How’s your January shaping up? If you kicked off the new year with grand plans to conquer the chaos in your home and life, how's the journey going so far?
Amidst the busyness of juggling your work, family life and home, those initial intentions might have taken a back seat. But fear not! If you’re still looking to make life a bit easier in this blog I'll share the benefits of getting organised as well as some compelling motivation to help you get started on your organising journey this year.
Blog Contents - your reasons to get organised
1) Being organised will save you Time
It’s easy to think that getting organised will take too much time but as my good friend and fellow KonMari Consultant Rosie Barron said “I’m not organised because I have time – I have time because I’m organised” and it’s so true!
Time is precious – the cost of disorganisation
If you’re constantly looking for items, like important paperwork, kid’s shoes or your keys, you’re wasting time.
Spending just 4 minutes a day looking for items soon mounts up:
- 28 minutes a week
- 2 hours a month
- Over 24 hours a year
That’s over one day a year, or three 8-hour working days, just looking for stuff! Do you have that amount of time free in your daily life to do that?
Being organised saves you minutes every day
As Benjamin Franklin once said; 'For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.'
An organised home with designated places for items will save you the time and stress wasted looking for things. Regular tasks like the morning routine (getting up, dressed and out the door on time without distractions), or preparing the evening meal (knowing you’ve got all the ingredients and knowing you’ve got everything to hand become easier.
If your home flows around you, rather than puts barriers in your way, you can get things done more quickly.
2) Routines reduce stress
Planning your week or having a set day for regular tasks can help manage your time and ensure you tick things off your to-do list. Routines like this make it easier to cope when things unexpectedly crop up (as they always do). You'll be able to focus on the extra jobs knowing that your regular tasks are taken care of.
Flexibility in your routine – your secret weapon
Take the time to establish simple routines for your regular activities, fitting them into your weekly life without taking up too much mental bandwidth.
For example,
- I always wash our bedding on a Monday and the rest of the washing or any unexpected laundry is then done on other days.
- Plan a weekly shop of basic groceries that you can easily add extra items to. This means you’ll always have the essential groceries in if your kids have an unexpected play date or you fall ill and can’t get to the supermarket.
Give yourself a head start each week by making a note of everything you need or want to do. Use one of my planners to help you organise your week and then make a plan using one of my planners.
Routines and plans don’t need to be rigid. They are there to give you an overview of the things you want to achieve and you have the flexibility to shift things around to make the most of opportunities that come up.
3) Being organised will save you money
Organising your home or workspace allows you to understand what you have and consider what you need and can do without.
Your freshly organised space will mean that you;
- Have a home for everything so you won’t need to buy duplicate items to replace things that you can’t find. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard “I was looking for that last month so I’ve just bought another one”.
- Have a place for your important paperwork so you don’t lose track of bills which will save you money on late fees and other charges.
- Can see exactly what’s in your organised fridge and food cupboards. Your grocery bills and food waste will be reduced as you’ll be able to see and therefore use what’s in your kitchen. You can take this one step further by menu planning to make sure that you use up everything you buy each week.
For more money-saving ideas take a look at my blog post: 7 Easy Ways To Save Money By Organising Your Home.
- Sell the items you don't want and make some cash using my top tips for selling your stuff.
4) You’ll feel more relaxed in your own home
Your home should be the one place where you can sit down, switch off and relax rather than feel stressed and burdened by ‘stuff’ and disorder. When your home doesn’t look the way you want to it may impact how you feel – a cluttered, disorganised space can contribute to stress, anxiety and overwhelm.
Reset with the using the power of decluttering
Organising your home will help you take back control and create a space that you love spending time in. The act of decluttering is cathartic, allowing you to let go of the unnecessary and focus on what truly matters.
Imagine walking into a calm, organised home that looks and feels just the way you want it to – a place where you can enjoy relaxing and doing the things you love.
5) Being organised helps you to be more productive and focused
When your home or workspace is untidy it can lead to overwhelm and make it more difficult to get things done.
Preparing a meal in a cluttered kitchen is more difficult than working on clear worktops whilst working on a desk swamped with paperwork makes it harder to focus on the task at hand.
Clearing away clutter and removing any distractions will have a positive impact on your efficiency.
6) From Chaos to Order: Creating a Place For Everything
After you’ve decluttered, categorised and organised you’ll have a home for everything which will make it easier to prevent clutter from building up in the future. It will be easy to put things back after they’ve been used, making tidying up at the end of the day a 15-minute task.
Set the example and help your children learn
Children mirror their parents' actions, so lead by example and create an organised home that they can help you to keep tidy. Children as young as 4 can tidy up after playing if they can easily see where their toys go, it simply replicates the ‘tidy up time’ they are used to at school.
Decluttering and removing things you no longer need from your home makes it easier to find homes for the things you keep. Make a start by letting go of some items that are easy to declutter - I've put a list together in my blog '12 things you won’t miss after decluttering your home' to help you get started.
7) Being organised makes life easier
Investing time and effort in decluttering and organising your space now will make it easier to keep on top of things in the future. It will be: easier to tidy up, easier to clean, easier to find things and easier to relax - what great reasons to get organised!
From daily routines to making big decisions, your newly organised lifestyle will simplify everything as you’ll be clear on what you have or need to do.
You’ll have more space and time so you can get on with the important job of enjoying life.
What will you do with all that extra space in your life?
Conclusion
Being organised is so much more than tidy cupboards. It's a lifestyle that saves you money and time, improves your well-being and frees you up for a more fulfilling life.
I can't promise that your newly organised home won't get messy (life happens!), but once you have a home for everything it will only take a few minutes to tidy up and return things to where they belong.
Are you ready to start living A Life More Organised this year? Please share your thoughts on the benefits of getting organised below. Your comments or reactions can inspire others to create a space that works better for them, so don’t hesitate to share.
Ready to get organised? Take a look at some of my favourite home organisation tips in the following posts:
I’m Sue, a professional home organiser and KonMari Consultant based in Hampshire. I trained with Marie Kondo and the KonMari team and I help busy people declutter, organise and simplify their homes so they can get on with the important job of enjoying life.
For a no-obligation chat about how I can help, please get in touch.
sue@alifemoreorganised.co.uk m: 07740 782575
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Hi there! January has been a bit of a mixed bag for me so far—I had all these big plans to start the year super organized, but life got busy (as always)! Your post is such a great reminder that it’s never too late to refocus. I’d love to hear more about your tips and motivation for getting organized—it always feels so overwhelming to even start, but I know it’s worth it. Looking forward to reading your blog! 😊 hill climb racing
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