You're Halfway Done

Now that you've gathered your supplies, drawn out your plan and defined your zones, emptied your entire close, cleaned everything, sorted stuff, thrown away stuff, given away stuff, replaced things in wonderful containers, labeled everything and stood back to admire your fine handwork . . .
. . . you're halfway done. The other half of any organizational project is maintaining your beautiful space. You wouldn't run just halfway to the store and then stop, would you? You don't wash your laundry and then you're too tired to dry it? Same thing. You gotta finish the job. Here are a couple tips to help you maintain the great organization you've created:

1. Don't bring more things home! You just gave everything you own a home. Unless you have empty shelves and drawers you really feel compelled to fill, then nothing you bring home has a place to go. Before you buy, decide: Where will this go? Is something I already have going to leave in order for this to come home? What am I really going to do with it? Do I need it? Do I love it?
2. Don't buy things for other people, hoping they will want it. It just costs you more and brings you and/or them more stuff to deal with that probably neither of you wants --- even if it was a GREAT sale!
3. Try the Ten-Minute Tidy. Professional organizer Shannon McGinnis suggests taking 10 minutes at the end of the day, set the timer, get the family involved and clean up for 10 minutes. Can you imagine how much less clutter you'd have if you did just that? You can do a lot in 10 minutes. You'll find clean dishes instead of dirty ones staring at you in the morning, DVD's back in cases, fewer shoes to stumble over, toys in buckets/baskets, laundry put in drawers, papers tucked in files. The morning will look more sunny! Give it a try.