Hi friends, today I wanted to talk about some of the organizing mantras I use to keep my home organized and clutter-free. Basically they are simply positive phrases that I’m constantly repeating to myself. And to be honest, I also use these in other areas of my life as well. For instance, I’m currently doing a fitness program to build lean muscle and to get stronger. It’s so hard. Repeating some of these sayings helps me stay focused and get the job done. Because often no part of me wants to actually do it. It’s a struggle, an internal battle that comes up against all sorts of fun distractions. Maybe you can relate when it comes to organizing. Experience has taught me that giving myself these tiny little pep talks keeps me on track. It’s a mental mind game that works wonders for me and maybe it will for you as well. I hope you find some encouragement here.
My Top 10 Organizing Mantras for Living an Organized Life
Embrace imperfect:
Perfection is defeating and debilitating All it does is discourage us and stop us from making any sort of progress on our goals. Let’s all keep in mind that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.
A done something is better than a perfect nothing.
Please don’t compare your ordinary life with someone else’s Pinterest perfect one. Those only exists in pictures. Your containers and bins don’t all have to match in order to be able to find what you need and live an organized life.
Success begins with start:
Starting is by far the hardest part. For me anyway. I have to constantly remind myself that change can’t occur without action. That this action is up to me and success can’t happen without it. Start with one small achievable action step that moves you towards your goal. It all counts.
One minute matters:
Do you ever feel like you don’t have time to get anything done so nothing does? Repeat after me “one minute matters”. I recently watched a video put out by the popular Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist. He talks about 20 1-minute habits to keep your home clutter-free. It’s worth watching.
CLUTTER COLLECTS CLUTTER:
Okay you might think I’m crazy here but your stuff likes to party together and each item will invite 10 friends to really get the party going. As you can imagine, this party can quickly get out of control. How do we keep the clutter party down to manageable levels? Daily decluttering does it! We all love a good party but no one wants to clean up the mess afterwards. We’ve got to stay on top of it and weed out the riffraff before they take right over :).
Trust the process:
One of the biggest lessons I learned in my fitness program is to trust the process. You see, results were a long time coming for me. I would see others succeeding around me and get frustrated and want to give up. My coach kept telling me to trust the process. In other words, just do the steps and results will come. And she was right. I’m finally starting to see some changes. It took much longer for me than it did for others and that made me feel like a failure. But I trusted the process and kept going and I’m so thankful I did. My Organizing PROCESS will do the same for you. I know it works if you follow the steps. However the timeline is different for everyone. Don’t compare your organizing race with anyone else. You are not a failure. Stay in your own lane and don’t give up!
No space, no stuff:
This organizing mantra should come as no surprise. You guys have heard me say this one over and over and over again. If you want to live clutter-free you’ve got to purge until it fits!
Only keep what you love and/or use and when those two criteria have been achieved you take it one step further. Only keep what you have the room to store regardless of whether you love or use it.
It’s a hard concept to grasp but just keep repeating it to yourself as you analyze your stuff. I’ve written all about it in more detail HERE if you want to check it out.
Favor the future:
This one is perhaps the one I say to myself the most often right now. What will my future self thank me for? Will she thank me for leaving a pile of dirty clothes on the floor that she now has to clean up? Or will she thank me for hanging them back up right away so she doesn’t have to do it? If you really hate doing a task you aren’t going to hate it less if you do it later. Show some love to your future self and just get it done even when you don’t feel like it. Your future self will be so appreciative!!
Consistency is calming:
Another one I constantly have to tell myself is this one. Consistency and habits go hand in hand. Good consistent habits that are so ingrained you don’t have to think about them provide a calming peace. For instance, when it comes to exercise, I have figured out if I don’t do it in the morning, I will stress about when I will get it done for the rest of the day. Stress is not calming. So I’ve gotten in the habit of getting my exercise done first thing in the morning and then I don’t have to worry about it again. It’s the same way with organizing. For instance, consistent daily decluttering means you never have to worry about clutter piling up. That is very calming indeed! Read more on Habits for an Organized Home.
Momentum motivates:
Does it ever! After you trust the process and start seeing results (and you will!), momentum starts to snowball. It’s exciting to see changes happening. Like when you see your kids playing with their toys again after doing a big purge. Or when you can finally find the ingredients you need for dinner after tidying the pantry. This momentum will get you fired up and motivated to keep on organizing. Perhaps another closet or a drawer or even an entire room!
Simplicity conquers chaos:
Organization leads to simplicity which in turn leads to less chaos! From owning less stuff, to being able to find what you need, to sanity saving menu planning and to being in control of your schedule, it all contributes to living a live with less chaos. Simplicity is all about removing the excess in your life so that the beautiful ordinary in the everyday shines through, calming your soul and bringing great joy. Stripping back the layers of stuff to reveal and recognize that there is so much beauty to be found amidst the ordinary and mundane. Can I get an amen to that! It’s time to stop complicating life more than we need to.
Do you use any of these organizing mantras yourself already? Or which ones are you most excited to try out? Let me know!
Have a great weekend everyone 🙂
Laura
PS: If you haven’t had a chance to enter my 15th year blog anniversary yet, you still have time!
Brenda says
Laura,
I just had to take a moment to thank you for all that you do to encourage us to be more organized. I Just love this post and all the encouraging mantras. I’ll have to try using some, as I work through my day.
Brenda
Laura Wittmann says
Brenda! So kind of you to say, thank you!!
Laura
Mon says
Thanks, Laura, I really need this post right now.
Laura Wittmann says
So glad it could be an encouragement to you.
Blessings,
Laura