An organized life is second nature for some people. Even if you don’t come by this naturally, it is something you can achieve by practicing good organization habits on a regular basis.
Organized people tend to be less stressed and more efficient in how they live their day to day life. They keep things where they belong instead of running around the house looking for things. So if you want to know how to stay organized, here are five habits that highly organized people use to maintain their spaces. Adopt them, put in the work, and I promise you will see results.
Set goals (but make them realistic).
Goals help you stay motivated, focused, and avoid procrastination. If you need to organize your entire kitchen, make a goal to declutter one drawer this weekend. Want to organize your closet? Start by donating clothes you know you will never wear again. Small bite-size goals are the key to moving your bigger goals forward.
Have a place for everything.
Establish a spot for every category of stuff. You should be able to find your tax documents, scissors, batteries, and gift cards immediately in your home. Having a space for everything helps you avoid wasting time.
Put things back where they belong right away. Don’t set something down temporarily. Procrastination leads to a massive clean up effort later. Take a few extra seconds to hang up that coat, put your hairbrush back in its drawer, and put the dog’s leash back up on its hook.
Develop everyday routines.
Whether you are recycling the mail as soon as you get it, making your bed when you get up, or updating your calendar to-do list each morning before breakfast, finding time for small, productive routines will allow you to later focus more energy on big things.
Purge often.
Highly organized people are habitual declutterers. They periodically assess their items, like white t-shirts, pantry spices or kids’ soccer cleats, and donate, sell or recycle those they no longer use, want or love. This can help you avoid buying duplicates and get more use out of what you already have.
More importantly, keep it simple and don’t worry about perfection. Real people don’t live in staged spaces. They live busy, chaotic lives with kids, partners and animals in homes that can get messy. You do not have to have complicated systems that are hard to maintain.