Are you at your wit’s end with your messy house or apartment? Are you ready to have a place for everything and everything in its place for good? Keep reading to find out how.
Getting organized is really all about reducing clutter. However, this can be pretty challenging if you have kids or are trying to organize a small space. Things can accumulate quickly and cause clutter to become a problem faster than you might think. Even though your clutter might seem overwhelming, it doesn’t need to take over your life. In this article, we’ll be talking about why it’s crucial to get organized, as well as ten tips to help you get organized and stay there.
Why is it Important to Get Organized?
Getting organized can actually help you save money in the long run! When you are well organized and know where everything is in your house, it will prevent you from buying more unnecessary or useless items because you can easily access everything you already own. For example, if you’ve already got five jars of spaghetti sauce but can’t find them in the pantry, you’ll probably run out and buy more. But if you know precisely where the sauce is, you can put your hands on it at a moment’s notice, and you won’t need to overbuy.
Being organized will not only impact the physical space of your house, but it will also help you feel more mentally sound with the world around you. Clutter can cause a lot of stress and make you feel like you can’t get control of your life. You will also give yourself peace of mind by getting organized and reducing clutter.
Tips to Not Panic or Get Discouraged
Now that we’ve talked about organization in general and why it’s crucial to get organized, we can go through several tips to help you get organized without panicking or getting discouraged. Of course, panicking or getting discouraged will not help make the problem go away, but by trying to tackle all of your clutter at once, you might quickly feel these emotions. That’s why it’s essential to follow these tips below and take on your organization process one small step at a time.
1. Develop Solid Habits and Build a Routine
Especially if you are older, you’ve developed habits that have built into a routine in your life, perhaps even over decades. Breaking out of these habits and patterns can be difficult, but doing so is necessary if they prevent you from reaching your organizational goals. If you start making your organization a routine and build up healthy habits, you can eventually make these new habits your future routine. Creating new habits is hard, but once you have them, it becomes second nature.
2. Embrace How You’re Naturally Inclined
As much as building healthy habits outside of your everyday routine is important, it’s also important not to stray too far from how you’re naturally inclined. All of us, depending on our lifestyles and how we’re wired, have different natural inclinations regarding habits. Some of us are minimalists, some are maximalists, and many are somewhere in between. So don’t try to stray too far away from who you are for the sake of being organized. Instead, make organization fit into your world.
3. Don’t Try to Be Perfect
Don’t strive for perfection because the truth is this: you’ll never reach it! Instead of striving for perfection, strive for consistency. Try to organize something every day, or keep some of your habits every single day instead of giving up completely when you don’t do one thing right. Nobody’s perfect, and organization never happens overnight, especially with families. So, instead of trying to be perfect, try to be consistent!
4. Set Time-Limits
Setting time limits for doing certain activities can be a great way to stay focused and organized, especially if you need help with paying attention or staying on task. For example, instead of just telling yourself that you’re going to do something during the day, give yourself a two-hour window to do that thing. That way, as soon as the window starts, you start the task, and as soon as it’s over, you stop and take a break or move on to something else.
5. Keep To-Do Lists Short and Sweet
Having to-do lists when organizing your house is vital because otherwise, you won’t even figure out everything you need to get done! However, it’s important to keep your to-do lists short and sweet. Otherwise, they get overwhelming. Don’t put absolutely everything on a to-do list. Instead, give yourself a few tasks for the week and ensure they are completed. On each weekly to-do list, don’t overwhelm yourself with more tasks than you’ll be able to accomplish. Otherwise, you may feel worse than when you started.
6. Have Someone Keep You Accountable
Having a “body double,” or just having someone sit with you while you work or complete a task, has been a known tactic for helping those with ADHD, but it can be helpful for anyone. If you need someone to help hold you accountable, having someone sit with you and just act as a guiding force can help prevent you from getting off-task. Even if you can’t have someone actively sitting with you, let your partner or friend know what you plan on getting done during the day so they can check in on you later to see if you finished it.
7. Get Rid of as Much Stuff as Possible
At the end of the day, eliminating clutter involves removing as much “stuff” as possible. To organize your home, only hold onto the things you need. Sometimes, clutter can accumulate when you begin to hoard items and attach sentimental value to things that don’t actually serve a purpose in your home. As Marie Kondo, master organizer, says, “if it doesn’t spark joy, thank the item for its service and then get rid of it!” If you’re having trouble letting go, consider selling your stuff online. A little extra cash can be a big motivator!
8. Offer Yourself Rewards
Don’t be afraid to offer yourself rewards for getting tasks done. It might seem trivial to provide yourself with “treats” for your hard work, but if it’s motivating, there’s no reason you shouldn’t do it. For example, tell yourself that if you finish all your tasks, you’ll take yourself out for ice cream or treat yourself to coffee the following morning. Or, tell yourself that if you complete all your assigned tasks, you can sit down and watch a couple of hours of your favorite show.
9. Set Deadlines
As important as it is to give yourself to-do lists and time limits, it’s also essential to give yourself deadlines for specific tasks. If a week has gone by and you still can’t get yourself to complete a particular job, you need to give yourself a deadline to get it done. After you set this deadline, make sure you tell someone else about it so they can help hold you accountable. Deadlines are important for almost everything, whether school, work, or organization.
10. Take Breaks
While you likely have a lot to do, taking time to step away from the organizational process is essential. Taking breaks can reset your mind and make you feel more relaxed when you finally return to the task. Breaks are incredibly important and can help you organize your home and your mind to let you know what to prioritize once you return to your project.
