Stress Relief (Part 2)

See Stress Relief (Part 1) to get a little bit more of a background on why I'm doing this. Today's topic is organization. Now, this is such a huge topic! Last month I gave a presentation to my church group about organization. After 45 minutes we had barely even scratched the surface of all we wanted to share and discuss with each other. I'm sure organization will come up again in these next few weeks, but today I will touch on just one concept that made a huge difference in the organization of our home.

Source

We have been living in the Seattle area for the past 5 months while K does training for work. Before that we lived in Utah, and at the end of February we'll move permanently to Chicago. Since we are only living in Seattle for 6 months, we had to sign a short term lease (hello crazy high rent), so we went from an 1100 square foot apartment to about an 800 square foot apartment. K and I are already minimalist, but that is just a really small space for 3 people! So I had to get organized so we didn't go crazy while living here.

The motto I tried to use, and still use everyday when picking up the house is, "Every thing has a place, and ever place has a purpose." When you live in a larger space, it's easy to take your car keys and mail and just throw them on the kitchen table, but in such a confined space, a simple act like that makes the entire living area seem so cluttered. I can't stand clutter! Clutter = Stress (Am I alone in this?). While the kitchen table could potential be a place for the mail and car keys, it doesn't serve the purpose of those items. Instead, we have a box for the car keys and I try to go through the mail and decide what to do with it right away so that we don't start having piles. We've learned from apartments past, once the piles start, they only get bigger and the number of piles continues to multiply!

Another example. As a result of the way our 'L-shaped' couch is positioned, we started getting in the habit of taking off our coats and just leaving them on the back of the couch.  It's pretty ridiculous because the coat closet is seriously 5 more feet away, but for some reason the task of putting our coats back on the hanger was just too much! I started to get into this funk where I couldn't stand our apartment, when I realized, "Hang up your coats!" That one simple act made everything look so much cleaner and neat. Again, clutter = stress.

 As I've applied this principle to my life, I've enjoyed being home a lot more--which is a good thing considering how much time J and I spend at home. Also, I've had a lot less stressful  moments of not being able to find items because, since every thing has a specific place, it is always where I want it. Another benefit I've seen of being organized is that it saves you money! "Crisis purchases" related to disorganization could cost as much as 15 to 20% of your annual budget. "Crisis purchases" are when you buy duplicates of misplaced or broken items or last minute shopping at premium prices (Julie Morgenstern, professional organizer).

Try it out as you go through your house today, "Every thing has a place, and every place has a purpose." You'll be amazed by how many little items there are in random corners or shelves.


What areas of life are you the most organized?
-in my house, especially community living spaces

What areas are you the least organized?
-my car, ugh, don't even look in my back seat!

What are some organizational tips you like to use or that you've learned before?