Getting organized can feel overwhelming when you face piles of papers on the floor, a room in chaos, a mind swirling in anxiety of where to start. Here’s 10 organizing tips to defeat overwhelm, motivate you to just start and keep going!

1. Grab one of your kids hula hoops and place it over a spot in a cluttered room. Clear out only the items inside the hula hoop. Creating this is like putting blinders on, and helps narrow the scope of the project.

2. Organizing tips that have a start and end can help maintain focus. Set a timer for 10 minutes to have a beginning and end to your organizing. It’s easier to commit to. If you get inspired, set the timer for an additional 10 minutes.

3. Once you have a shelf, drawer or counter cleared and organized, make a commitment to keep it clear. Other areas might still be cluttered or needing attention, but this area is off limits to misplaced stuff.

4. When working at your desk or computer, use the Pomodoro technique of 25 minutes on a timer. When the alarm goes off, take 5 minutes break before starting again or moving on to a new activity.

5. When sorting through papers only take about 5-10 papers and sort through them using sticky notes to label paper categories and actions to get the paper handled in the next step.

Keep reading: there’s a 10 Organizing Tips Cheat Sheet just for you in this post.

6. Pretend you are helping a friend to sort through the stuff and kindly support her in letting go of clothes that don’t flatter her or stuff that doesn’t bring her joy.

7. Write it down! Get all those To Do’s taking up precious brain space out and on a list, so you don’t have to remember it all in your head.

8. Reframe organizing as a special gift you are giving yourself, rather than a tedious task. You deserve calm and focus.

9. Organizing tips that are simple to remember are helpful if you start to feel overwhelmed. Try this variation on child fire safety: Stop, Drop and Let Go. Meaning give yourself a breather , stop organizing, drop the task and let go by doing something else and start again later.

10. Start with the end result in mind. Imagine your room and desk organized and beautiful…ahh.. the feeling of calm, serenity and breathing easy that vision holds. It’s also an amazing way to start your organizing journey. Keep this vision like a snapshot in your mental photo album to recall before starting any organizing project.

As promised, here’s your FREE…

10 Organizing Tips Cheat Sheet.

I would so love you to share this quick list with your audience, friends and family that you feel might benefit from a quick shot of organizing wisdom.

Hey, I’m Jul’s Arthur, author of the book 25 Days of Holiday Organizing! I help women professionals & entrepreneurs STOP endlessly spinning their wheels stuck in anxiety and overwhelm with the chaos and clutter in their home, instead START simplifying, so everything has a place, they gain FREEDOM, CLARITY and easily step into their DREAM LIFE. Let me help you go from chaos to FREEDOM.