You did it!  You are finally here.  You have an organized life…

{At least you should be well on your way if you have been following our Organizing One’s Life Goals Series}

But now what?  Does it stay this way forever.  Absolutely not.  You can only stay organized if you work at it and commit to it.  That’s why the final post in this series is all about staying organized with a smart maintenance plan.

Organizing – Maintaining the System

Now you have everything organized just the way you want.  Upkeep and maintenance of your new system is just as important, if not more, than the initial organization process and will help to ensure smooth and stress-free future operations.

First thing you need to keep in mind is that you should regularly monitor inventory and discard papers, items, etc. that you no longer need or use.  Routine and habit are key here.  The more time you work on maintenance, the less time it will eventually take.

Set up a date for this maintenance – weekly, every month, every three months – whatever works for you and makes sense.  Keeping familiar with contents will ensure that you find exactly what you want when you want it and will give you the opportunity to easily decide what has to be updated, what can be thrown out and when.

Don’t rely on memory.  Compose a checklist of papers and items that you have on hand and/or always need to have on hand to make this process easier and more effective.  And keep it simple.  If you develop a process that is too lengthy or cumbersome, chances are you are not going to stick to it.

Put things in their place right away.  Instead of letting a pile of papers build up or a stack of clothing or tools lie around, put everything away as quickly as possible.  This way there will be no build-up of clutter to foil your organizational system.

It’s easier to spend a few seconds putting a paper in a file or hanging up a shirt than having to spend considerably more time sorting out a pile of clutter.  Plus the space around you will just be more pleasant to live and work in.

Yes, it all sounds very simple when reading it – but now its time for you to take action.

1. Make a list of all the things you need to maintain
2. Then make checklists of tasks associated with maintaining each of them
3. Put these checklists somewhere close where you will review them daily
4. Commit!  Put that reminder in your phone or in your calendar to check things off the list if you are not doing them daily.
5. Don’t forget to pat yourself on the back too.  Another task checked off the list is another great accomplishment.  Appreciate that.