If you are new to 52 Weeks of Organizing, catch up here!
So this week I got a comment from a reader that asked something along the lines of “is it wrong that I don’t like all the plastic type containers that are out there?” I actually get a lot of questions like that from readers wondering if “it is wrong that I don’t organize things this way or that way?”
Well I think you know how I”m going to answer this one. Of course it’s not wrong!! I know I’ve talked about this before but I’m just going to keep doing it until I’m blue in the face. I think when we are constantly trying to measure up to someone else’s ideal or trying to work systems designed for someone else that aren’t necessarily right for your family you are only setting yourself up for failure. It’s a slippery slope for sure.
Here’s the thing…it’s not wrong to not like plastic containers the same way it’s not wrong to love them. It’s okay if you love sorting your laundry or not as in my case. It’s not wrong to store your cereal in the car if that’s where you eat it versus having those cereal boxes all lined up in the cupboard. It’s what WORKS for you. The key word here though is works because as you know a system won’t work itself (unless of course that system includes a maid :)). It requires action on our parts and thankfully there are options and solutions out there for everyone. I wrote more about systems here.
You’ll know your way is working for you when:
1. you can find what you need when you need it within 1 or 2 minutes.
2. you can successfully walk through your house and it not feel like a maze through piles of clutter.
3. you can pay bills on time.
4. you aren’t constantly replacing items you can’t find.
5. you have some limits and boundaries to what you own so you don’t become inundated with clutter.
6. you can manage your time and aren’t constantly running around feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.
7. you are maximizing the space you have available to you.
8. you are using resources within your means to organize your space now rather than living in chaos until you can afford more expensive options.
These are just some rough guidelines to help you determine whether or not your way of organizing is working for you. If it is working for you, then it is most definitely not wrong. Only you can be the judge of that.
That’s all the wisdom I’ve got for you today my lovely readers. Have a terrific weekend and of course have a little fun organizing a space or two 🙂
Please feel free to share your organizing journey and encourage one another in the comments. You are also invited to link up to the linky below with any posts related to your 52 weeks of organizing participation or to any post of an organizing nature that you feel will inspire and encourage others in their quest to get organized. Please remember to link back to here though so we can reach out to as many people as possible in need of some inspiration.
One other thing to consider: by including your link below you, you are giving me permission to use parts of your post including pictures as a spotlight in future 52 Weeks of Organizing posts. Proper credit and links will of course be provided. If you are not okay with this please do not link up. Thanks!
Liz @ Wonder Woman I'm Not says
You are so right, different things work for different people. I also think it’s important to not get discouraged if something doesn’t work the first time. Sometimes it may take three or four iterations before the process works, we just have to hang in there! Thanks for hosting.
Laura says
Yes you are so right, sometimes it takes a few tries to find a system that works and even then it will need occasional tweaking as life changes around us. If life stood still we’d all be perfectly organized wouldn’t we LOL.
Elizabeth@ReadySetSimplify says
Hi! This is my first time linking up here and I hope to become a regular! Thank you for the tips today. Right now I know that in most cases my way of organizing (or not organizing) isn’t working, but I’m slowly figuring out what will work for me!
Sarah says
I love this list. I feel like I’ve read a million lists of how to purge and organize, but sometimes it’s great to think more about the end goal. If all these things were true I’d be in great shape! I especially struggle with #7. Last night I had a dream that we dumped everything we’re keeping but don’t really want right now into a storage unit and moved into a studio apartment that had exactly what we needed and could fit and nothing more!
Skinny Mom's Kitchen says
I am just starting the organizing journey…slowly but surely I am getting there. Your list is right on the money. Basically from my answers what I am doing currently is NOT working for me but I already new that. I am going to take some time and go through your other weeks and start from scratch. I think what I find the hardest is getting the whole family on board in this effort. Sometimes I get so tired of fighting with people to put things away or clean their rooms I just throw my hands up and say forget it.
However I would say that the one area of my house that is somewhat on task is my kitchen and freezer. I love to freezer cook so having that aspect of my life in order has done wonders.
Marsha Seiberling says
Thanks for the linky…my post is up. Now I’m off to click and see what others have accomplished this past week.
Martha (MM) says
Hi Laura, Long time no comment! Believe me I’m been decluttering, organizing, packing and renovating my butt to the bone, but unfortunately just way too busy to keep up with posting right now while dealing with 3 households full of stuff and renovations of two homes! Of course I still read here along the way and just had to stop in with a comment today…
I hate the plastic baskets and bins too for the most part but at one time I couldn’t even afford those – it was shoe boxes, and copy paper boxes that kept me neat and organized (they can even be spray painted or papered!). These days in the more public areas of my home I use the pretty wicker baskets, but there are still those plastic bins behind closed doors – nice baskets are not cheap even on sale!
I just wanted to add this in hopes that nobody will ever put off organizing because of not being able to afford their dream organizing items. You gave some great tips today 🙂
Allysgrandma says
Oh Laura….I so need to get back to this, but unfortunately my medical issues are taking over. Last week I was preparing for this week, which was a trip of driving 3 hours away for one medical appointment, then from there another 3 hours to San Francisco for another appointment, then back home and an appointment on Thursday for a skin biopsy.
The medical bills and EOBs from the insurance company are out of control. So once again I don’t have a specific post, but I did get some strawberry jam made, stopping north of San Francisco to get strawberries on our way home to Humboldt County, California. I did get that accomplished!
Thanks for keeping us motivated and thanks to all the participants too!
Linda Stoll says
These are super questions to ask ourselves!
Bottom line is that there’s no one RIGHT way to simplify our lives (set the timer for 15 minutes a day? One drawer/pile/surface a day/a week? Focus on one room each month?)
Each of operates in different ways and we need to find our own rhythms to get and stay organized.
Molly says
I think I need to remember #1 and not worry that everything doesn’t *look* perfect. I can almost always find my things quickly.
Ginger says
I am in desperate need of help in organizing. What do I do if I want to start this now in the middle of July. Do I start with week #1 or what. Please help me get organized. Love your website!!
becca banana says
I started my list of 52 things just recently and I’ve been very inspired by looking through all the previous posts here: https://orgjunkie.com/52-weeks
It is the same idea, I guess. Just identify the small steps you can take to getting organized. I’m so pleased with my results so far and I have crossed off more than one per week, for sure!
Laura says
Start by making your list of 52 organizing tasks in your home you need to tackle and then start working through it as you can. The link provided above will provide all the information you need. Good luck!
Abby says
I shared a linky for my most recent blog post about my parents’ garage and what they did with it. They don’t blog, but since they worked so hard on this project, I had to share it with the world. They did an awesome job, and it’s very encouraging to me, because they had to work on it for a long time before it was completely done, but they got it finished and it looks great. There’s hope for me, yet!