gather all your bills, letters and other papers in one place,” she says. “Sit down with folders, and file everything according to what makes sense to you.”
Swanson says this step doesn’t require a big investment - cardboard boxes will do in lieu of file cabinets - “but everybody needs a desk, even if it’s just a card table in the corner.”
Another basic ingredient is a “day planner” calendar roomy enough to accommodate notes, yet small enough to conveniently carry.
Once paperwork is organized, the next step is to eliminate clutter. Swanson, a self-described “recovering pack rat,” knows how hard this step can be.
“One person called me and asked, ‘Do you do disasters?’ She said she’d like to tilt her house on end, dump everything out and start over.”
Less drastic measures will usually suffice. One technique is to count the number of Christmas presents you received. Then gather an equal number of unused or unwanted items taking space in your basement or garage, and donate them to a charitable group.
Gradually reduce your possessions until you have a manageable mass. “It took me seven years to overcome my pack-rat habit,” Swanson admits. “The hardest things to get rid of were family items I wasn’t using. Like the red teapot I sold to an antique dealer - that was really hard.”
As your closet floors reappear, figure out a logical storage system. “Find a place for everything, so that everything can easily be put in its place,” says Swanson.
After that, its merely a matter of fine-tuning and maintaining your system.
There are plenty of books on the subject, including Stephanie Winston’s classic “Getting Organized: The easy way to put your life in order.”
The payoff is fewer frustrating moments spent searching for mislaid odds and ends, and the ability to schedule time for what really matters in your life: family activities, exercise, or improving your diet.
But just as New Year’s resolutions are not the magic solution to all problems, Swanson says, neither is getting organized.
“We tend to think that if we just could get organized, we will have arrived,” she observes. “But even the most organized people aren’t perfect, and accepting that can be really helpful.”