How to get organized

Do you find it hard to get organized?  Are you born with it?

Over the years I have found that many people really do not know the simple basics of how to get organized.  I hear all the time, “I’m just not an organized person.”

It is not something you are born with, you have to learn it. If you know someone who is super organized, it is because they learned how at some point in their life. The center of being an organized person is the appreciation of the benefits and how it actually simplifies your life.

Families today tend to have too much stuff. We want it all, but our homes are only so big! In a perfect world, I would love to have room in my home for everything that I want, but we all know that is not possible.

USA Today reports that Americans are building smaller homes:

New homes, after doubling in size since 1960, are shrinking. Last year, for the first time in at least 10 years, the average square footage of single-family homes under construction fell dramatically, from 2,629 in the second quarter to 2,343 in the fourth quarter, Census data show.

So, if our houses are shrinking and we still want more stuff, the challenge to get organized is more important now than ever. The only way is to purge from our homes the things that we don’t want or need and designate a place for everything that we keep. An organized home is more efficient and it actually saves you time and money.

How does it save time? You know exactly where things are, which prevents you from running around in the mornings looking for your keys.

How does it save money? If you can’t find something that you already own or don’t know if you own it, you will go buy another one, hence duplicating what you have.

Also, it is never too soon to start teaching your children the fundamentals of organization. A few years ago I went out of town to stay with my son for a few days to help out after the birth of a new grand baby.

This afforded me some extra time with my 6 yr old grandson Eli. Mommy had been on bed rest prior to the birth, so his room needed some attention.

He didn’t want to play in his room because even he couldn’t stand it. Well, I asked him if he would like to learn how to organize and clean his room and if so, I would help him. He agreed. In less than 2 days, he and his room were transformed. He now loves to organize. Watch this video that was taken a week after I got home. Eli, my 6 year old grandson demonstrating how he organizes. Watch the video of my 6 year old grandson, Eli showing how he organizes.

You ask, “Where do I start and how do I get organized?”

Look at it this way: If you have a jigsaw puzzle that you want to put together where do you start?  If you have worked a puzzle before you know how important the picture is and why you need to get the puzzle pieces ready.   Start sorting the boarder pieces, by color and so on, right? Getting organized is the same thing. A disorganized person does not have the picture to go by, so just getting started seems impossible. If you keep your eyes on the big picture while working with the small things, it will be easier to get organized and you will soon see the beauty of your organized home emerge from the pile.