When All the Organizing in the World Won’t Get You Organized

Last week I lost an important document I needed.  And I will tell you, first it panicked me.  Then it made me mad.  I mean I am organized.  I have bins and baskets and to do lists and chore lists, way too many lists (wait did I actually just say that!).  I even have a place for the document I was looking for.  But at that moment, none of that mattered.  All that mattered was that I did not take the time to put the document back where it belonged and now it was missing (and still is as I write this).  Such a simple thing like taking an extra few seconds to put something away has now cost my hours of looking and countless bouts of panic and anxiety.

It will never work if you don’t use it

Ok, I am going to say something that might upset some of you, but hear me out.  In reality, you can have all the organizing systems in the world with everything lined up and perfectly labeled.  That is what we dream of right, a perfectly organized shelf or room or house.  But it won’t work (Don’t leave just yet…).  I am not saying it will never work, but I am saying if you don’t take the time to use them you are no better off, and probably a lot poorer, than when you bought them.  Sometimes when you are organizing less can be better.  Try not to pick an organizing system that is so complicated that you will never use.  It might look great on Pinterest and your college roommate might think it is the greatest organizing system ever and you would be foolish not to try it.  Remember, if it becomes a burden because it is not a way that works for you, you won’t use it.  Also, make sure that once you do pick a system you take the time to put things back when you are done.  Trust me, those few seconds will save you hours.

One of the simplest things I have is actually one of my favorite organizing tools.  I have a pretty green glass bowl (I only mention the color because green is one of my favorites) sitting on the table by my back door.  This bowl came with the house and originally held plastic fruit.  At first I thought…Where in the world will I use that bowl?  But I kept it, probably because it is green.  Anyway, I emptied out the fruit and now I use it to store my keys.  This idea came from one of my favorite TV shows.  One of the characters locked themselves out of their apartment.  The organized character quips “We have a bowl.  Our keys go in a bowl, you should get a bowl.”  And I thought to myself, I have a bowl.  So now I put my keys in a bowl and I have not lost my keys since because as soon as I get home, I put my keys in the bowl.  Yes there are complex hooks and magnetic strips you could use.  But for me, a simple bowl works great. 

I challenge you this week to find simple solutions to your organizing questions.  Or maybe just take a minute to look around and use what you already have in place.  Think about how much anxiety you will save yourself.