Organize Your Life

We all know the feeling of trying to find something in our closet, drawer, or cabinet and coming up empty-handed.  The frustrating feeling of not being able to find something is actually bad for your health. For the hundredth time you tell yourself it’s time to get organized. You might even feel anxious and overwhelmed as a result. If so, chances are the clutter and disorder in your home are impacting your mental, and possibly physical, health.

Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions.

Barbara Hemphill 

Some studies have even shown an association between how much clutter you live with and excess weight. Clutter affects your food choices and makes you more likely to choose unhealthy foods over healthier options. Being unorganized may prevent you from having healthy food choices available in your home.   As a result, you reach for whatever is available when you are hungry. 

Even if you know your disorganized home is stressing you out, it doesn’t make it easy to fix. In fact, several factors probably contribute to your disorganization. Taking stock of your situation will help you identify these factors  and allow you to correct them. 

Some common reasons for being disorganized:

• You’ve never really been organized before so it is hard to know how good it will feel.
• You have too much stuff.
• Organizing takes time. Add a career, family life, and other obligations and becoming organized never seems to fit in.

Some benefits of organizing your life:

• Improve your sleep
• Reduce your stress
• Improve your relationships
• You will be able to free up some time to focus on other aspects of your life
• May reduce depression and anxiety
• Help to make better food choices and plan a workout regime, which may help you to lose weight
• Make you more productive

For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned. 

Benjamin Franklin

Some tips to help you become more organized:

• Set aside small amounts of time each day or week to tackle one area in your home that needs organizing.  
• Only work on one area at a time.
• Remove everything from the closet or pantry so you can see the big picture.  
• Clean the area by wiping down shelves, sweeping, etc.
• Sort your items into piles such as:
  • Trash (or recycling)
  • Things to donate
  • Things to sell
  • Things to keep

Being organized doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort. As you work hard to clear away the piles and clutter, you will make it easier to feel relaxed and happy in your home or work space.