With the New Year coming, some of us start thinking about resolutions. These resolutions may include becoming more organized. Here I will share with you my journey towards better organization with the hope that it may yield a starting point and helpful ideas. Finding the optimal level of organization for your family can help you lead your home with more peace, and allow you to put more focus on raising your children according to your values.
I had always thought I functioned pretty well with some degree of disorganization. It was either the keys, the third child, or probably the combination of both that was the last straw. It was January 2004, and I needed to get out the door with my three small children. The diaper bag was somewhat packed, I just needed to add wipes and cream. The older two kids had their coats and shoes on and baby was bundled up in the car seat. But where were my keys!?! Three small kids getting restless, and no keys! No fun.
Then I started noticing more and more throughout the week that my husband and I had this conversation all too frequently (either he or myself bringing this up):
"Have you seen my keys?"
"No, where did you have them last?"
"I don’t know, will you help me find them?"
That’s when I decided that it was time for a change. I started reading whatever I could find for some tips to help me become organized. At that point, one tip was pivotal for me:
It takes 28 days to make a habit. Pick three things you want to make a habit, and do them for 28 days. Well, it wasn’t too hard to figure out what the first would be. The first was to give my keys a home and make sure they landed there every time I walked in the door. The next habit was to make my bed every morning as soon as my feet hit the floor (unless someone was in it). The third habit was to make sure coats were hung up immediately upon entering the house. It worked! Almost four years later, and I cannot remember the last time I misplaced my keys!! (There is also a home for the spares now just in case [:)])
Later that year, a friend told me about http://www.flylady.net/, a website developed by The Flylady to help people organize their homes. She has many tips and insights. Here are a few that were pivotal for me:
Spend 15 minutes a day getting rid of clutter. Notice I didn’t say organizing, but getting rid of clutter. I went room by room spending 15 minutes a day getting rid of stuff that didn’t belong there: throwing away things that did not have value and giving away things others could use. After I finished the house, I started again, and I still do it. The clutter keeps coming back [:S].
Create routines. I didn’t have many routines built into my housecleaning, and wasn’t sure how this would work for me. But I slowly began to create my routines building in a new habit each month (as it takes 28 days to make a habit). Examples that have become routines for me are carrying a load of laundry downstairs with me each morning, and loading and running the dishwasher each night before bed (then I unload it first thing next morning). Just like with the keys, when they became habits, it was more automatic- one less thing to think about!
Set the timer for 15 minutes to accomplish a task. I found that when it came to housecleaning, I was easily distracted. I would start thinking of other things I wanted to do when I was in the kitchen and leave before it was cleaned up. And, of course, I would leave when the kids needed me. Now, I make sure the kids’ needs are taken care of before I set the timer, and I spend 15 focused minutes cleaning up after meals. That is usually all of the time I need. Sometimes I need more after dinner, so I set the timer for an additional 15 minutes.
The habit of making the bed keeps my bedroom clean. I’m more apt to keep it neater if the bed is made. Keeping the kitchen clean makes a big difference too. Once the kitchen goes, the rest of the house quickly follows.
These changes have added more peace to our home. I hope that these tips and insights may be helpful for those of you looking to make improvements in organizing your homes.
