Use Organized Living as a Tool for Happiness

As the New Year approaches, I realize how much I want organized living to a part of my life in 2016. Almost all of my stressful moments occur, to some degree, as a result of my disorganized life. I want to use organized living as a tool for happiness in 2016.

I can’t find my keys so I’m late to an appointment. My clothes aren’t put away or washed so it takes me twice as long to find something to wear. I haven’t set anything out for dinner so I’m scrambling to find something to eat. I have stress relief tools to help me deal with these situations, but all of these scenarios would be eliminated with just a little bit of organization. But how do I even begin?

Identify Areas of Organizational Weakness

Sometimes I just throw my hands in the air and say, “I’m creative. My place will never be uncluttered. My life will never be organized.”

That defeatist attitude gets me no where. I’ve found the first step in solving any problem is to name it—identify what is truly causing the issue. My biggest problem when it comes to organization is that I don’t put things away and I don’t clean up messes right when they occur. I’m the mom that leaves the dishes in the sink over night or sometimes doesn’t even get them in the sink at all.

Procrastination is my default mode and clutter is my natural habitat.

Once I identified my areas of organizational weakness, I saw that they could be fixed. When it comes to organized living I am not hopeless.

Observe People Who Have Organized Lives

So, my second step in organized living has been to observe the lives of those who are organized. My friend Amy is my go-to. She has the organizational skills that make her destined to be a homeroom mom someday. When I decided I wanted to get organized I asked Amy specific questions: What’s your home filing system look like? What do you do with the mail right when you receive? Is there a secret potion I can drink to become organized like you?

But all joking aside, hearing how Amy stays organized gave me tangible steps I could take to get myself organized. I wish I could say it’s been easy, but it hasn’t. I have bad habits at home. I can manage multiple freelance assignments and stay organized with all of the clients I work with as a mental health peer specialist, but when it comes to my home life I’m just not motivated to stay organized.

Use Professional Help to Achieve Organized Living for Happiness

If I could afford to hire a professional organizer to whip me into an organized life like personal trainer, I would. But the life of a freelance writer and mental health advocate isn’t as lucrative as you might think. I do recommend that anyone who can afford these services utilize them.

Since I can’t hire a professional organizer, I recently purchased The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing on Amazon.

Here’s to organized living in 2016.

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