By Annette Reyman
In general, I am happy with the overall organization of my home. Spaces are set up to be both functional and inviting. Items are room-appropriate and conveniently stored for easy access. We have furniture and lighting to make each room comfortable. It’s not going to win any awards, but on some days it’s picture perfect.
I must admit, however, that there are other times that I can walk in, look around and just feel stressed out by what I see. With four people coming and going and living in the house, our spaces are well used. I do not strive to live in a museum of untouched elegance, but a clear table surrounded by four empty chairs would be nice.
So, where can we find the balance? What is the answer to having a comfortable place to “hang your hat,” while still maintaining order? Can comfort and organization co-exist in the same space? Many an artist or teenager would say no.
Some may feel that the chaos of an environment provides inspiration for creativity and fun. And I will concede that, for them, this may be true. For myself and for my clients, artists included, it is not. I find that sitting down to a clear, clean table or desk with a fresh assortment of supplies within easy reach is much more liberating to the creative spirit. The blank slate and room to spread out invite all sorts of ideas to come rushing in to fill it!
Clutter and chaos, while easy to create (i.e. it is simpler to drop your jacket on a couch as you walk by than to take the extra few seconds to hang it in the closet) can be much harder to dig out from under, requiring energy and motivation levels greater than the passed opportunity of hanging up the jacket in the first place. It is also a fast track to decreasing the square footage of functional living space in your home — an Easy Pass on the highway to Stress.
As with your body, your home can benefit from healthy living. A regular maintenance program, just like preventative healthcare, will keep the ebb and flow of daily living on a manageable track. Here are three simple exercises that will strengthen your organizing muscles:
1- The Look-Back. This exercise involves stopping at the threshold of whatever room you are about to exit, turning around to stand in the doorway and moving your head and eyes from left to right and back again. You are scanning the room for any items that are out of place and can be addressed in under two minutes. This would include things like jackets to be hung up, empty glasses for the dishwasher, pens and pencils for the pencil cup or drawer, empty wrappers and other garbage, couch pillows that can be straightened.
2- The U-turn. This is an exercise in decreasing eye-clutter. Look for items in your home that can be turned to show the least amount of lines: books and magazines can be displayed binding first and, instead of storing folded towels with all the edges facing forward, they can be turned to show only the fold (bottom of the “U”). The same can be done with sweaters and other stacked clothing or linens. This is a small change that can make a big difference. The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), an international organization offers research in their Journal of Vision that relates eye-clutter with search-efficiency. In other words, the less eye-clutter that our eyes must scan, the more quickly we can locate objects. The u-turn exercise helps decrease the number of lines that our eyes must process and, in turn, increase the speed at which we can make decisions.
3- The Slam-dunk. You can’t dunk if you don’t have a hoop. Putting containers in high-traffic areas of your home will give everyone a landing place to aim for. Make it easy for family members to put away bathroom items by giving them each their own bathroom bin. Clearly labeled boxes for kids’ school and craft supplies give children cues for convenient clean-up. A basket for incoming mail or outgoing recycling provides an easy solution to spreading paper piles.
The additional benefit of practicing these organizing exercises is that, when practiced regularly, they can improve your physical health by decreasing your stress. Choose one exercise to work on this month and see what happens.
* To contact Annette Reyman for organizing work, productivity support, gift certificates or speaking engagements in the Greater Philadelphia area call (610) 213-9559 or email her at annette@allrightorganizing.com.
Reyman is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO®) and Board Member of its Greater Philadelphia Chapter.
Visit her website at www.allrightorganizing.com or follow All Right Organizing on Facebook.
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