I haven’t always been super organized. I was the kid growing up that never made their bed, always had a messy locker, and I had a few junk drawers. The older I got I started learning about the correlation between tidiness and success. Of course I wanted to be successful so I started paying more attention to what others had to say about it. And there are studies behind this stuff so it’s not just moms saying “you need to make your bed because I said so.”
I’ll start with some stats so you”ll believe me.
A survey showed 44% of people said they make unhealthier food choices when their home is a mess.
And people living in a messy home are 77% more likely to be overweight. Like whaaat.
Another study showed that you are more likely to overeat in a messy kitchen versus a clean one.
But it’s not all about weight either. Disorganization and chaos prevents you from being present in the moment. But that makes sense right? If you’re scrambling last minute to find something or to get something done, you can’t focus on more important things that you should actually be doing OR be PRESENT with friends and family. If you walk into your closet in the morning and it’s a wreck, you’ve just subconsciously stressed your brain. If you walk into your kitchen at night and there’s dishes piled in the sink, you’re ending your day with a negative experience. The list goes on… if you walk into your bedroom before bed and there’s clothes and junk all over the place, you’re ending the day with stress.
Whether you realize it or not, everything that is out of place is stored in your brain. You have stored that info away and your brain burns through glucose thinking about allllll those things you need to organize. This is going to leave your brain feeling empty, which in turn takes away the energy you need to focus!
When you have clutter around you, it’s actually competing for your brains attention. Obviously a less attentive brain leads to lower productivity and you become more stressed dealing with the brain overload!
So let’s begin to fix the problem. This doesn’t mean you have to spring clean your entire house either. Just start with one thing. What area right off the top of your head is driving you crazy? Your drawers, your car, your closets? Work on one area and I think you’ll find that the other areas come easier to declutter after that. You’ll start to notice how you feel when things are neat.
Start by getting rid of things you don’t need and throwing junk away. I like to say that everything needs a home. Organize those junk drawers with bins or dividers so that EVERYTHING has a place. Of course after you’ve tidied up you need to make it a habit to keep it clean.
My tips for making it a habit:
Recognize how it makes you feel to walk into a space that’s clean, or think about how you feel when you walk into your clean room with the bed made and you get to crawl into bed relaxed. Remember that feeling the next time you start letting things get messy.
The habit I had to teach myself was to just DO IT RIGHT THEN. Swallow the frog. Did you just finish eating? Put that dish in the sink NOW. When you walk in from work in the evenings DO NOT sit down. Put up those dishes and start that load of laundry and then you can sit down. Did you just try on 10 different shirts to wear, hang them back up NOW.
Go through your closets, dresser drawers, make-up drawers, etc. and get rid of things you don’t use on the reg. If you have a make up cream from 5 years ago under your sink and you still haven’t used it… it’s time to let it go. Start minimizing the amount of stuff you have and you’ll realize how it’s easier to keep things tidy.
Do your body and brain a favor by getting organized and I think you will reap the benefits. Down below I am including some items that I use or think would be helpful getting you started to a more organized life.
P.s. No I don’t make my bed everyday. No I don’t eat healthy every single meal. Life’s all about balance and I try to go by the 80/20 rule. Do it 80% of the time and don’t stress over not doing it 20% of the time. No one’s perfect 🙂
