Getting Organized, by Carrie Reeve Benuska

With kids away at camp, this week has been a flurry of organizational activities for me. For some reason, when my kids are away from home, I am filled with energy to get household tasks accomplished (too bad I can’t summon the energy on a day-by-day basis!) With my office located in a portion of my living room, it is quite important for me to keep on top of my clutter, which I have not been doing for months. My saving grace is a tall couch, which blocks the view of my desk. Unfortunately, all of my un-filed paperwork, office supplies and extra computer equipment were spilling out of my designated area, causing quite an eye-sore as you walk into my living room. It was time for a major clean out.

Once I get going on a project, you better watch out. I pulled everything out of the cabinets, threw tons of things away, scrubbed everything clean and re-organized everything back into my cabinets and drawers. Ahhh! What a feeling of accomplishment and calm I feel after one of my sessions. I even moved to other parts of the house and yard and took on additional projects. This included pulling all of the garbage out of the garage so that I can park my BMW under cover. So much physical activity, lifting, pulling and packing have left me with sore muscles and weary bones. I am exhausted but clear of mind.

I know in my head that staying organized is great for my life. I can work much more efficiently, because I know where things are stored and can access them quickly. An organized home or office give a good impression to those who come to visit (especially if they just drop by!) In addition, I am confident that when I am organized, my stress level is greatly decreased and that my mind is clear to take on the important work that I have to do. All good stuff!

My difficulty is not convincing myself of the great benefits of an organized life but rather the discipline to live an organized life on a daily basis. Once things get away from me, I tend to become overwhelmed and just let everything go (shove things into a cabinet, make piles, convince myself I will take it on tomorrow). The key is to keep it up. Martha Stewart has a few ideas of things that you should do everyday:

Make the Bed – Tidiness begets tidiness. A crisply made bed makes the whole room seem more orderly, which makes it less likely that you’ll let other things — such as clothes and papers — pile up around it.
Manage Clutter – Whenever you leave a room, take a quick look around for anything that isn’t where it should be. Pick it up and put it where it belongs. Insist that everyone in the household do the same.
Sort the Mail – Take a few minutes to open, read, and sort mail as soon as you bring it inside. Keep a trash bin near your sorting area for junk mail. Drop other mail into one of four in-boxes: personal correspondence, bills, catalogs, and filing.

I know these things, but everyday discipline is so boring! My desire for life organization has to be stronger than my own personal laziness. This decision happens on an everyday basis. If I get in my daily organizational groove, then I will just have to sell the other 4 people living in my home on my plan (which requires discipline in and of itself!) I love the way that I feel after a good home reorganization and clean up. That is the feeling that I need to remember every day when I am tempted to take short cuts. I can do it!