Organizing Things
Spring is almost upon us, triggering the compulsion in many to clean up and clear out. For me, the latter is a year-round impulse. I am one of those weirdos that loves organizing things. Categorizing, consolidating, culling, donating, filing, labeling, planning, recycling and shredding are all words that make my nerdy little heart race with excitement.
Why Organizing Things
I have a very small office, so keeping it organized is a necessity. Clearing away the clutter and putting things in their place so that I can find them quickly whenever I need them absolutely clears my mind, helping me focus, sleep more soundly, and maintain my sunny disposition.
In those rare instances when I slack due to lack of time, my productivity and efficiency falls off, my anxiety levels rise and the crankiness creeps in until I get it all back together again.
According to Gallup’s Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath (an eye-opening book, by the way), one of my top five strengths is Arranger: “Can organize, but also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.” So there you go. I can’t help that I am the way I am.
When I have told people about my affinity for arranging things, they often ask if I’ve read Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. The answer is no because, frankly, I don’t need to, but apparently it does the trick for those who don’t find the joy in freeing oneself of excess items like I do.
Luckily, I’m not actually obsessive about organizing things. (If I were, my husband would probably not be my husband.) If you visit my home, you are not going to find each piece of clothing in my closet all hanging on the same type of hanger and curated by color or my garage full of clear plastic tubs from The Container Store, labeled and carefully placed in alphabetical order.
Not that I wouldn’t LOVE those things be true. They just take time and money. Did I mention that I can also be a bit cheap?
