Do You Have UFOs?
Do You Have UFOs?
What are UFOs?
UFO = UnFinished Objects
It happens when you start something with great excitement and then run out of interest about halfway through. You may be working on a craft project, writing a report, reading a book, or painting a room. It doesn’t matter what it is. You start a task with a picture of the outcome, but it becomes difficult or tedious, or you must make a difficult decision. This is when you might put down the project and walk away, and it becomes a UFO.
Obviously, the trick is to avoid getting stubborn about it. If the project isn’t working for you, you must let it go. If decisions need to be made to move on, DO IT! Clutter is just unmade decisions. Don’t let your projects become clutter! If something becomes too difficult, get help or delegate the task to someone else. Therefore, the important thing is to find a way to move on. Don’t let a UFO hold you back.
Instead of feeling frustrated, you’ll feel free!
Basic Organization is your organizer in Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia. Providing organizing services for families, busy professionals, seniors, and home-based business owners. Our passion is helping people achieve peace and simplicity by organizing their homes, routines, and lifestyles. Let our team help you regain control of your environment by organizing your living and storage areas. We work in all areas of your home, including the garage, kitchen, basement, office, bedrooms, and closets.
Our experienced home organizing team members are affiliated with the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO). We prioritize education to stay ahead of trends and provide better services for our clients.
NAPO-WDC awarded Janet the 2023 NAPO-WDC Organizer of the Year. She supports the organization within the community and other businesses.
Subscribe by email
Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
I love this one! I never heard of the term “UFO” used in this way. It’s so descriptive of what happens. I have some leftover to-dos from my recent bedroom renovation project, which I’m now going to refer to as UFOs. It will help me move things along with focus and humor. Thank you.
That’s funny Linda. We are renovating a bathroom and there all this stuff in the bedroom next door that I keep asking my husband “what is this?” Those are definitely UFOs! I guess that one thing that happens during renovations.
I had a cross stitch project that sort of fell off the wagon. It’s been in my bag for months. I decided to kick-start the project, with a goal of completing it in time to give as a Christmas present. Setting a time goal for myself is helping me to keep going.
So many UFOs- I love this phrase!
Yes. I have several UFOs in my basement.
We are starting to downsize for a future move and I’m finding so many things! Now I know what my clients feel like.
Interesting! Craft projects come to mind first, but I suppose UFOs could also include such things as a garment that needs to be repaired (and has for long enough that it’s probably never going to happen), or anything we’re keeping for some unlikely-to-happen future event.
My husband is a huge gadget guy, so I’m constantly asking him “what is this?”. These things come into my house without me even knowing about them.
I love the term UFO for these kinds of unfinished projects. If you haven’t read that book in months, at least put it back on the bookshelf! Has that jigsaw puzzle collected dust from being out so long? Either finish it or break it down.
I’m not a crafty person, but I love the Loose Ends Project, which I blogged about earlier this year. If someone close to you had has passed away and left behind their needlework UFOs, or if someone is no longer able to complete a project (say, because their vision has dimmed or their arthritis prevents it), Loose Ends Project (https://looseends.org/) will match them up with someone who can finish the project and return it (at no cost).
In my mastermind group, if a “to do” stays on someone’s list for more than a few weeks, it pushes us all to have a conversation about WHY something isn’t getting completed. I think we’ll enjoy incorporating your UFO language into the conversations!
I love the Loose Ends Project, but I’ve never sent anything in to be completed. Have you?
Great idea for your mastermind. When I was in a group, we used to check in with each other on projects.