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Order in the House Please: The Instigator for Real Change

2171215733_optExactly, when do you hit the wall? Yes, at one time or another, we all reach our own breaking point, and it is precisely then, that we realize we’ve had enough of a situation. This is the perfect moment in time that we have an opportunity to change our behavior.

Pay attention my friends, there are glaring signals.

Maybe you’re sick and tired of repeatedly losing your phone or misplacing your keys and glasses.

Or, perhaps it’s when you’ve missed an important doctor’s appointment or a business conference call because you never wrote it down, you forgot. There’s more…You never had time to pick up the dry cleaning, you double-booked your dinner plans with friends, and you can’t find your checkbook.  You’re angry at yourself and probably a little embarrassed and ashamed of being so lax and disorganized.

Or worse,  you often incur financial penalties because you bounced a check, or failed to pay a bill on time, again.

Or worse still, your disorganization caused your child to suffer.  He/she may have been excluded from joining a sports team or a school trip, because you missed the registration deadline or neglected to sign the proper forms.

Just maybe… that could be the last straw.  Enough is enough.

Does this sound like you?

The good news is that the breaking point is usually the best instigator for change. It wears you down both mentally and physically. But each of us have our own threshold for the zero hour and individual perspectives of when a situation is critical. Some of us react to our inner alert sooner than later, while others might delay until they are already in a full-blown crisis mode. The scenario might look something like this;

  • Most countertops are cluttered with miscellaneous items that belong elsewhere.
  • Neglected incoming mail has accumulated to overwhelming paper piles.
  • Spare bedrooms have turned into a dumping ground for anything you don’t know what to do with.
  • Stepping over both dirty and clean laundry piles everywhere.
  • Passing by puddles of stuff on the steps that are awaiting their eventual journey upstairs.
  • Tripping over shoes and sandals in random places, some without their sole-mates.
  • Gathering half-drunk water bottles, unfinished snacks, and empty bowls in high traffic areas.

 

The bottom line is when “busy” integrates with “later, ” chaos ensues rather quickly.  Life only works, until it doesn’t, and no one can make you care about what you don’t care about it. It’s that simple. When you hit the wall, you will know. It will be abundantly clear.  When you’re ready, you’re simply ready.

But just recognizing the symptoms and acknowledging that you’ve had enough, may not be sufficient.  If you are a self-motivated person, your desperation will probably fuel you to take action and implement change.  

But if you need support and more motivation, don’t beat yourself up for it.

Enlist help from a trained professional who can provide the steps to help you organize and gain back some control.  Going it alone may be ineffective.

Make no mistake about it, restoring order in the house is much more about life-balance than it is about merely organizing your possessions. Sometimes situations need to get worse before they can get better. Reverse the cycle; break down only to reconstruct. Convert the breaking point into positive change. Take it as an opportunity to begin anew with better and more sustainable systems.  You will not only see a physical change but feel a significant emotional one as well.

So when is your “enough?” What steps will you need to take to affect positive change?   Reach out and get the support you need.

 

 

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Is the Traffic in Your House Causing Chaos?

Granted, we all have individual busy hubs in our homes, but if I had to guess, I would presume the kitchen and family room/den are the most congested.  Whether or not these spaces are on the first floor, they’re still considered prime real estate in a typical home. Ask yourself if there are things living in these zones that don’t belong in those spaces?

These highly trafficked spaces do not merely accommodate people but multiple activities. As a result, they often end up looking more like a dumping ground than a manicured living space!

Think about it. The kid’s sports equipment, the newest toy, latest technology, all usually come along for the ride and invade the common spaces. Let’s not forget about the daily incoming piles of mail and magazines, and latest kitchen gadgets and supplies that you never got around to unpack.

So do your most active spaces look like a bomb hit it?

It’s understandable how easily it can happen. If there are no designated zones for all your things to return to, and if you’re not inclined to put them away ASAP, you will be left with highly cluttered areas. It’s unavoidable.  More importantly, if the incoming exceeds the outgoing, you will be living in a perpetual traffic jam.

So if we can’t control the pedestrian traffic, how do we manage our cluttered spaces?  What’s the secret?

Here’s my take.  First we need to determine the culprit. Evaluate your source of clutter;

  • Is it that you are over-acquired?
  • Is it that you have not assigned designated homes for your things?
  • Is it that you have no organized systems at all?
  • Are you a procrastinator?

 

Hey, you could be guilty of a combination of any one of these, you are not alone.  Admittedly, we all have a need to acquire new things. Of course, there are extreme cases of those who suffer with chronic disorders, but the rest of us are still struggling to discard the old stuff. Too much incoming, with little regard to significant outgoing.  In a culture that is drowning in possessions, our homes are overflowing with excess.

We try to manage our things, but life gets busy. And  if space permits, we don’t have to deal with it immediately, right?  We can avoid bidding farewell to the old, we can just “move stuff around.”

Finding proper and permanent homes for things will reduce your urge to move things around to accommodate the new item.  This will help to eliminate owning multiples of the same item.  I’m not talking about duplicate office supplies because I love the idea of keeping extra scissors, tape, pens that write, reading glasses, etc. in more than one room.  But the real baffling question, (myself included) why do we all have so many extra staple removers, lol? I don’t know how that happens.  But this I do know…there’s only room for one new printer, PC monitor, keyboard, video camera, et al,  not all that came before it.

So if your home is crowded with people, things, and clutter, consider moving the mess by either removing it altogether, i.e. by donating,tossing, or organizing and creating consistent places for them.  Don’t just move your stuff around. Trust me, you will eventually run out of room.

Seriously,  heed this advice and you can control the chaos.  It’s viable solution, and it works!  I’m not just messin’ with ya.

 

 

 

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