Easy Way to Happiness

Getting organized is right up there with losing weight on New Year’s resolution lists everywhere, but by February people inundated with clutter are likely to give up and go back to living in chaos. But, it doesn’t have to be that way if you start with five basic areas of living and just dig in.

1. Your car is for transportation, not storage. Empty it out once and for all and keep it that way every single time to put it in park and leave. If you must leave a few items in there for running errands later, dedicate one seat for things like library books to return and dry cleaning. Utilize the trunk for things that you absolutely must keep with you at all times. It’s out of sight, but still accessible.

2. Organize your work area. Give your desk a serious look over. Do you really need everything you see there on a daily basis? Put everything on the floor for a minute and start over. Put all equipment you need back and then reconsider every item that remains. Have a “to do” pile and a “miscellaneous” pile and put the rest somewhere else.

3. Make it a goal to see your kitchen counter. Do the same thing to you kitchen counter as you did to your workspace. Do you really need the peppermill and canister set every day? Can you stow the toaster somewhere else until needed? How often do you make coffee? Realistic answers to these questions can free up some much-needed space and streamline your cooking process.

4. The laundry room isn’t a dumping ground. Keep the laundry flowing through this area by removing all unnecessary items from it. Allow a space for soiled laundry and an area for folded clean clothes and don’t let anything else pile up there.

5. Make sure the family room is comfortable for the whole family. Piles of toys and leaning towers of video games are not exactly a relaxing to look at, are they? Store anything other than daily necessities out of sight. Throw pillows and blankets have a way of taking over a room, not to mention left-behind coffee cups and snack wrappers. Allocate one spot on a coffee table or ottoman for the remote and magazine. If nothing else, teach your family to ‘leave the room the way they found it’.

If you don’t know where to start, just focus on one area until you see improvement and then move on to another. Worry about overstuffed closets and storage areas after you’re happy with the way all visible areas are functioning. Even if it takes six months, you’ll be ahead of the game and back in charge of your life.