What should you do if you "fall off the wagon" with your organization systems? Calling an organizing professional or a close friend can sometimes motivate a homeowner to get back to organizing. According...
According to according to Lorie Marrero, who is the owner of "LivingOrder", a professional organization company that creates organizing solutions for homes and businesses, what you should do if you "fall off the wagon" with your organization systems depends "on how bad it gets or whether or not you feel like you are capable of getting unstuck. Some people have a friend that they can call. Sometimes it just takes accountability. Or maybe you just need somebody to say, 'Come on we are going to do this today.' You just have to look at the problem comprehensively, decide what your steps are and then start working on those steps a little at a time until it gets done. If you try to tackle it all at once you are setting yourself up for failure. Then you are going to feel bad and it will become a cycle."
The whole key to good a home organization system lies in maintaining it. But, if you do fall behind in daily chores, do not let yourself become so overwhelmed that you end up throwing away everything that you have worked so hard to gain. Take a deep breath, get out your lists and take a few moments to modify them to include whatever new circumstances made you "fall off the wagon" in the first place. It may be something as simple as multitasking, (like writing tomorrow's "to do list" while making dinner or brushing your teeth in the shower while waiting for your deep conditioner to sink in) will give you the extra minutes you need in a day. Or it might entail a complete overhaul of your scheduling system, especially if your lifestyle has changed dramatically like when you switch work shifts or a new addition to your family arrives such as a new-born baby, pet or an extended houseguest as in an elderly parent or grandparent. No matter what reasons are behind the disorder, you can not allow them to become excuses for lack of organization.
If you are not going through a "transitional phase" in your life and you have truly been trying as hard as ever to upkeep your home, you need to consider the possibility that you may have be "Chronically Disorganized". This disorder requires special help in order to organize one's life as well as their home. You can contact the National Study Group for Chronic Disorganization or NSGCD (which is a branch of the National Association of Professional Organizers, also known as the NAPO). Information can be found on their website at http://www.nsgcd.org including tests on how to determine if you are really afflicted with the illness.
If you find out, in the end, that you really are just overwhelmed by it all, you have determined that you are not "Chronically Disorganized" and the truth of the matter is that you have just let everything go until you feel "stuck" once again by your surroundings, Lorie advises, "That may be a case where you would hire an organizer to get you unstuck".
