Getting Organized

Have you noticed that there is a sudden obsession with organization and re-organization in our culture? It seems like you can’t pick up a magazine or go to a healthy living website without reading something about getting organized. Over the last few months, I have spent many hours researching the topic, and only started actually reorganizing a few days ago. Warning: It is addictive!

There are some great books and websites out there – systems, containers, methods, you name it! They are all fascinating, but not a single one is enough to get you motivated. Here’s the secret: The first thing you have to do is to lose something very important. Spend an entire day scouring the house for it. Then you will hit the wall (figuratively, please!) and actually get serious about getting organized!

I know we say we live in a digital world. So why was my home office overflowing with papers? It’s an obsession with “What if I need this someday?” Solution: my tax adviser gave me a list of papers I have to keep. Done. The rest are in line to be shredded. It’s amazing how good that feels to say that. It is all part of letting go…

The kitchen pantry was my biggest success. I stayed firm. If the package had a Best if Used By date that had already passed, it was going into the trash can. A-maz-ing… I filled my entire trash can (the one that rolls to the curb on Trash Day!) and my recycling bin. The nice thing is that now I know what food I have. There used to be so much food stuffed in there that I couldn’t plan a meal, so I would just go to the grocery store. Now it’s fun to open the door and see everything neat and tidy. Refreshing!

From there, I made a list of the things that needed to be organized. I have made a vow to organize one thing a day – breaking the big projects into smaller ones. I have targeted my bathroom cabinets, the kitchen drawers, kitchen cabinets, CDs, DVDs, linen closet, and these should take me a few months. It is very refreshing. Having too many things will start to overwhelm any living space, and getting rid of all that clutter is just plain refreshing.

I am sure you noticed that I didn’t mention my clothes closet. I reorganize that constantly, but I just can’t help but think that I’ll need those clothes one day. I have one suggestion for the fashion industry. If you could please put labels that say Best if Worn By Date, it would make it much easier to tackle that closet!

Blessings,
Barb