The Secrets of the Organized Person

by Susan McCarthy

Everyday practice: Throughout your day, ask, "How would an organized person act?"

You don’t become organized by decluttering a room – or even your entire house. You don’t become organized by cleaning your closet in January, sorting through your papers in March, and watching the clutter creep back until you motivate yourself to do more decluttering during fall cleaning.

Becoming organized is a process, and like most processes, there is no finish line. Instead, your consistent effort helps you see yourself as organized. Your actions support this identity.

Creating the identity of an organized person is about small, seemingly insignificant actions that reflect the behaviors of an organized person. Now, there’s no single definition of an organized person. One person may define organized as a near-empty kitchen counter while someone else who cooks a lot feels more organized when they have their blender and food processor on the counter, ready for use.

Start with a Habit

• Return your keys, wallet, checkbook, TV remote, etc. to the same place so you don’t waste time looking for these items.
• Create systems for sorting through things on a regular basis. How and when will you sort through your files, so they don’t become full of unnecessary, out-of-date paperwork? How will you control the number of clothes, books, or other items that you own so your spaces don’t become crowded?
• Carry something with you each time you move from one room to another to return things where they belong.
• Each time you encounter something that you don’t need, put it in a box you’re holding for donations; is something damaged? Toss it. This steady decluttering is something you’ll do for the rest of your life. Decluttering doesn’t have to be something you wait to do when your home gets crowded and disorganized.
• Take the decision-making out of common tasks by establishing a schedule for them. For example, you do laundry on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday without question because those are laundry days. Instead, if you think, "I need to do laundry some day this week," it becomes easier to say, "but not today."
• If you frequently run late, notice how long it takes you to get places – not just driving time but the time it takes you to get out the door, park at your destination, and walk to the office or space you need to be. Adjust your schedule so you are in the right place when you need to be there. This will take a while.

To become the type of person you want to become won’t happen overnight. Small actions repeated until they become automatic will help you in the process of becoming organized.

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