Home Organization – Decluttering Your Life
Home organization does not come natural to everyone, although some seem to have a particular talent. Carol Harrison relates her ongoing struggle with organization- including her spiritual life.
How do you deal with disorganization in your daily or spiritual life? Share your comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Do You Need Home Organization?
Are your puzzle pieces scattered, jumbled and in need of organization? If there is a Pack Rat Day there must also be an Organization Day. To organize, by definition, is to arrange into a structured whole; order. Some of the synonyms are to categorize, catalog, arrange, classify and regulate.
I don’t know about you but I have been thinking about the need to organize a few things in my home. Paperwork always seems to overflow on my desk and shelves close by. Certain kitchen cupboards – like the one with the plastic storage containers and their lids never seems to stay in order. I often spend so much time hunting for just the right lid or the papers I need that it gets frustrating. But organizing it all can feel overwhelming too. What a dilemma. So I decided to look into this subject a little further.
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Home Organization on Pinterest
A simple google search reveals many sites devoted to or having a post about home organization. There are Pinterest ideas on how to corral the clutter into a well arranged, easy to access space. There are before and after photos on some sites to inspire you. Some have checklists to keep you moving towards your goal. TV shows have been made about this subject. There are professional organizers to help you – at least in some places. But really all the articles, books and posts on how to steps to help you organize boil down to some simple tips and then give you a variety of methods to carry them out. Reduce the clutter, recycle items no longer needed and have good storage solutions. Then clean up after yourself in a timely manner and things will stay organized.
Some of the solutions such as using an old jar – preferably a pretty one – on the dresser to drop change into keeps the coins in one place, and is easy to access when needed. But sometimes I look at the wonderful after pictures and then at my stuff and can’t seem to figure out which might work the best for me. Maybe I need to read more about it or enlist the help of someone who is good at it.
My Organized Daughter
My second oldest daughter, Marles, has always been an organized person – even as a child and teenager. I wish she lived closer for I know she would have great ideas on how to organize my house. Wait – she has given me a few. She tells me to put my files of papers from my various speaking engagements all on to the computer and save them on a flash drive. I can still hear her say, “Mom you can put a lot of flash drives in a pretty box on your desk.” Oh how right she is. I have the pretty box – my grandson made it and is storing it here while he is in school. He told me to use it but it still sits empty and an entire shelf or more is taken up by binders and file folders of paper copies.
Reduce the clutter. I know I will never be a minimalist or at least I can’t imagine it since I like the stories that go with lots of things I have but circumstances do change. Even with good storage, if I don’t reduce the clutter and work on organizing the remaining pieces, things will look overstuffed and I will continue to have trouble finding what I need or want without spending lots of valuable time on it.
Decluttering
This key of organization called decluttering, getting rid of things is where I struggle. Changing from paper to computer saved materials is another area but is still relates I guess. What if I need it? What if the computer eats my work or I forget to save it? One that goes along with that is ‘But I’ve always done it this way’. ‘How can I make hand written notes?’ ‘What if someone wants it later?’
Sometimes we need to accept help. Every item I’ve saved seems to have an attachment for me but it wouldn’t for an organizer or a good friend who could ask the hard questions such as, Why are you keeping it? How long since you have used or worn this? Does it work? Does it make you happy and if so how? What purpose does it serve?
Personalizing Home Organization
I used to like watching the organizing shows where they brought bins in labeled Keep, Give Away and Trash. But even though I understood the value in having someone go through the process I rarely applied it to myself unless we were moving and having to downsize.
Now as I think once more about the need to organize things, especially in my office area, I am relooking at these storage ideas and purging what I really don’t need and haven’t used in a long while.
It also got me thinking about what else I might need to let go of in my life, what decluttering of thoughts and even activities needs to happen to make way for what God wants in my life for right now – not later and not because I have always done it.
Maybe it’s time to put my paperwork on little flash drives that will fit in a pretty box on my desk and quit resisting the change. It’s time to ask God to declutter my life and for me to listen when he tells me to let something go. What about you? What needs decluttering and organizing in your life?
Carol Harrison
Listen to Carol’s program Puzzle Pieces Of Life.
Carol Harrison B.Ed is a speaker and published author with one book, Amee’s Story and stories in twelve anthologies. She is passionate about helping people of all ages and ability levels find their voice and reach their fullest potential.
She knows, through personal experience that some of life’s experiences are tougher than others. She encourages people that even in the twists and turns of life God’s amazing grace provides hope. She lives in Saskatoon, SK with her husband Brian. They have four adult children and a dozen grandchildren.
Visit Carol’s website carolscorner.ca
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Images Credits
Paperwork – stevepb
Flash Drive – aiiapromogifts
Waste – djedj
Pile of Papers – myrfa
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