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10 Reasons Why I Love

Being Organized

by Maria Gracia Join our newsletter to be notified when the newest “A Sneak Peek of Maria’s Life” content is available. As you already know, organizing is my life. I'm in “organizing mode” all day long, whether I'm writing about it, helping someone one-on-one, speaking about it to a large group, or applying it in my own personal life. I truly love it because I know that the more organized we are, the more fulfillment we get out of everything in life. Here are 10 reasons why I love being organized. 1. Being organized gives me so much opportunity for spontaneity. Being spontaneous may sound like the exact opposite of being organized. After all, being organized means having a plan, and spontaneous means doing something “on the fly.” Being spontaneous without being organized, however, is a recipe for disaster that eventually results in unfinished projects, missed deadlines, and oodles of frustration. When you are organized, you have routines and schedules. You know what's highly likely to come next, because you planned it. You know exactly how much you can fit into a given day without going overboard. You know how to prioritize and how to be flexible. When you're organized, you have plenty of time for being spontaneous because you don't have to worry about important TO DOs not getting done. You just make alternate, effective plans to complete those tasks. You actually can be way more spontaneous when you are organized...and you'll still get things done! 2. Being organized is emotionally rewarding. Being organized means you get a whole lot started...and completed. Whether it's tidying a linen closet, planning for a vacation, finishing a big project at work, remembering to send out birthday cards to your loved ones, or putting those finishing touches on a quilt you've been making, it's very satisfying to begin something, work through the process, and finish it. 3. Being organized means my house is always presentable. When I'm done using whatever it is (my jacket, my hair straightening iron, a book, a pan), I put it in its assigned home. When I'm cooking, I clean as I go. If I splash water on the bathroom counter when I'm getting prepared for my day, I wipe the counter before I leave the bathroom. Doing this ensures my home is organized and presentable, and it also means I invest less time cleaning and tidying. It's much quicker to organize and clean “as you go” versus waiting until it's a near- disaster...the more cluttered and dirty an area gets, the more challenging and time-consuming it is to clean. 4. Being organized allows me to live a calm, peaceful life. Being disorganized causes frustration, chaos, lost time, and lost energy. It often involves wasting time looking for something that has been misplaced, running late for appointments, inability to get tasks completed (or not completed on time), rushing to get something done, problems making decisions, poor time management, and/or cluttered surroundings at home, work, or both. Organizing helps combat all of these challenges and turns “frustration and chaos” into “calm and happy”…which means a calmer, more peaceful life. 5. Being organized keeps me and my family healthy. The words “organized and clean” often go hand in hand. You can't really be both organized and messy at the same time. If you are motivated to have organized kitchen cabinets, you're likely also motivated for those cabinets to be free of dust. If you get a little giddy when your kitchen table isn't piled with papers, you likely get really excited when the dirty dishes are cleaned and put away. If you're organized enough to go to bed so you get a good night's sleep for tomorrow, you're probably grateful to get into a bed that has clean, fresh sheets when you lay your weary head down to rest. The more organized you are, the cleaner and healthier your home will be. This helps with allergies and illnesses, promotes better sleep, gives you more time and energy to cook healthy means, and nurtures emotional well-being. 6. Being organized gives me time for people AND gives me time for me. What's more important in life than your relationships with other people...those you love, those who you enjoy, those who are helping you reach your goals? Because I'm organized, I have time to: o sit down to dinner in a leisurely manner with my family o go on coffee dates with good friends o call my sister just to chat o enjoy a good book, and discuss it at a book chat with friends o give my clients more thought, heart, and time o volunteer for organizations I believe in o exercise, scrapbook, travel, journal and meditate 7. Being organized boosts my self- confidence. Organizing helps me to not only be productive, but to reach my mini- and major-goals as well. It's human nature to be more confident with every goal we set that we actually achieve. No matter where you are in your self- confidence, do something that will help you be more organized. Organize one drawer, sort through a box of photos and get them into an album, clean out the clutter lurking under your bed...the more organized you are, the more confidence you'll build in all other aspects of your life. 8. Being organized makes me more adaptable. We all have days in life that can be trying. Perhaps we wake up to a child that is sick and needs our attention. Maybe bad weather causes tree damage in our yard that is going to require clean-up or finding a professional to help. Perhaps things go awry at work... the computer system is down, one of our co- workers unexpectedly quits, or we just found out the delivery we’ve been desperately waiting for is now on back-order. When we’re organized, we know that many things are in our control, but we also know that some things are out of it. So we may get disappointed, but then we move on and do what we CAN do with what we’ve got, often being able to come up with plan B, C, etc. 9. Being organized saves me money.  You won't find two half-used containers of ketchup in my fridge, a whole bunch of cleaning products that aren't being used, or jackets hanging in my closet that are never worn. When I purchase anything, I purchase it mindfully. I decide if I truly need it. If I do, I ask myself if I absolutely need it right now. If I don't, that's money that gets to remain in my wallet a bit longer. When food, cleaning products, craft supplies and more get buried (or pushed way back) in our cabinets, or when they’re stuffed in with tons of other things, it's very easy to purchase duplicates that aren’t really needed right now…which can get very inexpensive. Being organized also means it's much easier to be on top of finances, to have effective methods for saving on everything from groceries, to vacations, to larger purchases like a new home. 10. Being organized helps me to help others. Every time I declutter an area of my house, a donation box is immediately given to a local charity. Donating, rather than discarding, also keeps excess out of our landfills. Every time you get rid of something you don't need, think of it as helping other human beings, as well as giving the item a new life. 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