Since becoming a mother, I’ve learned to embrace the power of organization. I thrive the most when things are organized. I know exactly where everything is and I can find it no problem.
Two months ago, we set out to do a home project. We were going to give our kitchen a little face lift. We recently had to throw everything, including our home project supplies, in our basement into rubbermaid totes and move it around for a waterproofing job we were having done. Our kitchen project has taken FOREVER because everything we needed was so disorganized. We did the moving of items in a rush so things were put into bins all willy nilly. Needless to say, as someone who generally tries to stay organized, it has been a headache and a half. Fortunately, the main level of my house has remained organized so my sanity, thus far, remains intact.
Organization can be a hard thing to get going. We get stuck in this place of wanting to organize things perfectly, and then feeling like we don’t have enough time to organize. So, what happens? Our stuff gets neatly (or not so neatly) piled here and there waiting to be organized another day. Meanwhile, we’re looking for whatever it is we need when we are in a rush and our disorganization rears its ugly head to bite us in the butt! If I’ve learned anything about organization, it’s that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be functional. It will always be a work in progress and there will always be more places needing organization. However, if you can force yourself to do a little organizing here and there, you’ll find that it will add up. Then, it will make your days run much more smoothly. The trick is finding what works best for you.
The Clutterbug blog has a unique take on organization styles. She has a wonderful quiz that can help you learn what style works best for you. Some people are visual organizers, others prefer everything to be hidden away. Some people like it perfectly categorized into tiny little individual containers. Others, like me, like it all just tossed into larger bins. Personally, my organization has to be pretty simple. I need my stuff to be very easily put away. If it’s not, it won’t get put away by me or my family members. More or less, my organization is a macro system where several different types of generally similar items get tossed into a pretty bin.
In case you aren’t totally convinced yet, here are my top 5 reasons why you should organize your life today:
1. Visual Clutter Drains Your Energy.
It has been scientifically proven that visual clutter can limit your ability to process information and focus. Having piles of clutter surrounding you is the brain restricting equivalent to a toddler screaming for your attention, yelling “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy” repeatedly. Sounds stressful right? It is! Even if you are “used to clutter” it still has a physiological impact. Consider how much you are able to get done in your currently cluttered space. Knowing what you know now about the effect of clutter on the brain’s ability to process, think about how much more you’d be able to get done if your space was clutter-free. Sounds like an experiment worth trying, right?
2. You Get To Spend Less Time Cleaning Your Home.
When everything has a place and is put away, your surfaces are cleaner. You can dust at lightning speed when you don’t have to pick things up and move them around. Plus, there’s just fewer things on your surface collecting dust. You don’t have to dance around the pile of books that’s been on the floor for 3 months while you’re vacuuming. Plus, when everything has a home to go to, tidying becomes much faster. A lot of our clutter usually consists of things that don’t have a home or have a home that isn’t easy to get to. We all have these homeless items. If you could create a home for them, you could keep your home much more neat.
3. You Save Time.
When everything is organized and has a place, you don’t have to look for anything. If you need something, you go to its home and pull it out. Simple as that. Consider how much time you’ve wasted looking for something that ended up in the back of a closet, drawer, etc full of junk because it didn’t have a proper place to be. I’m pretty sure that prior to getting my life organized, I cumulatively spent years looking for things that weren’t intentionally hidden. It’s way less stressful just knowing where things are.
4. You Save Money.
I can’t even tell you how many times when I haven’t been able to find something, I just get a new one. For example, I could’ve sworn I had a couple of rolls of tape for wrapping presents. I searched high and low and couldn’t find them. So, I’ll just buy another for a dollar or two, no big deal. When I finally got organized, it turned out that I have like 10 rolls of tape. I definitely don’t need 10 rolls of tape. Same thing for scissors. Present wrapping items were a commonly misplaced item in my house for many years apparently… But, anyways, you get the point. Save some money by not having to buy new crap when you have perfectly good crap at home already.
5. You Spend Less Time Cleaning Up After Others.
When you can find a good organizing system that works well for your household and all the members of your household, something magical happens. Things get put away! Now, I’m not claiming that once you get everything organized, your family will immediately begin putting everything away in its place. But, I am saying that it will be better than it was before. When something has a home and is easy to put away, it can actually be easier to put it away than to toss it somewhere random. It may take some coaching to show your home dwellers the new system, but eventually, it will lead to less time cleaning up after them.
So, there you have it friends. Five reasons that organization can improve your life and your productivity. Now, go forth and organize!
Much love and productive vibes,
Momma Caped Nerd ❤
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