Did you make a resolution to get organized in 2024? If so, how's it going?
If you're struggling, don't despair -- that's a big resolution. And no, I'm not being condescending.
Making a resolution to get organized without getting specific about how you're going to do it is like saying you're going to make a chocolate soufflé without a recipe (unless, of course, you're a professional chef or someone who has made numerous chocolate soufflés).
Getting organized is an ongoing process and it's one that can be daunting, particularly when we live with other people. Here are a few suggestions for key ingredients for your organization recipe -- a few organizing basics, as it were -- whether you're starting from scratch, or trying to right a resolution that's gone off the rails.
Organize in a way that works for you and do it unapologetically & non-judgmentally. Some of my best organizing solutions have arisen from using typical tools in atypical ways, and some of my biggest frustrations have come from trying to make a tool that "works for everyone else" work for me. No one tool works for everyone, and no one person has the organization magic bullet. The only system that's sustainable is the one we create for ourselves. (Oh, and this goes for our kids, too).
Don’t put it down, put it away. Clutter really is the enemy, but it doesn't build up on its own. Instead, it arises when we leave one thing out so we'll remember to do it, and that one thing becomes three, or seven, or ten. Or, it perpetuates itself when we set one thing down because we don't know where it should go. When we find things a home, one that makes it as easy to put things away as it is to put them down, we take power over clutter. When we learn to catch ourselves in the act of dropping and running, we forestall clutter altogether.
Take small steps. Have you abandoned your resolution because it's all too much? The good news (and the bad news) is you're right. It's a lot. Truly, the best way to "get organized" is just to start somewhere, preferably in a spot where you can see improvement with just a small investment of time (an hour or less). Making a dent is motivating, and that motivation carries us forward, giving us the confidence to tackle bigger tasks and get bigger wins.
Oh, and one more thing: ditch perfect. Trying to make a home that a family lives in, works in, plays in, and yes, cooks in look like a picture out of a magazine is a recipe for failure and frustration. Sure, it's important to be able to find what you need when you need it and to have space to work and plan and dream without being distracted. But, if we spend all of our time chasing clutter, we have no time to work and plan and dream.
Organizing means balancing what comes into our homes with what goes out of them. Some days, the scales will tip in our favor. Other days, our kids will take out every toy they own, we'll drop the mail on the counter because we're too tired to deal with it and everyone will leave their shoes out for someone to trip over.
And the world will not end.
Organization is a part of life, and living is more important than being perfectly organized. But, when we have the right recipe, it's possible to have our life and organize it, too.
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