I’ve just been browsing 43 things. There are 99212 people who put “get organised” as a goal and 99764 that put “get organized” as a goal.

WOW!

I have heard before that “get organised” is one of the top 10 goals most people set every year.

I don’t believe that getting organised happens instantaneously. You can get the principles instantly but it takes a while to build the habits to stay organised.

It’s one thing to organise a space and another thing altogether to keep that space organised.

In fact, clients often say to me, “I can get my _________ organised but a week later, it looks like a tornado hit”

That’s why I put together a simple, step-by-step system to get your home organised in just 12 weeks.

If this is something on your to-do list this year, then I want you to have that peace that being organised brings.

and Organise your business here

Here’s to an organised 2009!

I don’t have a lot of jewellery. My thing is watches!

So I really just use a couple of hooks on the inside of my wardrobe door. The problem happens when I just keep throwing necklaces onto the hooks and eventually, it drives me crazy.

Like this – now I know it doesn’t look that bad but that’s because a hook fell off and I put those necklaces on some of the other hooks.

What did I do? I

• removed everything from the door
• decluttered stuff I never wear
• separated them into categories - earrings, pink and white set (only pink stuff I have), work necklaces, bracelets and weekend necklaces
• decided where to put new hooks (somewhat limited by the shelves when you close the door)
• hung everything up again, this time in an organised fashion

P.S. So they’re not the prettiest pictures in the world but they are organised – just keeping it real

This is the last challenge for 2008. Wow!

I’m so proud of you, even if you only participated a couple of times.

I’ve been thinking about doing this challenge a little differently next year.

How about we have a “theme for the week” every week? It will be something small and manageable….what do you think?

(if you don’t want to post on the theme, go right ahead It’s mainly to help those who want more direction and guidance with their organising efforts)

So, some housekeeping…

We’re decluttering and organising in our KITCHENS for the month of Jan

2 Jan – Tupperware in the kitchen
9 Jan – Mugs and glasses
16 Jan – Plates & bowls
23 Jan – Cutlery and utensils
30 Jan – Baking pans and cooking stuff

Get your entire home organised in 2009.

This is what I decluttered this week – some old pyjamas I’ve outgrown – too much of these and these.

This is a great week to declutter some items, especially if you received new __________ for Christmas.

Why hang onto those old __________ ?

Now for this week’s challenge

Please link to the post on your blog where you show off your pictures or talk about what you decluttered this week. If you don’t have a blog, tell me in the comments about ANYTHING you decluttered this week.

It can be anything – physical, electronic, mental clutter or even the need to be a certain way. Like perfectionism!

What did you declutter this week?

P.S.

So far I have 4 serious entrants to the competition and other “should I, shouldn’t I?” emails.

This is just a courtesy reminder that the disorganised office contest closes at 12PM EST today.

Get your entries in!

Okay, here’s the deal
I’m looking for someone who could use my 7 easy steps to organise your office MP3 and ebook pack.

I will donate a copy to someone free of charge and in exchange, you will guest blog (one post a week for about 4 – 6 weeks, depends how quickly you work through it) as you work through the system and organise your office.

The system covers organising your actual office space, desk, email, computer, etc. so you should have a more organised office than you had when you started

It doesn’t matter if one or two of your areas are already reasonably under control because even REALLY organised people have used just one or two tips and seen BIG results

This is how you enter

Send me an email to marcia AT organiseyourbusiness.com or leave a comment telling me

Entries close at midnight EST tonight (24 Dec).

I’ll let the winner know sometime over the weekend and everybody else will get another gift for being brave enough to step up

The great thing about loving handbags is that once people know that (which really doesn’t take too long with me), they bring you all these cool things to have a look at.

And of course, I’m always ready to take a photo

Like this…

This little gadget is a corporate gift we gave to some of our female brokers. The silver bits fold up and the whole thing looks like a coin when not in use.

The bottom of the circular disc has a rubber base so it doesn’t slide off the smooth surface of the table and then you hang your handbag off the edge.

I always think, “I hope my bag doesn’t get dirty on this floor” when I’m in a restaurant so I really think this is a great idea!

Now I just have to get one.

Isn’t it cute?

P.S. that isn’t my bag in the photo – it is waaaayyyyy too small for me!

P.P.S. Get your home organised in 2009.

Photo credit – http://giftsoftheorient.co.uk

Here’s a selection of some of my previous Christmas organising posts for you, especially if you’re one of those last-minute people.

How to plan your Christmas without getting stressed

Frugal gift ideas – beaded bookmarks and jewellery organisers

Organising gift wrap and ribbons

And if you really want to save lots of money, go get some cheap Christmas cards and gift wrap (if you use Christmas gift wrap) in the days just after Christmas

Let’s have some fun. If you could describe this year’s Christmas in ONE WORD, what would that be?

My word is SIMPLE.

Over to you!

Entries are still open for the messy, disorganised office competition. Don’t be shy – I want to help you

Books can be really, really hard to declutter, especially if you’re a book lover like I am.

I’ve shared before about my book organising system but basically here’s how it goes:

I only keep books that are 8, 9 or 10 out of 10 on my rating scale. I don’t keep all of them but those I do have are either an 8, 9 or 10.

This week I decluttered these three books…to the secondhand bookstore. (If you’re in Johannesburg, I like Bookdealers or Books Galore)

I usually take the credit they give me rather than the cash and when I run out of books from the library (when they just don’t have any good ones), I’ll use my credits for some secondhand books, like these.

Here are some more posts on decluttering and organising books – enjoy

Organising library books
Decluttering piles and piles of books

expectations
This week I’ve been feeling really lazy so I “broke loose” and didn’t do a thing in my business except lead a call for my Gold VIP Inner Circle and get out my organising tips newsletter, so I suppose you can say I decluttered some of my own high-achieving expectations.

This might seem like nothing to some of you but it’s huge for me to do nothing

Now for this week’s challenge

Please link to the post on your blog where you show off your pictures or talk about what you decluttered this week. If you don’t have a blog, tell me in the comments about ANYTHING you decluttered this week.

It can be anything – physical, electronic, mental clutter or even the need to be a certain way. Like perfectionism!

What did you declutter this week?

P.S. I’ve been thinking about doing this challenge a little differently next year. How about we have a specific area every week? It will be something small and manageable….what do you think?

Okay, here’s the deal
I’m looking for someone who could use my 7 easy steps to organise your office MP3 and ebook pack.

I will donate a copy to someone free of charge and in exchange, you will guest blog (one post a week for about 4 – 6 weeks, depends how quickly you work through it) as you work through the system and organise your office.

The system covers organising your actual office space, desk, email, computer, etc. so you should have a more organised office than you had when you started

It doesn’t matter if one or two of your areas are already reasonably under control because even REALLY organised people have used just one or two tips and seen BIG results

This is how you enter

Send me an email or leave a comment telling me

Entries close at midnight on Christmas Eve (24 Dec).

Remember I told you how quickly my bedside table gets cluttered?

Here are the pictures to prove it, and my before shot.

There are tons of books – more than I can read in a month – and behind that pile bookmarks, tablets and hand creams galore.

Notice my empty glass – I love water with a slice of lemon. Yum!

Here is the after shot.

• My evening mug of decaf tea.
• I took 3 non-fiction books back to my study – when I finish one of the current non-fiction ones (When organizing isn’t enough/ I don’t know what I want but I know it’s not this), I’ll get one at a time.
• I returned the medication to the bathroom and the extra container to my container drawer.
• I tidied the telephone table too and put a pretty cloth underneath the phone and message pad.
• Current pile of books – one fiction, two non-fiction, a journal and two Bibles
• Candle holder keeping my rings while I sleep at night and a gold bracelet.

So tell me, what do you have on your bedside table?

P.S. Happy Birthday to one of the sweetest and most encouraging people I know, Megan Spears!

People, I’m feeling the pressure.

I don’t like things on my to-do list and yet both Eva and Suzanne tagged me to share 7 things you may not know about me

As we say in South Africa, eish!

Okay, let’s get to it!

1. I hate, hate, hate doing laundry! Drives me absolutely batty. I think it’s because it’s never DONE!
2. I have never had a traffic fine. Well, I have had one, but it was a mistake as it was not my car in the picture they sent me. You’ll know what a miracle this is if you’ve ever driven with me LOL
3. My husband and I first met when he asked me to dance for him (ballet). Yes, I also thought he was a weirdo and of course said no! Which made me irresistible to him
4. For the first time in my entire working life, I’m at an absolute low, work-wise. All prayers very welcome!
5. I’m a BIG Michael Connelly fan and I’ve met him at an author reading/ signing. Very embarrassing moment for me.
6. I do NOT have it all together. In fact, the reason I’m a time management coach today is because I was so shockingly bad at managing my time, learnt the lessons through trial and error and now I’m out on the other side!
7. I am very lazy and love sleeping. If I could, I’d probably sleep in until 11 every day. Most weekends I do!

There you have it!

Now I’m tagging Debbie (we co-presented a call on blogging for business last night), Paula, Beth Dargis and Jenn Givler