As a professional organizer for over 12 years, here are 3 things I wish I could tell all of my clients:
1. You don’t need everyday items sitting on your counter!
Let me explain. We are often made to believe that efficiency is key to a productive life. So, the less steps we have to take to get to our everyday items the better, right? Wrong! Leaving items out on our kitchen counter, bathroom vanity, or office/desk area for “easy access” does not lead to better rhythms in our life. Creating this visual clutter actually has the opposite effect of breeding laziness and mental stress.
Research shows that the brain naturally craves order. When we are surrounded by too many distractions, there is a literal overload to our cognitive capabilities. This in turn can not only affect our productivity, but our eating habits, decision making abilities, and our overall mental health.
That being said, items that need to be accessed frequently should be located in areas that make the most sense – car keys by the garage door, toothbrush in the bathroom. But that does not mean they need to be visible. It’s important to create systems in those spaces for everyday items to fit in a drawer, basket, shelf or cabinet. And guess what? If it doesn’t fit, it’s time to purge! I promise the feeling of a cleared off counter truly makes a big difference.
2. The less you have, the less you have to manage.
In a society inundated with consumerism, minimalism often gets a bad rap. On a surface level, minimalism can appear limiting and restrictive. But when you delve deeper behind the curtain, it’s actually quite the opposite. The goal behind minimalism is not to restrict, rather it is to live intentionally.
“The world asks how can I get more, but the true question to ask ourselves is how can I have less to cultivate contentment.”
– Amelia Thatcher
The more we have in our home, the more there is to clean, manage, organize, repair, and juggle. It is a truly freeing experience to live more minimally and intentionally with the things that come in and out of your home. This doesn’t mean that you can’t buy the things that you want, rather that we only keep in our homes those items which bring us value and joy.
3. If your house still looks messy after you tidy, you have too much stuff.
This one says it all. One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that our house is too small. If your house is truly organized with functional systems, and unnecessary clutter is removed, everything should have a place and fit within the confines of your home. Blaming the size of our dwelling only leads to discontentment. The truth is, if you had a larger home you would fill it with more superfluous items until even that larger space feels once again too small. It’s an endless cycle. When we optimize our space and implement intentional, practical systems, clean up should not take longer than 15 minutes to an hour. And when all is said and done, your space should truly feel clean and refreshed.
