My dad loves to tell people stories of how I would spend endless hours in my room meticulously organizing everything I owned. Instead of playing with Barbie and her dream house, I would dump out my sock drawer, refold the socks, and place all the pairs back in perfect rows. I would rearrange all the clothes in my closet, sorting them first by type and then by color. I would make my bed with the precision of an army drill sergeant, carefully lining up all the stuffed animals across the neatly placed throw pillows. All of those hours spent organizing brought a sense of order and peace to my young life, not to mention sheer happiness.
As an adult, I continue to love organization. Some adults’ happy place is their neighborhood bar or Starbucks. My happy place is the Container Store. If I had my way, everything in my home would not only be organized but labeled, color-coded, and completely free of clutter. My home would be so immaculate that even the ladies over at The Home Edit would be envious. I won’t get my way for a while at least, though, as I share my home with other humans who don’t always share my passion for organization and tidiness. Phyllis Diller said it perfectly:
“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.”
Giving credit where it’s due, my boys’ cleanliness has improved as they’ve gotten older. Still, it’s an uphill battle to keep our home and my life organized. Thankfully, I’ve found some tried and true ways to keep my sanity and stay (mostly) organized.
Tips For Getting & Staying Organized
#1 Create routines and stick to them
Routines remove the question of what to do next, thus maximizing your time and keeping your day running more smoothly. The day you fail to click your remote car starter before pushing the espresso button is the day you’ll drive to work in a freezing cold car in the middle of winter. Stick to your routines that work!
#2 STOP multitasking
It’s not a thing! In fact, studies have confirmed it is impossible for your brain to do two things at once. Trust me. Throw all your focus and energy at one thing at a time and you will get more shit done.
#3 Create homes for your most important items
If you put your keys, wallet, phone, and fill-in-the-blank in the exact same place every time they’re not in use, you’ll never have to waste precious time searching for them.
#4 Maintain a digital calendar
Adding meetings, appointments, and events, kids’ school schedules and extracurricular activities, and even your tasks to a calendar will ensure you don’t miss important happenings, double book yourself, or fall off track. Choose a calendar you can use on-the-go so you can make updates from anywhere.
#5 Make checklists your BFF
Checklists not only help you keep track of your projects, tasks, and all the steps needed to complete them, but they can help your coworkers and family stay on the same page with you and be more organized, too. Win-win!
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