Organizing Your Life
As we head into the new year and the season of spring cleaning, we are tackling the topic of how to get your home organized. Being organized is something I am VERY passionate about, and have been for years. There are so many advantages to being organized. Being organized helps me to know where all of my belongings are, gives me a sense of control over my life, and ultimately makes me feel more calm and content. However, this is more than just about organizing your junk drawer.
Organization is a lifestlye that helps you become your best self.
It helps build your confidence, because you are directly setting yourself up for success when you are organized.
It is about creating an environment that allows you to relax, rest, heal, create, and become the best version of yourself.
Your environment is more than just a place to put your stuff - it is where you spend most of your time! We all know that design, color, and textures have the ability to influence our mood. So why not make it good? After all, your environment is a direct reflection of YOU. I recently found this quote that really captures my point:
“My advice for you all today is this: Invest on your bedroom. Make it a sanctuary. Make it smell like the place you want to run away to in your mind. Invest in a good mattress. Play with your lighting. Sage it regularly.”
-Hassan Sayyed, founder of Haus Urban
Why Clutter is Bad
We all know clutter is STRESSFUL. When my room is dirty, I notice that I don’t feel as anchored, my routine tends to get sloppy, and I just don’t feel as prepared for the day. I don’t feel in control. I don’t fee rested, and I feel overstimulated. Bottom line, I don’t feel good.
So I did some research to find out how clutter affects us.
According to menshealth.com, clutter has a negative effect on our behaviors. research that shows that clutter is linked to :
Sleep problems
people who slept in cluttered rooms experienced more sleep disruption and less restful sleep
Poor Eating Choices
People in cluttered kitchen environments were twice as likely to choose a chocolate bar over an apple.
Being Overweight
people with extremely cluttered homes are 77 percent more likely to be overweight.
Participants whose houses were cleaner were more active and had better physical health, according to another study.
Psychologytoday.com states that clutter has the following effects on our lives:
Clutter bombards our minds with excessive stimuli
Clutter distracts us by drawing our attention away from what our focus should be on.
Clutter makes it more difficult to relax, both physically and mentally.
Clutter constantly signals to our brains that our work is never done.
Clutter makes us anxious because we're never sure what it's going to take to get through to the bottom of the pile.
Clutter creates feelings of guilt ("I should be more organized") and embarrassment, especially when others unexpectedly drop by our homes or work spaces.
Clutter inhibits creativity and productivity by invading the open spaces that allow most people to think, brainstorm, and problem solve.
Clutter frustrates us by preventing us from locating what we need quickly (e.g. files and paperwork lost in the "pile" or keys swallowed up by the clutter).
Which of the above rooms would you rather come home to?
Marie Kondo’s Tips:
Marie Kondo is the best-selling author of organization books The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and Spark Joy. She is the creator of the KonMari method, which is a method of organization that focuses on organizing your items by category, keeping only things that bring you joy, and having a place for everything. Kondo also has a popular Netflix TV series entitled, “ Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.”
Get rid of papers
Kondo says that holding onto papers can lead to a lot of useless clutter. Most bills, mail, and cards are stashed away, never to be looked at again. Most of this stuff can be accessed online, anyway!
Get rid of clothing that does not spark joy
Holding each item and asking yourself “ Does this spark joy?,” is one of the key principles behind Kondo’s Method. Kondo states that only items that spark joy should be kept. Everything else that is ill-fitting, or does not spark joy should be donated to be of use to someone else.
store things vertically
Kondo says that storing things vertically is the way to go. Not only is it more pleasing to the eye, but is it much more efficient because you can easily see all the options laid out in front of you, instead of playing a game of Jenga with your clothing and sliding out what you need from the pile. Getting drawer dividers can really help maximize your space !
organize by category , not location
Kondo says when organizing your home, organize in categories, not room by room. So, if you are going through all of your books, gather all of the books from all of the rooms in your home, and go through them. Then you can sort through with accuracy and make clearer decisions, because everything you own in that category is in front of you. Also, if you do room by room, you run the risk of leaving a few stray books behind, and more often than not, by the time you finish the last room, the first room is messy again.
Ditch the labels & simplify
Putting pantry items in mason jars or simple containers really simplifies your pantry, and also help to calm the “noise “ of every day life. Labels are loud, with lots of bright colors and can be overstimulating. Try this technique for a more refined and simplified look.
store things you use more next to you
This one just makes sense. You want to organize in such a way that you set yourself up for success and efficiency. Store items you don’t use much on shelves you can’t reach or under the bed. Put items you use daily in easy to access areas.
Don’t save things for someday
You know those items you hold on to “just in case.” GET RID OF THEM. According to Kondo, someday is not a day! Chances are, you won’t need to use this item anyway, and you won’t even notice that its gone.
Dr. Ricci’s tips:
when you buy new things, get RID of stuff
This tip helps keep me honest, and keep me on track with my goals. If I go out and buy some new things that “spark joy” in my life, I always make sure to try and find a few items that are no longer serving me, and donate those. Organizing is a constant process. It’s not just a one time thing. Getting rid of old things when I purchase new items helps to prevent clutter before it happens.
QUALITY over QUANTITY
This is the BEST tip I have. It applies to many things in life, but especially with your items. It is better to spend your money on things that you really love, rather than buy something you don’t really like. In terms of keeping things, there is no sense in keeping some low quality items that don’t bring you joy - get rid of them! It might be hard at first, but trust me… it is so FREEING!!!! After all, it is better to have a life that has less items in it that you can fully appreciate and love, than to have a house overflowing with clutter and stuff that you don’t really care for.
