Organizing 101

As a former "messie girl" turned "organizing enthusiast", I know first hand how living a life filled with clutter can affect you, your family, & your home! Because my passion is helping other women Create Welcoming Homes, I'd like to start a series called:

Organizing 101 ~

"A Place For Everything, and Everything In It's Place"

I grew up with the 2 neatest, most organized parents who ever existed. How I was so messy as a teenager was beyond them! Even as a young wife and mom, I struggled with keeping control of the clutter in my home. It's not that I didn't have a CLEAN house. Oh, I cleaned and scrubbed, washed and folded, dusted and mopped......it's just that I had these little piles....piles of clutter! It's not that I was a "pack rat" either, although I had certainly married one which didn't help. My problem came from being un-organized!

Do you relate? Feel overwhelmed by the clutter in your home? I'd like to share what I have learned through the years here with you!! :)

photos from Google images

Clutter can be a result of several things:

1) Procrastinating ~ not taking care of things immediately or in a timely manner. This can include waiting to go through the mail, not putting laundry away, & tossing papers in a pile "for later".

2) Trying to "do it all", all by yourself. Let me tell you now, it just can't be done! You need the help of EVERY family member!

3) Feeling overwhelmed ~ You're so overwhelmed by it all that you figure adding one more thing to the pile won't matter. Or, you get so overwhelmed that instead of taking action, you do the opposite and "freeze up", unable to even start a small project.

4) Being a perfectionist! It's true! You feel you have to have the time or energy or space or special bins and labels to "do the job right". You end up thinking, "Without these things, why bother?" And when you do start a clutter cleaning project, you drag everything out & make an even bigger mess than there was to begin with trying to do a job "perfectly"! Then you get sidetracked or overwhelmed, and are stuck.

5) Holding on to objects for the wrong reasons.

Clutter Results In:

1) Drained Energy ~ It literally feels like you are being dragged down. It sucks the Peace out of your life.

2) Drained Time ~ Your family wastes precious time looking for keys, library books, a pair of shoes, even the chocolate chips! Time better spent feeling at peace, spent together, spent actually doing something productive with what you are looking for!

3) Drained Bank Account ~ You'll end up spending more $$ if you know you HAVE an item and can't find it, or FORGET you have an item and purchase a duplicate.

4) Children who may end up living their lives with disorganized habits as well. Habits that could affect schoolwork, family time, and in the future, jobs and home lives. {*in my opinion, if nothing else will get you to stick to keeping out the clutter, this thought should!}

Are you feeling overwhelmed by clutter? Do you have a certain area in your home that tends to collect the clutter? Do you want to know how to organize a specific place in your home?

Share it in the comments! And I'll do my best to address these things in this series!!

Next time, I'll share "How To Get Started!" :)