Organization skills are not learned, usually. You probably remember your mom yelling, “clean up your room,” but there wasn’t an actual educational plan on how to clean or organize your room. Cleaning and organizing are two separate skill sets altogether.
Organizing is all about…well…managing stuff. Cleaning involves rags, solutions, and those new floor cleaners that vacuum and steam all in one. According to the free Merriam Webster online, the word organize is synonymous with arranging, array, classify, codify, dispose of, draw up, layout, marshal, order, range, and systematize, and the word organizes antonyms are deranged, disarrange, disarray, disorder, mess (up), muss (up), rumple and upset. No wonder people feel deranged when they are all messed up.
Organizing oneself would be the place to start if you want your space to look ordered and for all the trash to be disposed of. The key word in the previous sentence is “if.” People usually only want to get organized when they want to get organized. Getting organized is not a mandatory law or one of the 10 commandments, so it only happens if you want it to, and most likely “if” the IRS is knocking on your door or your mother is coming to visit.
No wonder people don’t dream about their Ideal Lifestyle all that much…too busy being disarranged, disordered, rumpled, and upset. The state of disarray can become the norm and the standard “lifestyle” nightmare.
So, how does one get from disorganized chaos to organized order? Is it simple? Yes, managing yourself and space can be achieved.
The first step is to want to get organized inside yourself. Self Organization starts with defining what your ideal lifestyle would look like. Write at least 30 concepts, ideas, or dreams about your “ideal” life. Watch a few light comedies or action hero cartoons to get motivated, or remember what you dreamed about when you were younger; you can do it. Think about what you value in life and actually write it down. Values can be career, money, a fancy car, a new partner, better relationships, spending time with family, solitude, or walks on the beach. When writing the list, whatever you do, don’t lie to yourself. It is damaging when people say “it doesn’t have to be” that great of a job, partner, car, or career. Saying “it doesn’t have to be” is how it will be. So if you say, “she doesn’t have to be that great looking,” or “he doesn’t have to be that smart,” guess what? You manifested a not-so-hot or intelligent partner. How about saying, “I want it to be this way or that way,” and putting that into the universe.
After you draw up and lay out what you want for yourself, your space organization is the next step. Since the outer is a reflection of the inner, your exterior space will want to catch up to the new inner you. Space organization has been written about in thousands of books and magazines and now is taught on national television. The best book that addresses how to do an organizing project and the internal process is The Clutter Remedy: A Guide To Getting Organized For Those Who Love Their Stuff.
Organizing a room or an entire home or business is about strategizing, executing, and physical labor, which you can do or hire someone else to do the project for you. You will only want that outer organization in your space when you feel organized and self-realized on the inside. So go ahead and get started on living your Ideal Lifestyle Now! Write your list!
