organization week

Let me first start by saying that I am not anywhere near qualified to write this series of posts... But I am trying, and I am making progress, and I am loving the results. I also promised some posts on organization after hearing a lot of really helpful tips at my Bible study kind of a while ago, so I thought it was about time to follow through on that.

So...
Why work toward an organized life? Well... when was the last time you reached up to the top shelf of your closet to get a piece of clothing and had a whole pile fall on you instead? Or how about the last time you went grocery shopping and came home with a can of something for a recipe you wanted to make only to discover you had three more cans of that same thing buried in your pantry somewhere. When you pull out a tupperware is it easy or hard to find the lid to that specific one? Have you ever double scheduled? Ever forgotten items you really needed when you walked out the door only to drive 20 minutes down the road and then remember them? (HATE that!)

Yeah. Each of these scenarios have been part of my life. Some of them still are. Want to know some things that really get on my nerves? Needing something and not being able to find it. (That drives me CRAZY!) Or, trying to put things away and having other things fall over, out or onto me.

Want to know something I discovered somewhere along the timeline of the last year or so?

Systems that annoy me can be CHANGED.

Just because I've always kept the handheld dirt devil on the top shelf in the coat closet and it drives me batty that the stinkin' cord is always coming unwound and falling down and making it hard to get a coat out without getting tangled up in said cord and the whole vacuum falling on my head doesn't mean I have to leave the dirt devil there forever. I can move it! I can change the system and find something that works better!!! (Note to self, find a new spot for the dirt devil as soon as you're finished writing this post!)

I recently cleaned out our master bedroom closet (for like, the fifteenth time in the last six months) Some of the clean outs have been for the purpose of getting rid of things, some have been for the purpose of rediscovering things, this one was specifically for the purpose of getting rid of systems that annoy me. I feel like angels are singing the hallelujah chorus over me when I open my closet doors now. Not one system in there annoys me anymore! AND I know where everything is!

So... I've put together another little series of posts, this time on organization. It includes systems I love for organizing closets, organizing recipes, having a planner, organizing the laundry room... plus posts by some of my very good friends who I look up to a TON when it comes to being disciplined and living an organized life.

Being organized is a process. It does not happen overnight for those of us who have never made it a priority before. But, it incredibly reduces stress, increases productivity, decreases waste (buying things you already have because you can't find them), and, I might add, is an addictive behavior. Forcing myself to be organized is having other benefits I never dreamed of. Organization is a habit former. Now that I've become better at holding myself to my routines, I've found that I can even commit to exercising more easily because I'm making myself be a disciplined person. I'm so glad this cycle has begun for me, the areas that have been organized in my life feel AMAZING, I just want to keep on going! Once you have systems in place it is fairly easy to maintain them. SO! Read along this next week and see if you can identify just one area in your life that gets on your nerves that you can apply some organization to. Once you see how good it feels you will want to keep going too!! Or, maybe you are way more organized than I am (highly likely) and you can leave the rest of us some comments on some of your favorite organizational tips!!

"When a discipline becomes a love, it can then be a lifestyle."

(Disclaimer: I wrote this post awhile ago and at this particular moment my house is less organized than ever due to pregnancy sickness and a week of the flu... so I plan on going back and re-reading these posts once we are all feeling better to motivate me to kick it back into gear! Also- I meant to post this yesterday but due to sickness, forgot. Sorry it is late...)