The mere thought of organizing can elicit yawns and thoughts that make us want to curl up under the covers for the rest of the day. Why is that? It’s not the thought of being organized, but the task of getting organized – the thought of wading through all our stuff (physical and emotional) and dealing with it. OK, I’ll admit, the process of getting there in one long and seemingly endless session has the potential to make even the most organized person want to procrastinate. But once you wade through the stuff, there is lots of room to add your own creative touches when putting things back together again.

Myth Buster # 3: Organizing is as Individual and Unique as YOU. How Can That be Boring?

Creative organizing ideas on Pinterest

Creative organizing ideas on Pinterest

The only organizing system that will truly work for you is one that fits with your lifestyle, your family’s lifestyle, and all your individual needs and tastes. Dare I say, all your unique quirks. You need a bit of creativity to find such a solution.

Think you’re not creative? Think again. The creative side of our brains craves excitement, color, and change. And creating a system to keep you organized can speak to all of those things. Just spend five minutes perusing Pinterest for “organizing ideas” and you’ll see just how creative it can be. Re-purposing objects to corral your stuff, or re-decorating those objects with fabric or paint can satisfy the creative mind. The options are truly only limited by your imagination.

What Makes us Think Organizing is Boring?

The term “organizing” can elicit thoughts about monotonous routines and strict rules that spur an inner-child temper tantrum. Here are a couple of things in our daily lives that seem to support these thoughts:

1.  The endless list of magazine articles and blogs with an 8 step program, or a weekly cleaning schedule, or a 31 day decluttering challenge – and few, if any, resonate with you or fit the way you live. Complicated routines for staying organized can scream “stuffy” and “stifling” to the free spirit side of our brains. It just all sounds like so much work.

Staying organized is no more than a series of habits. These habits should be relatively quick and easy, like always putting your keys in the same place. You want to make these habits as ingrained as brushing your teeth.

2.  The all or nothing approach portrayed in most make-over and DIY shows. They take two days or a week and do a blitz on someone’s space. Few of us have that much time to devote to the task, and if we did have that much time, we could think of more fun ways to fill it.

The truth is, the results of a blitz approach are often short-lived. Why? Because life is not a still photograph (see Myth 1). You need to build habits to sustain any organizing system.

How to Make Organizing Easier and More Creative

Create simple habits that keep you and your stuff in check. Perfection is elusive! Organize in short bursts – 10 or 15 minutes – absolutely no longer than an hour at a time.

If you have the time and energy, you might even think about letting your imagination run wild and create or re-purpose something to help you corral your stuff.

We’d love to hear about your creative organizing solutions. Please share what you’ve done with us.

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