Organize and Reap Huge Benefits for the New Year

By Phoenix Miller, An Amazing Space

January is National Get Organized Month! Years ago if you told someone you were dealing with clutter and disorganization, it was in hushed tones and with lowered eyes. No more! Now, it seems everyone is doing it. Organizing is “IN,” and it is fashionable and mainstream to deal with your clutter.

Getting organized has recently made top ten lists of New Year’s resolutions and is encouraged as a course of action all year. Look around. All the major magazines offer tips and organizing solutions. Talk shows and entire programs are devoted to consumer excesses. George Carlin made a fortune doing comedy about our “stuff.” There is even a new industry based on professional organizers, closet manufacturers, and organizing products.

Getting organized helps you function better, become more productive and feel less stressed. On a deeper level, the benefits are huge and could be life-changing when it relates to your self-esteem and your life dreams.

Save Time
Time is money. If you are a business person, you want to spend your time in IPA (income producing activities) instead of looking for the signed contract, the presentation, or your keys. Statistics say that the average executive loses 12 days per year looking for things. Then what is your time worth? You do the math.

Time is time. The average American spends one year of their life looking for lost or misplaced items at home and at the office. How would you like to spend your extra year?

Save Money
Save money by avoiding dueplicate purchases. Once you organize the stockroom and do a proper inventory, you won’t have to commit the fiscal sin of duplication by ordering an item only to find you already had multiples of that item. The same goes for duplicate purchases for white blouses, black pants or a jacket lost on the floor or in the back of your closet.

Find Money
Once you start to sort and categorize, you will start to find things. Found money can be discovering an invoice that never got mailed, the receipts tucked in an envelope never accounted for, the missing diamond earring, or actual cash left in your birthday card from Aunt Beth.

Achieve your Dreams/Reach your Goals
Imagine getting up one weekend without thoughts of cleaning out your home office or tackling the garage. Imagine if you had the whole day just to work on or actually experience some of your life goals. Build the boat to sail around the world; see a local theatre group in every state in the country. Learn French! Have you worked on your bucket list recently, or will you do it after you clean off your desk?

Imagine what your life would be like..the places you could go, things you could do and be a part of …if.. you just took care of your clutter.

Is this your year to get organized?

Tips to Get Started

Make a decision now to organize and de-clutter.
Ask yourself why you want to get organized. To sell your house? Downsize your parents into a smaller, safer residence? Create a sanctuary? Become more productive? The answer will determine your focus.
Take the pressure off. Make small changes that will last. Set realistic goals. You didn’t gather all this in three days. It will take awhile.
Do it with someone. Judith Kolberg, author of “Conquering Chronic Disorganization,”calls this someone a “body double,” someone who will be by your side to keep you on track.
Visualize what you would like your space to look like.
Gather, sort, create categories: Keep, Donate, Toss, Repair, Sell, etc.
Have fun. Put on some music. Dance. Sing.

Above all, have a plan, set a good mood, and stay positive about the process. Enjoy! You can do it!

About Phoenix Miller:
Experienced Organizer and Space Planner, Phoenix Rita Miller, specializes in downsizing and de-cluttering people in transition. She serves Baby Boomers and their parents, newlyweds setting up their first apartment, people who are moving, going through a divorce, experiencing loss. She also works with small businesses that are growing and need to become more productive. She was a storage/collections design consultant to museums and libraries and now brings those skills to her clients.

Currently a Toastmaster Area Governor, Phoenix lectures by sharing humorous, entertaining, universal, yet educational stories of transition as well as by sharing tips on how to start downsizing and decluttering She is in the process of creating a website for you to enjoy. In the meantime, you can reach her at 919-624-1570 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Ask for her Free Fifteen Favorite Organizing Tips.