Home Organization:  Developing an Organized Mindset

Becoming organized is not an activity or even a series of habits, it is a lifestyle.  In order to attain a consistently organized home, you must first develop an organized mindset.  Each January, we see posts and articles about decluttering and organizing.  These can be inspiring, but if you are not a naturally organized person, cleaning out your junk drawer or putting your books in rainbow order is a band-aid.  Becoming organized takes time, effort, and determination.  The benefits of an organized home are well-documented:  reduced stress and anxiety, increased ability to get things done efficiently, and a sense of well-being and peace.

clutter impacts stress and mood

Many of us understand intuitively that a disorganized environment impacts our moods and stress levels.  To back that up, studies have shown that clutter in our spaces increases the stress hormone cortisol.  For example, a 2009 study found that women who perceived themselves as having a cluttered home or a home that needed work generally had increased levels of cortisol and depressed mood throughout the day.  But what can be done?  We have jobs, partners, children, pets, families, friends, hobbies, and a million daily tasks vying for our time and attention.  Won’t adding the need to constantly declutter only ADD to our stress?  This is where developing an organized mindset is key.  Once you identify as an organized person and have the infrastructure in place, maintaining a tidy environment comes naturally and can actually feel like self-care.

how to become organized

Being organized is actively exerting control over your life and space.  I think of becoming and staying organized as an ongoing loop of four elements, what I call the four S-es.  They are self-identity, space, systems, and sustaining.  We most often hear about the second two, space (decluttering, creating space) and systems (developing habits); however, the magic happens in the first step.  A psyche or self-identity of organization is paramount because action follows thought.  The remainder of this article will focus on developing that self-identity, with articles to come on the other three elements.

the organized mindset

Being organized requires intentionally developed skills and habits, but, most importantly, a mind that is committed to order.  This mindset can ignore or push through doubts, distractions, interruptions, and fatigue.  What happens in your mind will reflect itself in your actions and habits, and ultimately your organization.  Start by setting your intention to become organized generally, not just to clean out your closet or get the playroom under control.  Then, as you go about your life, observe and, if necessary, redirect your thinking.  Become aware of the times when an excuse or rationalization enters your mind, and replace it with a thought that affirms your ability to get and stay organized.

At first, you may not be confident in your organizational skills, but remember (and remind yourself!) that you visualize, plan, and execute tasks every day, from getting the kids to school on time in the morning to completing a project at work.  So why not expand these skills and habits? Do some “reverse engineering” to recreate the mindset that helps you get these things done.

Once you “see yourself” as an organized person and achieve some successes in creating space for your possessions, systems to organize them, and sustaining those gains, you will never go back!  You will be caught in a positive feedback loop in which your organized mindset drives your habits.  Check back soon for how to achieve the other three S-es of organization:  space, systems, and sustaining.