If organizing worked, why do we have to keep doing it?
Because most of the time…we’re not actually organizing. We’re tidying.
Tidying is simply shoving things around to make it look neater.
How many times have you “organized” your closet? We keep clothes we don’t wear, so everything competes for space. When it’s crowded it’s hard to find things AND to put things away properly. A closet full of clothes but nothing to wear!
Or how about your garage? It becomes storage for everything that doesn’t have a place inside. Without clear zones or limits, it slowly fills up again no matter how many times you clean it.
Same pattern every time!
Organizing goes a little deeper, than just moving things around, and when done correctly actually makes tidying a lot easier.
So here are the three main steps to organizing:
Decide what stays
Give it a clear home
Make it easy to put back
And that’s really it. Most systems fail because they miss one of these.
Too much stuff. No real home. Too hard to maintain.
When you get those three right, everything starts to click.
You spend less time looking for things.
You make fewer smaller decisions.
Your spaces reset faster.
The hardest part of this process, but also the most valuable, is deciding what stays.
And I think it goes without saying… the fewer things we have in a space, the easier everything else becomes.
It’s easier to give things a home. It’s easier to put them back. It’s easier to maintain without thinking about it.
In fact, when you only have what is needed, the rest of the process basically takes care of itself.
A place for everything and everything in it’s place stops being a goal. It becomes just how things are.
And I’m not being dramatic when I say this part matters most.
Learning how to properly declutter changes more than just your space.
It changes how you make decisions.
It changes how to you spend your time.
It changes how much mental energy you expend each day.
Less to manage. Less to think about. Less pulling at your attention.
More room for what actually matters.
It will impact every aspect of your life in a positive way.
Try This
Pick one small space today.
Take everything out
Clean the space thoroughly
Only put items back in that you need, use regularly, or love
Put it back in a way that’s easily accessible, most used items should be most convenient
Leave a little space
Organizing is about making life easier to live, not making things look better. Though in all honesty, when things are well organized, it looks better automatically. :)
If you want help simplifying and building systems that actually stick, hit reply to start a conversation. Coaching people through this is something I love to do.
Until then, enjoy this crazy weather, and stay safe!
Yours in Simplicity,
Jimmy