Many people have told me that no matter how hard they try they just never will be well-organized. I suppose that could be true for some people, but I'd like to believe that it is true only for the minority, not the majority, of disorganized people! The key to becoming a well-organized mother is to not take on too much at one time. When we finally decide to get our act together, the temptation is to tackle everything at once. This will not work and will only lead to frustration and burn out. Resist the temptation and follow this method instead.
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Which Type of Disorganized Person are You?
There are two types of disorganized people:
- Jane - whose entire life is disorganized. Her house, car, office, schedule - everything about her is a mess and she's tired of it.
- Susan - who really only struggles with one or two areas that she never can seem to get on top of. Sometimes her house is clean but her day, or even her week, is a disaster. Other times she has her day together but she's lost control of her homeschooling and housework.
Which one are you? If you are Jane, then you already know that you have a huge task ahead of you. Turning this around will require a lot of grace and hard work on your part but the victory will be amazing.
If Susan is who you are more like, your job will be easier. Gaining control of a few areas will still take a lot of work, though, so be prepared.
Becoming Well-Organized is a Process
Where do you begin? That is the real question. Whether your entire life is in utter chaos or you just need to work on a few areas, you need to start by organizing and/or beefing up your prayer life.
By spending time in prayer about this issue, you will let God help you to see where you need to start. Doing it according to His plan will always be the better way to do it.
- Start by listing all of the areas that you would like to get organized, in order of importance to you. Spend some time in Adoration, or if you can't, then just quiet prayer time at home, and see if there is some reordering you need to do to your list.
- Once you're set with the order you'd like to tackle things, look at the first one. If it seems too daunting to you, pick a less important but easier to tackle area first. Sometimes being successful in a minor area will give you the confidence to tackle the bigger area.
- The important part here is to work on this one area until you are satisfied with it. It doesn't have to be (and probably won't be) perfect, so don't let the imperfection stop your progress! Once you feel better about this area, move on to the next area on your list.
- Continue tackling new areas to organize, but don't forget to keep the already-done areas organized, too.
Some Important Caveats
There is so much that can, and has, been written about how to be well-organized that I can't put it all in one post. You must realize a few things so as not to get frustrated and give up:
- Rome was not built in a day and your life is not going to be entirely organized in one fell swoop either. You must not let that defeat you, however! Being and staying organized is truly a life-long affair.
- You might need to stop and learn a few things about being organized. If this doesn't come naturally to you then you need to learn how to do it. You can talk to people you know who are organized to start. I've made some cleaning videos if you need to learn how to clean your house. There's always the Flylady, too.
- Your life is going to change so your cleaning and organizing systems can and should change, too! Be flexible and cut yourself some slack when necessary.
- I'm the kind of person who likes things done RIGHT NOW. Unfortunately something like this takes time and patience. When I look back I realize that it took me years to put all my "systems" in place. Some of them weren't even possible until my kids got older. What we can accomplish now has a lot to do with years of trial and error, growing and maturing children, and lots of patience.
Want to Work on Organizing Your Day?
If this is the area you need the most help with, then your first step is to get "A Plan for Joy in the Home".
If you have already bought it and haven't read it yet, get it back out!
Read through it and then really look at your life and see what the major areas are that are getting you down. Decide what needs to be done to make you feel better about those areas and then, using the worksheets and ideas in the book, make your plan.
Make Your List and Get Started
There's never a better time to become better organized than right now, so take up your pencil and paper and get started! Make your list, take it to prayer then get going.
Think of how good it will feel to take control over an area that has been causing you pain before the holidays arrive!
Involve your kids, too! Teach them how to be well-organized right along side of you. Because I'll tell you something. Your kids can and will sabotage your organizational efforts without batting an eye. Getting them involved and invested will be a huge help in staying organized!
Keep plugging along and take it one day at a time. It IS possible. It ISN'T easy but the rewards are worth all of the blood, sweat and tears that you'll put into it.
(originally published in March 2019)