What Does Organization Mean?
We talk a lot about getting organized, but do we stop to think about what we mean? What is it that we want when we say we’re working on this life project? Are we striving for chalkboard labels on ordered shelves or something deeper? What does organization mean to us?
I think what we want is to simply not feel crazy and pulled in a million directions, like everything and everyone has placed obligations on us that we can’t keep track of and aren’t even sure we want.
We want to know what our responsibilities really are. We want to be able to say no without guilt. We want to be able to find the things we need when we need them. We want to get the whirling thoughts in our heads into some semblance of order.
Or, as Karen Ehman put it in The Complete Guide to Getting and Staying Organized:
Being organized boils down to being prepared.
It means you’re ready for your day. You’re ready for the upcoming event. You’re ready for dinner. You know what’s coming and what needs to be done so you can do the right thing next.
It’s a lot of work to get organized. And the hard truth is that it is also a lot of work to stay organized. Being organized is not a static state that you can reach and simply be, once and for all. It’s just like laundry and like exercise: If you aren’t doing it every day, you’re losing ground. There is no static, once-and-done Result to check off.
Organization is a way of being more than a thing to do; it’s a journey to take and not an end to reach.
My best organization posts
- Get Organized with Homeschool Lists
- GTD at Home for Moms
- 5 Essential Chores Prevent Chaos at Home
- Humming Home Habits: Assemble
- Five Tips on How to Stay Organized
- Latest Simplified Organization series: 5 Things You Need to Start Your Year Well
Simplified Organization: Learning to Love What Must Be Done will help you learn the dance of living organized, and in the private G+ community for course members, we’ll coach each other through living this way every day. If you want to join a bunch of ladies who get your life and your struggles, join us and we’ll take our baby steps together.
Sarah is working through the course now, and I’ll be hanging out in the comment section of her Saturday posts for the next six weeks as she applies the modules to her home and life. I’d love it if you’d join the conversation there, as well!
And join Sarah and I today as we flesh out the vital first step toward getting organized: a thorough brain dump.