Naples Daily News columnist Marla Ottenstein shows you how to “Get Organized!”
Marco Island professional organizer shares expertise on how to organize & declutter your closets.

As a professional organizer working on Marco Island, Florida, people always ask for advice on how they can organize and declutter their closets, garages and offices and keep them that way.

Staying on top of the day-to-day organization and decluttering treadmill may seem impossible, but once you try my “20-minute Solution,” you’ll be amazed how easy it is to keep on track and stay organized.

The 20-minute Solution is as easy as it sounds, and trust me, it works! The key is to get up before anyone else awakes and before the events of the day take over, and to choose one organizing project each day that can be accomplished in just 20 minutes.

Daily projects can be as simple as folding the laundry, emptying the dishwasher, writing a thank you note, balancing your checkbook and paying bills or deciding what to cook for dinner and what groceries you’ll need to buy.

This is not about getting the kids ready for school or sewing a button on your husband’s shirt. This is YOUR time to do the things YOU want to get done that will simplify your life and make you feel less stressed.

When working with clients, I teach them, hands-on, how much easier it is to tackle a big project, such as organizing their home office, by breaking the task down into several 20-minute segments. By approaching a big project in smaller time increments, it will make that project more doable and less intimidating, which naturally results in the successful completion of the task.

Getting and staying organized takes time, but what you’ll accomplish in three 20-minute sessions rather than one full hour will astound you. For more great organizing ideas, click here.