Organization Is A Way of Life

People have always said to me, "you're so organized". It is true I am organized and I think it may come from living with a brother who was completely the opposite. He used to pay me a nickel to make his bed so he could find his bed when it was time for him to go to bed. And then he didn't get nagged by my mom telling him, "make your bed, make your bed". It was a win-win situation.

Organizing is not a destination it is a journey. I bought me a sign that says "Enjoy The Journey". I am the type of person who wants things to be done---now. I am all about time management and I am always looking for ways to save time. Ben Franklin said "For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned". Wow! That is pretty great return on our time. And it is true too. It takes more time to clear clutter or to organize a drawer than it does to get rid of stuff before it becomes clutter. And organizing a drawer is easier and faster if it is done a little at a time rather than saving it for a big project to be done.

Organizing is a process, it is not something that is done and then it is done forever. People who are organized work at being organized. Don't get discouraged, it becomes a way of life just like being disorganized is a way of life for some people.

I cringe when I read "Tips to help you get organized and STAY organized". There just isn't any such thing as staying organized. What staying organized really means is you can use systems to help you organize which then becomes a way of life. It is organizing in little chunks of time, using time management ideas to save time and be organized. Just like there are no miracle diets (wouldn't that be nice), there are no miracle solutions to staying organized.

One of my favorite saying is, "things just get undone". We can have a room a closet or a place organized just the way we want it and then something happens and it gets undone. But that is okay, that's life. We can put it back together the way we want it and in much less time because we know what we want and we know how to get it. People who seem to "just stay organized" in truth work at it regularly.

The secret is to do it a little at a time and to be mindful of what it means to you to be organized. For instance when putting away the towels in the linen closet put them back in the stack where they belong, don't just shove them in anywhere. Now that wasn't hard, it didn't take any more time and the shelf or cupboard is organized without any extra effort.

Those who seem to STAY organized actually work at it regularly and perhaps without even realizing they are working at being organized. What makes a difference is how hard you have to work at it, your attitude towards the task and how much time you need to spend on doing it.

All organized people organize constantly. By focusing on making it easy and simple and being consistent it really takes less time to be organized than it does to be disorganized. Just by taking that extra few seconds to put something away where it belongs rather than leaving it out to start a pile which then attracts other piles, (they seem to have babies), it is actually easier to put it away in the first place. Organization has happened without you even thinking, "I am organizing".

Marilyn's bio
Marilyn is a creative organizer who helps women, seniors and their families create space and end clutter in their homes and offices by setting up custom made systems. Marilyn invites you to visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com where you can find solutions to your organizing needs. She offers free tips in her blogs, articles and videos for your home and office organizing solutions.