By Donna Smallin Kuper

If you want a cleaner, happier home, stop wishing you had a magic wand and become the magic wand!

Here are 9 super-easy things you can do that will have you feeling more organized in no time. Ready? The quicker you get started, the sooner you’ll be done. It really doesn’t matter where you start.

• Start somewhere, anywhere. I’ve always said that the hardest part of getting organized is getting started. It really doesn’t matter where you start. Maybe start with the most visible stuff. For example, clear the floor in your bedroom or the countertops in your kitchen. Or start with something small like a purse or junk drawer.

• Break large projects into mini-projects. Get organized one drawer, one shelf, and one space at a time. Make a point to keep your project small enough to finish in 15-30 minutes max.

• Example #1: To declutter your closet, move the clothes you love and wear to one end of the clothes rod. Then, working for just 15 minutes at a time or by the yard on your closet rod, try on each item. If it fits and makes you feel fabulous, hang it back up with other keepers. Once that’s done, go through your shoes and then your purses and accessories. Or tackle the floor and then the shelves.

• Example #2: Go through papers one pile at a time. Flip the pile over and you’ll find the oldest stuff at the bottom, a lot of which may now be outdated and easy to toss/shred. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and keep going until the timer stops.

• Declutter in short bursts. You don’t have to give up your entire weekend to get organized. Look for opportunities to do a little decluttering here and there throughout the day. For example:

• When you file a document, do a quick search in the folder for papers that are outdated.
• While you’re waiting for a pot of water to boil, straighten up your pantry.
• While watching television, take advantage of commercial breaks to sort through a pile of papers, fold laundry, or declutter a drawer that you remove from its cabinet before sitting down.
• Take five minutes every night to pick up and put away items that belong elsewhere and generally tidy up. To get into the habit of doing this, do it right after something you always do- like brushing your teeth.

• Stop fighting with your stuff. Does this sound like you? You try to get organized by putting things where you think they should go. And you find yourself repeatedly putting away the same things. Solution: Create a home for those things where they “want” to live.

Example: Set a decorative box or basket on the end of your kitchen counter to be a drop box for the mail and other items such as your cell phone, purse, sunglasses, and keys that always end up there.

• Get “appy.” Use apps like OfferUp https://offerup.com/ to quickly sell items you no longer love or use. Use an app like Paprika http://www.paprikaapp.com/ to digitally store and organize your recipes. Look for other ways to minimize paper such as paperless statements for your bank and credit card accounts and apps like Shoeboxed for storing digital images of receipts. (A free D-I-Y version is available.)

• Act as if you are organized. – and you will become more organized. Do organized people just set things down anywhere? No, they put them away. It only takes a few moments to unload that shopping bag or hang up your coat. The trick is training yourself to do it! It’s a habit that your future self with thank you for.

• Let go of perfect. Done is perfect. You don’t have to have a perfectly organized pantry to reap the benefits of organizing. You also don’t have to find the perfect recipient for every item that leaves your home. Donate everything to one charity and let them do what they do best.

Be grateful for all that you have – It’s more than enough.

• Practice gratitude. Be grateful for all you have – It’s more than enough. Remember that the most important things in life are not things. No amount of things can ever replace the people we love and it’s that love that makes a home a home.

• Get free support. Join the Unclutter Facebook page for free organizing support! (Link works.) You can ask questions and get help anytime you need it from me as well as other members – people like you who want to live a less cluttered life. It’s a private group so all posts can be seen only by members.

About the author: Organizing and cleaning expert, Donna Smallin Kuper, aka The One-Minute Organizer.  Donna is the author of a dozen best selling books on uncluttering, organizing, cleaning and simplifying life. Her newest book is Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness. LINK WORKS)

Original article: http://www.unclutter.com/9-ways-get-organized-minimal-effort/

Contact Donna through Unclutter.com http://www.unclutter.com

Spark of light photo by Mervyn Chan on Unsplash Modified on Canva.com

(2nd Image courtesy of nirots/FreeDigitalPhoto.net) Modified on Canva – www.canva.com