You admire the organization skills of co-workers, friends, and family members, but just can’t seem to consistently maintain a tidy home and workspace yourself.
Just what kind of good organization habits do these people have which makes the spaces they occupy so tidy, with seemingly so little effort?
Maintaining an organized life does come naturally for some, but it’s something that anybody can achieve by practicing good organization habits on a daily basis.
Start adopting these 11 organization habits that highly organized people swear by and you’ll quickly notice the positive results.
1. Good organization habits include having productive daily routines
Organized people keep their spaces tidy by developing good organization habits that include productive daily and weekly routines.
Incorporating these chore-related habits into your daily and weekly routine will make them feel like less of a burden and you won’t fall behind in your housework. Here are some examples:
- washing the day’s dishes after every dinner
- laying out the next day’s work clothes the night before (valet rods and four position hangers can help with this)
- opening mail on a daily basis
- making your bed every morning
- having a set day for watering plants
2. Heed the wise words of Lincoln – don’t procrastinate
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” – Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln’s quote might not have been about how avoiding household chores only leads to more work later on, but it’s certainly applicable. Procrastination is one of the worst habits one can have when it comes to staying organized.
Accordingly, highly organized people are proactive and conscientious about not putting off chores. They also deal with clutter right away, with many of them using the “one touch rule”.
3. Have a place for everything
One of the biggest factors in the success or failure of staying organized lies with the effectiveness of your organization and storage systems.
Highly organized people strongly adhere to the “a place for everything and everything in its place” philosophy, which makes it much easier to stay organized.
Are your current organization systems maximizing your storage space and making it easy to find everything you own? If not, consider these home organization solutions:
- Closet organizers: nothing keeps a bedroom clutter-free like a good closet organizer. Our custom closet solutions can be made to the exact requirements of your bedroom space, or any other room in your home.
- Closet accessories: make your daily routine even easier by adding helpful closet accessories. Belt racks, drawer dividers, and pull-out laundry hampers are just a few of your many options.
- Bedroom cabinetry: custom bedroom cabinetry, such as a wardrobe, bed surround, or wall bed improve the looks and functionality of any room.
4. Make to-do lists and hold yourself accountable
To-do lists are effective for keeping you organized, but don’t set yourself up for failure and frustration by overburdening yourself.
Create realistic goals. Focus less on the quantity of tasks to be completed and more on the quality of work that will get done.
Organized people are adept at striking the right balance between the two. Regularly check in with the lists to evaluate your progress and hold yourself accountable to your goals.
5. Good organization habits include decluttering regularly
Highly organized people are habitual declutterers. However, even if you are decluttering on a daily basis, it’s still important to go through all of your belongings every year or two to take stock of what you own and do some purging.
After all, our moods and tastes change, so you likely own more than a few things that simply don’t have the importance they might have once had to you.
6. Know when to delegate and ask for help
If the population in your home is more than one, there’s absolutely no reason not to ask for help in keeping your living space organized.
Delegate house chores to your family members and ensure they’re properly completed. Rewarding your kids now and then for a job well done certainly doesn’t hurt, either. Hopefully your good organization habits will rub off on them.
7. Do your least favourite task first
Whether it’s doing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom, or doing the laundry, we all have certain tasks that we hate doing more than others.
Even people that pride themselves on their organizational skills would agree. Instead of letting that unpleasant chore-to-be-done weigh on you all day, just make it your first task of the day.
You’ll free your mind and set your day up to be a productive one.
8. Highly organized people keep things simple
Multi-tasking has its place, but don’t spread yourself too thin. Keep things simple and don’t make a habit of trying to juggle too many things at once.
Chances are, you’ll end up taking more time to complete those tasks than if you had just focussed on one thing at a time. Keeping things simple when it comes to housework also lowers the likelihood of stress.
9. De-stress and reward yourself
Speaking of stress, highly organized people tend to manage theirs well, with outlets such as exercise or meditation. An additional contributor to their lower stress levels is their tidy environment.
Researchers have found that homes with more clutter generally have occupants with higher stress levels.
Rewarding yourself occasionally with a small reward for completing chores also helps sustain your enthusiasm for staying organized. Treat yourself to, say, a manicure or pedicure every once in a while for your productive deeds.
10. Maintain a positive outlook
One commonality among those with good organization habits is that they have a positive outlook on life.
This can-do spirit and optimism fuels a consistent level of dedication to the effort it takes to maintain a tidy, organized lifestyle.
11. Make the best use of your time
Good time management skills are an asset when it comes to staying organized. Know what tasks to prioritize and how much time it should take to complete them.
Remember that perfectionist tendencies can actually have a negative impact on productivity levels. And allow yourself to tackle household chores during periods where you’ll experience the least number of interruptions or distractions.
Start practicing these good organization habits that highly organized people swear by and you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.
We can provide lots of help, so schedule your complimentary in-home design consultation today.