Our lives can quickly become disorderly. One minuet you think you have a handle on things and the next, you seem to have misplaced everything life has given you. Often the key to finding balance in our life lies in how organized we make our surroundings. There are many areas of our lives that require a little reorganization and here are some of the healthiest tips to help you organize your space and ultimately, your life.
Create a Checklist of Goals
Becoming more organized begins with a reorganization of our mind. If you are one of those people that believe they can keep everything in their mind without ever writing anything down, stop. Writing things down allows us to get thoughts that cloud our judgement out of our minds. It also allows us to be more accountable for what we do throughout the day. In the interest of becoming more organized, create a checklist of goals you want to accomplish. Have long term and short-term goals categorized by how easy each one is to complete.
Make Qualitative Changes
Change is difficult and we as humans are wired for maintaining a common routine. However, change is what it will take for many of us to become more organized. The key ingredient in enhancing organization around your home lies in change. Evaluate your daily routine and see what small changes you can make to have a positive impact on your ability to focus on organizing your home and life. A great place to start is with your sleep schedule.
Sleep is one of the most important entities in our lives. Yet, it is neglected all too often. Currently, sleep statistics show that up to 35.2% of adults in the United States claim they get fewer than 7 hours of sleep each night. Sleep deprivation can leave you unfocused and groggy throughout the day and that is no way to function.
As a qualitive change, consider altering your sleep routine. Be more intentional about allowing your body to get adequate sleep. Set a routine where you go to bed at a specific time to allow for sufficient rest. Consequently, set your alarm to go off in ample time for you to get ready for your morning activities without having to rush. These seemingly small changes will have a vast affect on your ability to focus and maintain your organization goals throughout the day. Look for other qualitive changes you can make in your life and make them happen.
Room by Room
Part of the problem with organizing a home is an inability to focus on just one task. We tend to want to simply flip a switch and watch as our home magically transforms into an organized dream. That is truly a dream because it does not happen that way. When you find yourself becoming overwhelmed by the large task at hand, focus on something smaller. Take one room, closet, or storage space at a time and organize that. Once you have finished organizing, simply move on to the next space. For very large rooms, pick a place to start and move clockwise round the room until you return to your starting point.
Evaluate Necessities and Junk
Times like these are when we have to look at the stuff we have accumulated over the years and determine if it is a necessity or needless junk. This step can be highly difficult in the organization process, but it is essential. A great way to deal with this issue is taking items one at a time and asking yourself if you have used it within the past 3 months. If the answer is no, it is likely something you should get rid of. Do not allow yourself to feel bad about ridding your home of unwanted items and do not contend with who gave it to you when. You need to expend things you are not going to use from your life.
A Storage Facility Can Help
While completing the above step you will likely come in contact with highly sentimental items. These you should definitely keep but store them properly. Storage units are a great assistant when organizing your home. They allow you to get rid of unwanted items while holding on to necessities but keeping your home neat and tidy. Storage units help you manage your storage needs in an affordable manner. Homes can feel overcrowded when storage space is limited and renting a storage unit will help alleviate storage needs without having to move or add on a room to your existing home. Storage units are among the most affordable and space saving storage options.
Make a Place for Everything
Have you ever been completely ready to go out and could not find your keys? We have all been there and most of the time, your keys are in an obscure place such as the couch cushions or the bathroom floor. Items like this need a designated place to be. The old saying of everything has a place holds true during the organization process. Take time while organizing to ensure every item has its designated place and make certain everyone in the home knows where things are supposed to go. Start with a key holder at the front of the door where you always put your keys the minute you walk in. This small act will save a lot of headaches in the future.
Do Not Forget About Your Finances
While organizing your home, you will be getting rid of a lot of physical items, but what about your personal finances. Financial concerns are common in most households. However, much of the stress often comes from not accounting for when things are due each month. Write down all monthly expenses or make a convenient spread sheet to help. Include due date and any automatic payments you have scheduled as well. Writing these things down and keeping your partner abreast to your finances will help keep stress to a minimum. Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to what money is coming in and when it is going out.
Organizing takes time, so when you begin, do not beat yourself up about not having it all done quickly. It is a process and should be treated as such. Everyone’s organization needs are different, so find yours and make steps toward your goals.