Why Organize?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
From Summer Day by Mary Oliver
The last 2 weeks I’ve written about my organizational skills, the steps I take to order a space and reasons why those standards work. However, there is more to getting and staying organized than just sorting, selecting and storing your stuff.
Good order is external and visible, certainly—
But not only—
Good order, true good order, is also internal and invisible.
It’s a dance between internal and external tasks to take your home from cluttered and chaotic to clear and ordered. And, counterintuitive as it sounds, you start with your heart, not your hands.
If your home is cluttered and hard to manage, don’t jump in and tackle the clutter, step back and deal with the root of the issue rather than the symptoms.
Decide to live differently.
To live differently, you need to make bold changes and joyful choices.
To make bold changes and joyful choices, you need to identify your core values and imagine your ideal lifestyle.
Without a destination, you just drift or get pushed along by someone or something else. Once you know how you want to live, you can make changes and choices that will lead you there.
You may be thinking, “I just want to be able to find what I need and not have to search through piles of paper and stacks of stuff every morning on my way out the door.” Or, “I just want to know where items are so I can easily find them when I need to use them.”
Ask yourself, “Why?” and dig deeper to determine what drives your surface desires. Knowing those deeper values connects the process of ordering your home to the significance and meaning of your life.
Right now, stop and consider why you want to declutter. Answer the question, “Why?” over and over until you reach a core value.
Here are two simple examples of finding core values:
I just want to find what I need without searching through piles of paper & stacks of stuff every morning on my way out the door.
Why?
So I am not always running late and feeling stressed.
Why?
So I can spend my emotional energy doing what I enjoy and interacting with people in a positive way.
Why?
Because I want to treat people with kindness and patience and love; I can’t do that when I’m stressed.
Core values: Kindness, Patience, Love
I just want to know where items are so I can easily find them when I need to use them.
Why?
So I don’t go out and buy something I already have just because I can’t find it.
Why?
So I don’t waste money buying things I already have.
Why?
Because I want to spend less money on things and more on experiences.
Core value: Experiences over things
Some other examples of the surface motivation for getting organized:
“I want to declutter before I move.”
“I want to move on, emotionally, after my divorce, to feel free and start over.”
“I want to spend less time taking care of my house and more time in my garden.”
“I want my home to feel like an oasis of comfort at the end of a long, stressful day.”
In each of these examples, you can already see hints of the deeper values motivating the reasons for organizing. The task of articulating your core values doesn’t have to be a long, involved procedure; it simply needs a bit of time and attention from you to flesh it out.
A little deliberate thought will go a long way to keeping you motivated and energized throughout the task.
Tell me:
What is your motivation for decluttering?
Why?
Why?
Why?
