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All I Really Need to Know I Learned While Cleaning My Closets

I surprise no one who knows me when I say that I could be more organized. While I have always managed to get the job done, I admit that better organization would make me more efficient and stress-free. Realizing that my life-long habits were a big part of my problem, I read books and talked to my more organized friends and family so I could find new strategies (and not under yesterday's newspapers).

Fortunately, I think I am on to something. As a bonus, I am finding that the same principles that are helping me find my lost winter gloves have applications elsewhere in my life. Please consider the following:

* Get rid of the things you do not need. This seems logical and unnecessary, but while we bundle off our old clothes and bottles, are we keeping old grudges, outmoded ideas, and fears that do nothing but hold us back?

* Keep the things you love. Do not sacrifice things in your life that are important to you. If it is your old lacrosse jersey or your time each day to write, resist the urge to give it up in the face of demands placed on you by family and friends. In order to be healthy and whole, we need something for ourselves.

* Have a place for everything and everything in its place. Things are easier to find when make a spot for them. Likewise, we get more done, accomplish our goals, and make our dreams come true when we make time for them on a regular basis.

* Keep on top of things every day. According to a book I read, once you have your space organized, it should take you no more than 15 minutes per day to keep everything as it should be. The catch is that you have to spend that 15 minutes every day, or you will soon be back to where you started. If you want to work out, read that book, or learn that new skill, you have to work on it daily, even for a few minutes. Otherwise, less important but more "urgent" tasks will take up your time and you will be back to where you started, no closer to your goal.

I am still working on my closets, but I know that I am gaining a good deal more than just space for my shoes.

Learn more about this author, Nunzia Falcone.
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