Why I’m breaking my Golden Rule

I may be moving to a smaller home but LGO

is Growing!

To make it all work, I have to break my Golden Rule:
a space should serve a single purpose.

I’m using some of my tips and tricks to manage my own move AND serve my clients simultaneously.
Join me on the journey!

Organize to Your Core Values

ORGANIZE TO YOUR

Core Values

ORGANIZE TO YOUR

Core Values

January is National Get Organized Month. Why? Because one of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to once and for all get organized.

Come closer…

Closer….

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

There is no once and for all when it comes to getting organized. People change over time. Life circumstances change over time. Our organizing systems have to evolve with us. We are never stagnant, nor should our organizing systems be.

That said, I’m going to share with you an interesting idea. What would happen if we organize according to our Core Values? Organizing according to our Core Values can help to create a system that is natural for us and therefore easy to maintain. Every decision we make on what to do, what to acquire or purge, and how we allocate our money would be based on whether or not it fits our Core Values. To me, that sounds very freeing. Decisions would be so much easier to make!

How does organizing according to your Core Values work?

First, you have to make sure your Needs are met. A well-known model of needs is Maslow’s Hierarchy. Once we satisfy our body’s basic Needs, we can move on to secure our Needs for safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

Next, you have to figure out what your Core Values are. This requires some real thought and mindfulness. Have you ever stopped to think about your Core Values? What are the traits in yourself and others that you hold most dear?

Here are a few examples of Core Values:

Ambition
Autonomy
Charity
Cleanliness
Compassion
Courage
Courtesy
Diligence
Duty
Equality
Focus
Follow-through
Honesty
Integrity
Kindness
Knowledge
Loyalty
Optimism
Perseverance
Reliability
Spirituality
Wisdom

now it’s time to address your organizing systems

Start with one small area, like a drawer.

1. gather

  • Take everything out of the drawer and put it on a horizontal surface.
  • Clean the drawer.
  • Examine the contents of the drawer.
  • Throw away any obvious garbage.
Lets Get Organized Organizing according to your Core Values Gather before Lets Get Organized Organizing according to your Core Values Gather after

2. sort

  • Put everything into logical categories. Put like with like.
  • Decide what needs to be kept in the drawer according to its location and use. If things belong elsewhere, set them aside for now.
  • This is where Core Values come into play. What are you telling yourself about your “stuff?” Whose voice do you hear in your head? Does every item you have meet a Need or serve a Value?
  • Pare down to only what meets a Need or serves a Value. Are there too many of a certain category? How many do you have to keep? For example, are there ten scissors in the kitchen “junk” drawer? You could keep two and relocate or donate the rest.

3. contain

  • Put back what belongs in the drawer.
  • Use containers that fit the drawer, and keep things in their categories. Now you can easily find what you need when you need it and return things to their rightful places when you’re done.
  • Label what goes where, with pictures or words, so others using the drawer can follow the system.
  • “A place for everything and everything in its place.”

4. maintain

  • Modify the system as you use it. If it’s too complicated, simplify it.
  • Regularly reevaluate the system according to your Needs and Values. I call this a “periodic tweak.” What has changed in your life? Do your systems still serve you? What do you need to do to bring your systems up to date?

Apply the process of evaluating your systems according to your Core Values to every room in your house, commitment you make, purchase you consider, and relationship you have. Over time, it will become second nature to ask yourself, “Does this decision support my Core Values?” Life may start to feel happier, your home may start to feel bigger, you may find you have more time for the things that you most enjoy, your relationships may become more fulfilling.

If you start to organize according to your core values, I would love to know what results you see. 

Call or email me to let me know!

author

Gayle M. Gruenberg

Gayle M. Gruenberg, CPO-CD® is the Chief Executive Organizer of Let’s Get Organized, LLC, an award-winning professional organizing firm based in Bergen County, New Jersey. Gayle is the creator of the Make Space for Blessings™ system. LGO works with busy families to help them find more time, space, money, and energy and connect their lives to their core values through being organized.

3 Minutes to a Happier, Healthier, More Organized You!

3 Minutes

to a Happier, Healthier,
More Organized You!

3 Minutes

to a Happier, Healthier, More Organized You!

Household “chores” and organizing projects can seem overwhelming when we look at them all at once.  When we break them down into smaller pieces, then they don’t seem as arduous, time-consuming, or boring. 

I once timed myself to see exactly how long it takes to fold a load of laundry, something I don’t enjoy doing.  It took three minutes. 

OK, it was a load of towels, which are easy, but even so, it was only three minutes.  We can do pretty much anything for just three minutes. If we apply this “3-minute rule” to a larger task, imagine how much more we can accomplish in the long term!

What can be done in 3 minutes? 

Here are 45 tasks you can do in 3 minutes (or less!):

  1. Pay bills online
  2. Tidy a pocketbook
  3. Use the bathroom
  4. Make the bed
  5. Feed the cats
  6. Scoop the litter box
  7. Take out the garbage
  8. Put away a bag of groceries
  9. Recycle old newspapers or magazines
  10. Hang coats in closet

11. File a few papers
12. Read this article (!)
13. Respond to an invitation
14. Write a thank you note
15. Drink a glass of water
16. Change the batteries in your smoke alarm
17. Test the carbon monoxide detector
18. Cut up an avocado or apple
19. Eat a banana
20. Eat a yogurt

21. Prepare a healthy snack
22. Print labels for your file system
23. Scan and save a vital document
24. Schedule a doctor’s appointment
25. Create an online ID with your doctor’s portal to access your health history
26. Give a few dollars to charity
27. Help an older person across the street
28. Smile and wave at someone you pass
29. Text someone you love, just because
30. Sort your sock drawer

31. Download a good book
32. Unload the dishwasher
33. Change a light bulb
34. Download an emergency preparedness list from the Red Cross website
35. Line up shoes in an entryway
36. Sort and open today’s mail
37. Change the sheets on a bed
38. Wash one window

39. Put a load of laundry in to wash
40. Transfer a load of laundry to the dryer
41. Toss old personal care products (makeup, expired over the counter medicines)
42. Toss expired pantry items on one shelf
43. Gather up garbage from your car at the end of the day
44. Talk with your kid before a practice or game
45. Play fetch with your dog or cat

author

Gayle M. Gruenberg

Gayle M. Gruenberg, CPO-CD® is the Chief Executive Organizer of Let’s Get Organized, LLC, an award-winning professional organizing firm based in Bergen County, New Jersey. Gayle is the creator of the Make Space for Blessings™ system. LGO works with busy families to help them find more time, space, money, and energy and connect their lives to their core values through being organized.