Why do some changes stick and some don’t? Why does an organized desk revert to chaos? Why does every flat surface become cluttered with stuff no matter how many times you clear it?
Because a change isn’t a change if all you did was move some stuff around without an actual system to lean on.
Yes, systems are here to lean on and to back your ass up. Without them we fall into chaos.
MY PANTRY
Every year, throughout my adult life, I decluttered and “organized” whatever pantry or pantry-like area I had. I did the whole take-everything-out-and-toss-the-old-and-gross-stuff thing. I would then tidily put the lucky winners back into their space and feel relief at the order I had created out of chaos.
Within a month it would be shot to hell. I figured that was just the way it was. I assumed this was what everyone did.
I was right and I was wrong. Most people do some sort of clear out overhaul of their pantries now and then. But not everyone is doing it because it looks like a hoard of gremlins got in there. Many do it simply because it’s good to check to see what has escaped your eye over time, and hit the reset button.
Well…I thought I was resetting. I wasn’t. I was organizing chaos. So, of course it would revert to its original state eventually.
When I finally investigated systems of organization and implemented one that made sense for our tiny pantry, I suddenly had a place where food lived that did not require me to wear a hard helmet every time I needed something from it.
And it stayed that way.
WHAT IS A SYSTEM?
Systems are plans you create to organize a space or even a habit that makes it so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every day and you always know what to do next.
Yeah, they’re that good.
I never considered myself to be disorganized. I got stuff done. I got homework handed in during school, I kept up on projects at work, I usually remembered who I was and what I was supposed to be doing.
But I had only scratched the surface.
I was relying on my memory to keep me on track. I’ve always had a good memory, but remembering to do things only made me look organized. Learning to intentionally put systems in place has given me the real tools to be organized.
THE TOOLS TO CREATING A SYSTEM
To create a system of organization you will need to do the following:
Recognize what needs organizing.
Figure out what isn’t working.
Probably declutter.
Create solutions based on who you are and how you think.
Implement the system and make adjustments as necessary to work out the kinks.
Actually use the system.
Awareness is always where we begin. If you don’t know something isn’t working you can’t fix it. If, as I did, you think a pantry is bound to always revert to chaos, or that you aren’t capable of having a tidy home, it won’t even occur to you to put a system in place.
Once you have noticed something is fixable, you have to be able to identify which part isn’t working. Having all of the packages of pasta sides stacked on the top shelf of our pantry was not working for me. They kept falling on my head. That was a problem that needed fixing.
But a good decluttering needed to happen first.
Once the decluttering was accomplished, a solution to the chaos was found in rearranging everything and adding in some containment. It’s a small pantry and the space needed to be used better.
Two bins per shelf was a good place to start. I decided the top shelf, because it had more space above it, could take taller bins than the lower shelves.
Organizing the cans came next. A store-bought contraption that allows cans to roll down as the front ones are removed was procured.
Least used items went on the top shelf and most used were put at eye level. NOTE: Eye level for my husband and I are two very different things. I put those items at my eye level because he could see down, but I couldn’t necessarily see up.
Once it was all put back into the new order it was a matter of using the space as it was and seeing what did or didn’t work.
Over time I decided I wanted even more control over the boxes and bags of goods that were still too jumbled for my liking and got clear shelf bins that are the perfect width to go four across and keep those pasta sides in line.
In the years since implementing this system it has remained organized as long as we don’t get sloppy and start dropping things into bins they don’t belong in.
These steps can be applied to any system in your home.
ORGANIZING YOUR SPACE
Your house is filled with areas that need systems.
What happens when you come home? Where does your jacket go? Or your purse? Do you take off your shoes? Where do they go?
How about when you need glue, where do you find it? Do you know? Do you find it in the same place every time?
Does everyone in the house understand where the ketchup goes? Or is it sometime in the door, of the refrigerator, sometimes on the top shelf, sometimes behind a six-pack, a head of lettuce and some questionable sour cream?
When you put a system in place you save time, money and energy.
I always know where to find glue because it’s in the bin marked “sticky things”. When I come in the house my jacket goes over a chair in the kitchen, my shoes are kicked off at the base of the stairs and my purse goes onto the same chair at the kitchen table every time.
I love my solution for all things sticky (tape, glue, those little soft white squares you use to hang posters…), but my system for coming in the house could use some attention. Ideally that jacket would go in the closet, and those shoes would go upstairs, but, hey, I have stuff to work on, too.
And ketchup has a home in its own condiment bin so everyone can always find it.
BE OPEN TO TRYING
Too often I hear people saying “I would never be able to keep up with that”. How do you know until you try? I did not think I would ever maintain file-folding my clothes, and had said those exact same words. Years after I first tried file-folding not only are all of my clothes still getting folded and filed, so are my husband’s.
When you’ve lived with chaos for a long time it’s easy to think you aren’t capable of changing. Being willing to try a system you’ve never put in place before will either give you evidence of things to rule out, or will show you something about yourself you never considered possible.
I know creating systems can be tough. With virtual declutter coaching I can help you organize your thoughts, ask you the questions you need to figure out what will work best for you, and give advice as to what options exist for the system you are trying to create.
I’ll look forward to helping you have the organized life and home you never expected!