What are you doing this weekend? Unless you are like my friend Jan who loves to organize her home, there are probably a lot of other things you’d rather be doing then, say, organizing your garage.  This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t want to be organized. Being organized is wonderful! It reaps great benefits, including but not limited to:

1. Quickly finding what you need when you need it. Something you take for granted until you can’t find it.
2. Feeling the sense of calm that comes when everything is clear in your space.
3. Knowing you haven’t overlooked something important like your mortgage bill or the date of your kid’s first recital.
4. More money to spend on things you want when you’re not spending money on duplicate items you can’t find and forgot you already had.
5. Having time to focus on what you are truly great at or on something that gives you real pleasure

The difference between being organized and getting organized is simple: One takes effort, in some cases an overwhelming amount of physical as well as mental effort. It also takes a plan and a good working system that can easily be sustained.

Being organized, takes much less effort, and as a result you have more freedom and time to spend doing what you want to do as opposed to what you should do.

To put it simply, being organized is a whole lot more fun than getting organized. I’m a professional and I’ve been doing this for years but even I don’t live to get organized. I get organized to live.

When you decide to get organized, with or without help, the first thing you should do is stop making your clutter a character flaw. Instead consider the clutter you’ve created as a reflection of the busy, productive (and hopefully) better life you’ve created for yourself.

If it’s paper clutter that’s driving you crazy, stop blaming yourself for all the paper you have.  Despite all the efforts at going “paperless,” paper is still a fact of life. Today, for example, the contents of my in-box grew by 2 documents, 5 receipts and 7 pieces of mail I personally did not generate.

So instead of beating yourself up, ask yourself, “What would I rather be doing this weekend?” If your answer is something fun, fulfilling or relaxing, go ahead and do it, without guilt. If, however, the clutter around you is causing an unacceptable level of stress or you finally want to tackle your garage, go ahead. The investment in your home and yourself will be worth it.

 

Posted October 10, 2015 by Lis McKinley, M.A., CPO®