This month we are happy to have a guest blog from Professional organizer and author John Odalen. Read his bio below or click here to visit his website.
We all lead busy lives, juggling countless activities and responsibilities, maintaining relationships and trying to have some fun along the way. Most of us could be better organized, whether it be at work or at home, but getting organizing takes time and effort. Who has the time or energy for that? The question should be, can we afford not to get organized? Getting organized has many benefits that are worth the investment. Here are a few reasons that may motivate you to finally get organized.
Save time and increase productivity
How much time do you spend looking for something you need? Or moving piles of clutter from place to place in order to get work done or do your house cleaning? It may be only minutes a day, but that adds up over weeks and months and you know the old saying, “time is money”. That time wasted due to disorganization could be better utilized doing something more important. Or something enjoyable. What would you do with some extra time?
Also, physical clutter leads to mental clutter. Being unorganized can affect your focus and impede your productivity, whereas being organized can give you a sense of control and purpose and motivate you to work hard.
Save money
Do you ever buy duplicates or triplicates of an item because you can’t find it when you need it, or didn’t remember you already had it? Does the food in your custom pantry in Bucks County, PA every expire before you eat it because you don’t know its there? Have you incurred a late fee because you paid a bill late? If you answered yes, you can benefit from getting better organized.
Reduce stress
For many people, clutter is stressful. A 2013 survey conducted for the Huffington Post found that 47% of recently stressed Americans said worrying their home wasn’t clean or organized enough was a stress trigger. If you are stressed, you probably cannot concentrate and aren’t as productive as you could be. And we know that stress can affect our health. Surely we can find time to invest in improving our health.
Protect and enjoy your treasures
We all have items that are very important to us, whether they have monetary value, or sentimental value, or are irreplaceable. Boxes of photographs, family heirlooms, rare collectibles, or memorabilia from throughout our lives. How are these items stored? Are they on display in the living areas of your home? Are they safely packed away, in a sturdy, labeled box or container? Or are they in a beat up box on the floor of your basement? Do you even know where these treasures are? If these items are truly valuable and important to you, they deserve to be stored properly, where they can be accessed and enjoyed.
Enjoy your space and your life
We spend a great deal of money on our homes, and should be able to enjoy them. Often, clutter will make us feel anxious or frustrated or overwhelmed, and dreading having to go into a cluttered room, or lead us to avoid using parts of our home altogether. For example, do you not enjoy preparing meals because the kitchen is cluttered and disorganized? Do you dread paying your bills because your desk is a mess?
These reasons are all valid and worthwhile, but in the end the best reason to get organized is so that you can enjoy life and spend quality time with your family, friends and loved ones, doing things that you enjoy.
John Odalen is a professional organizer, published author and the owner of Organize and Maintain, based in Mercer County, NJ. John has been a member of NAPO, the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals, for five years. John specializes in helping people who feel overwhelmed and do not know where to start. He helps his clients create a vision and define and achieve their goals while also coaching them on how to get organized and stay organized.
