Addicted to Organizing

It’s true, I have a couple of addictions.  Step 1 is to confront the addiction which means to admit that I have one (or a couple).  So, my addictions include: Starbucks coffee, Jcrew clothing, and organizing (everything).  There, I admit it.  This blog post will focus on how I organize my home and life.  I have truly read just about every organizational book out there.  Some of have been really good, helpful, etc. while others have not been overly insightful.  But everyone organizes their home and life differently.  Some people hate organization and that is fine too.  You might not care to read this post.

I LOVE order, structure, knowing what is coming up, knowing where everything is, etc.  I like to simplify and get rid of stuff.  I find great satisfaction in taking bags of clothing, un-played with toys, outdated home décor items, etc. out of my home.  I feel better, lighter, less weighed down by STUFF!  I can suffocate under stuff, clutter; items that just sit there and serve no use or purpose (if they did, you would be using them) and take up space, collect dust.  CLUTTER makes me anxious, stressed, depressed, give me a sense of no control, etc.  If my house and life are “cluttered,” I cannot function. 

These are organizational principles I live by.  I will also be posting more blog post that relate to organization, ideas, tips, creative ways to organize with items around your house, etc. 

Organization should make sense:  Sorting, keeping, purging, etc. items should make sense.  Everyone has a routine or if you watch how your family gets ready in the morning or how they get out the door, how they get ready in the morning, there is a system.  If you pin-point what you want to organize or an area in your home that is out of control, all the time, and watch how everyone uses that space.  Then work from that point. Make it functional.  I think the most challenging places to organize are the spaces you use the most.  But it can be done, but takes time, effort, and commitment to organization and functionality. 

Everything should have a place: Everything should have spot, where it calls home.  If not, then items get thrown, cluttered up, piled, lost, etc.  Items like sunglasses, hats, gloves, and car keys should be by the back door; reading glasses, Kleenex, books, index cards, and pens are on my night stand; coffee, cups, spoons, flavor syrups are all together, etc.  Group like items together, put them in one space, that is easy to remember.  

Be creative with your organization: look around your house for containers, baskets, boxes, etc. that you can use to sort or store items.  You would be surprised what you have around the house that you decorate with or don’t use, that can serve a purpose.  My old cake bundt cake pans now hold crayons; a flower bucket can hold Duplo Legos; baskets hold books, mason jars old collections of shells, coins, etc.   

Don’t waste time organizing something that won’t stay organized (example Legos): my love of organization reached its madness when I decided to spend 8 hours (over the course of 3 days) sorting Legos by color.   My kids love Legos and play with them all the time.  Are they going to put them back by color?  Are they going to take apart their new creations and put each Lego back by color?  NO.  If I get them to pick up the Legos, period, it is a win.   I loved how the sorting looked, I liked establishing order to something that seemed out of order but what a waste of time.  I want my kids to play with Legos.  Therefore, they will be unorganized.  This does secretly bug me, but this is a battle not worth fighting.  

Routine of decluttering: this is an easy task, just set a realistic goal.  For example, one day a week, work on decluttering one part of your house.  If there is a spot in your kitchen where paper/mail/bills/kids’ homework/etc. all pile up, then wait till the weekend or one evening and sort, trash and wipe down that part of the counter.  A few other places that need attention on a routine basis: where ever you pay or store bills, back door areas with shoes/coats, etc., counter tops; pretty much a space that becomes a dumping ground during the week.    It only takes 10-15 minutes to declutter this small area/piles.

Organization takes some time but for many, the less piles of clutter around, the happier, functional, and usable space becomes.