The Key to Organization: Systems, Mindfulness, & Consistency

millitelloashley
Apr 3
5 min read

Updated: Apr 5

Organization is crucial to living a life of ease, less chaos, and more time efficiency. However, becoming organized is just one step of the overall process. To truly create a life you love to live and thrive in, it requires more than just one time decluttering, zones, and containment.

I can step into a house and spend hours creating a beautifully organized space for a client, but whether I come back six months later and see the same beautiful space is ultimately up to them. Yes, I gave them the tools and systems they needed but only time will tell if the home will stay that way. Living an organized life comes down to your ability to form habits, maintain the systems, change things up as needed, and stay consistent!

Creating Systems

Organizing is in itself a system. You are creating a home for the items you have chosen to keep, zoning the categories so everything is easy to find. This categorization is a system, it is a way of choosing where that item and those like it will live and how much space they will take up. Whether you choose to use bins and baskets or simply designate a certain shelf or closet space.. if those items are exceeding that space then you know it is time to reevaluate. You will either need to declutter or choose to make more room by decluttering another category/doing some rearranging.

There are many many systems you can create for your home to keep it running smoothly. Every household is different in their needs and one system will not work for everyone. As a professional organizer, part of my job is to figure out which system will work best for your lifestyle, personal needs, personality types, ages of children in the house, and other factors. If you are organizing your own space, I highly suggest thinking about your own personal needs rather than just choosing a system based on social media or what might work for your friend.

A key factor to take into consideration: the other members of your household. Their quirks, personality traits, and habits are something to consider when you are organizing and setting up systems. If you do not create something everyone can use and participate in, you are making it so that you alone will be responsible for maintaining it. And that is not the goal!

A piece of advice from someone who is changing things up constantly...as my life is constantly changing too! It is completely okay {and in fact encouraged} to try a different system if the one you currently are using is not working. What worked once may not anymore. There are so many creative solutions to our life problems so think outside the box, do your research, and try them out until you find what works for you!

{PRO TIP: do not rush out to purchase product every time you try out a new system. Make it basic at first and then buy product once you know it is the right one for you. No need to accumulate a clutter hot spot of empty, unused, and potentially expensive bins!}

"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." -James Clear

Practicing Mindfulness

At the end of the day, you {and the members of your household} are responsible for each and every item that enters and occupies your home. This may sound extreme but it’s true, whether you realize it or not. Everything needs to have a home {otherwise it ends up in one of the clutter hot spots or endless piles} and most items at some point in their lifespan need to be cleaned {whether regularly or once per year}. This adds up and the more items you invite to live in your space with you, the more time you will spend tending to those items. Once you have taken the time to declutter your home it will be a critical step to think about purchases and accepted items moving forward. When you declutter it's a process of choosing what to keep rather than what to get rid of, what items in your house not only bring you joy but what do you truly use, need, and love. Keep this same mindset after the initial declutter is done. Remember how it felt to feel so free, like a large weight was lifted off of you. As life moves on you will inevitably be faced with options over and over again as store sales entice you, friends may offer up items, and social media tells you how amazing products are and that you just have to have them!

Ask yourself a few simple questions when you are standing in an aisle at Target, doom scrolling in the late hours of the night, amazon prime shopping, or when your friend/family member is asking if you want their clutter.

If you are a Costco shopper.. please print these out and tape them to your membership card! Costco may be the most notorious impulse buy store out there, we've all been there but don't give in!

Questions To Ask Yourself Before Purchasing:

Does this item have a space in my home, where will I keep it?
Is this a duplicate item, do I really need this?
Is this a good use of my money or is this an impulse buy?
Could I borrow this from someone I know instead of buying it myself?
If this was not on sale, would I still purchase it at full price?

When in doubt, sleep on it! If there is an item that may be an impulse purchase, give yourself a time out and revisit it in a few days time. If you can't stop thinking about it and still want it at that later date, then buy it!

More Mindfulness- Purchasing for Others

Consider this as well when you are out shopping, purchasing online, giving gift ideas to relatives, and buying birthday/holiday presents. Pretty much anytime you are spending for someone other than yourself, you need to be mindful of who you are buying the item for and whether they have the capacity to be responsible for this item. If the answer is no, then you need to ask yourself if YOU have the capacity to take responsibility and accept that it is now an item on your radar. Sharing the same space means their items are your items too!

Maintaining Consistency

Some will have no issues keeping consistent with the decluttering upkeep and maintaining the organization created.

If you are someone who is not naturally organized, experience mental health trials {whether that be anxiety, ADD/ADHD, depression, or an alternative}, or simply lead a very busy lifestyle.. you may need help maintaining your space. Realizing this and reaching out to secure the help you need will be the determining factor on the longevity of your organization!

Declutter Often!

Do not declutter once a year as a spring cleaning task. Decluttering should be all year around, you should treat it as you would any other chore. I recommend keeping a donation bin in your house or garage to continuously fill up. Make it a monthly task to drop off those donations or schedule a donation pick up. Items are continuously coming in, so items need to be continuously leaving to maintain the balance!

Decluttering Tasks That Should Occur Often:

Pantry and Refrigerator Clear Outs
Paperwork/Kid's Artwork
Closets {especially kid's since they are constantly growing}
Books & Toys {kid's age out of these quickly or lose interest in certain characters/items}
Bathrooms {products don't work out sometimes and they expire}
Entry/Drop Zones {these spaces tend to accumulate random items}
Garages {the junk drawer of the house}