A Place for Everything, And Everything in Its Place

For me, being organized is a way to reduce stress.  I have learned that by being unorganized, I waste a lot of time in my day.  I also would get frustrated with myself which would lead to feelings of self-hatred and incompetence.

I began the habit of “A Place for Everything, And Everything in Its Place” in my life.

The way to begin this practice is to first develop a place for everything you need to organize.  Think about these questions:

• What item(s) am I always looking for?
• What item(s) are never where I thought they would be?
• What item(s) are always getting in my way?
• What item(s) do I need available all the time?
• What item(s) can I get out of my way?
• What item(s) frustrate me?

You then need to think of your home and the space you can work with. 

For me, I needed a place to put my bag for work so it would be out of my way.  I have an office and I would drop my bag on the floor when I came home every day.  This was getting annoying because it always seemed to be in my way.  I realized that what I needed was a hook on the wall to hang the bag.  In this process, I also realized that I have my camera backpack that needed a home so I decided to buy a wall mounted coat rack which would give me a lot of space for storage. 

This was a simple solution but one that brings me joy every time I enter my office.

There is also the time I was going crazy finding my charging wires for my different devices.  I had them all in my night stand but they would get tangled and I found it difficult figuring out which wire went with which device.

I invested in a wire organizer pouch with spaces to store the wires and keep them free from tangles.  Now whenever I need to charge something, I know exactly where to go and which wire to use.

The kitchen is another place where this concept is appreciated.  It is so frustrating when we are looking for an item that we know we own, only to NOT be able to find it. 

Where is that meat thermometer?

I have gone through my cabinets and drawers, determined the items I really need, keep only one of each (if appropriate), and gotten rid of the rest.  By having enough space to store your utensils, you can limit the frustrations you will feel when looking for that rarely-used item that you know you bought last year. 

There is additional challenge in this if you live with someone else.  You need to work together as a team to determine the best places for things so that each of you knows where it belongs.  This is the only way it will end up back in its home after removing it from the drain rack or dishwasher.  This is an ongoing process that I am constantly re-developing.  It is important to me to remain at peace in my home, so I take the time to have a place for everything, and everything in its place.