If you've finally made the decision to take action and get organized, congratulations! You've made it through the toughest steps of getting organized; awareness and acceptance.

Becoming aware of a clutter or disorganization problem is not always easy. For some, it takes years. By then, it may have become so unmanageable hiring professional home organizing help is necessary to fix it. For others, a problem was recognized early on but they didn't know exactly what it was or how to fix it.

After awarenes comes acceptance. Accepting the problem needs to be fixed and seeking outside help may be necessary. This step requires humility, self reflection and a willingness to see the truth about a living situation. Doing this gets one mentally and emotionally ready for the next step of action where the physical changes happen.

Taking action to get organized comes with it's own set of mental and emotional challenges. How someone manages the organizing process mentally and emotionally plays a big role in the speed and ease of completing an organizing project.

Before You Start

Before starting, you may experience certain thoughts, emotions and situations that may cause you to want to quit before you even begin.

Here are some common ones:

Feeling overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done
You don't know what to do or how long it will take
You feel anxious about the process and unsure what to expect
You're worried it will take more time than you have to spend
You don't know how much it would cost to hire help
You don't know if you need to buy containers or which ones to get
You're afraid your emotions will cause you to become distracted
You're afraid of being judged or criticized by the person helping you
You are embarrassed to let someone into your home to help you
To save money, you tell yourself you need to do some work before you hire someone
Family members don't support your decision to get organized

Once You've Started

If you actually started your project, congrats again! You're on your way to experiencing the ease and comfort of living in an organized home. To increase the chances you'll stay committed to finishing your projects to the end, you'll have a new set of mental, emotional and physical challenges to overcome.

You may experience the following:

Becoming tired from the physical work of getting organized
Getting frustrated when tasks take longer to complete than expected
Getting frustrated when tasks aren't completed at all
Feeling overwhelmed and disappointed because you focus on the work ahead rather than the progress made
Feeling overwhelmed because of the bigger mess you created trying to get organized
Uncertainty about the next steps to take and your project comes to a halt
Feeling emotionally drained because of purging your things
Feeling tired in your brain after having to make a lot of fast decisions
You may have difficulties sleeping
You or a family member may become sick
Tensions in the house may increase and family members may become less cooperative
You may get triggered and unable to mentally or emotionally continue
Life took over and you no longer have the time you thought you would have to get organized
Perfectionism kicked in and paralysis analysis took over
You have trouble focusing causing tasks to take longer
You got burnt out because you didn't physically pace yourself through the organizing process
Your work responsibilities took over and you no longer had the time to work on getting organized

After Getting Organized

As you can see, getting organized is not as easy and simple as they make it look on TV. There's a lot of blood, sweat and tears that go into the process. If you can work through these obstacles, you'll get to experience the many benefits and rewards of getting organized.

The benefits of getting organized:

Feeling more energized
Feeling lighter
Gaining more clarity
Feeling more in control
Become more decisive
Feeling less stressed
Increased focus
Better sleep
Decreased anxiety
Improved communication with household members
Feeling less overwhelmed
Feeling more relaxed, comfortable and at ease
Feeling more peaceful
Increased productivity
Improved efficiency

Becoming aware of your clutter and disorganization problem, accepting the need to do something about, working through emotional and mental hurdles and staying committed to the organizing process are all key ingredients to finishing your organizing projects.

I truly believe, and my clients would agree, getting organized is one of the most valuable investments you will ever make. Your only regret will be wishing you had done it sooner.