Download the complete April 2010 Issue

Getting Organized

On some mornings, kids dawdle, eggs intended for the pan break on the floor instead, and the clean outfit gets covered in mud before your child even gets to the car.  Meanwhile, Mom or Dad’s deep breathing through the predictable chaos might be getting shallower as the hands of the clock push them closer to tardiness at school and work. It’s in these kinds of moments that being able to find what you need before heading out the door can prevent a parental meltdown.

Being able to find things when we need them can be one of the pillars of parental sanity when times get tough.  For parents, getting and staying organized becomes more than the aesthetic endeavor it might have been pre-children; with kids, it’s a survival tool.  Given this, it seems a little unfair that getting organized while parenting can seem like a daunting and impossible task.  Some days, it’s hard enough just to get a shower.

With small steps, a few basic guidelines, and a commitment to the goal, getting organized can happen even in the heart of the messiest parenting jungle.  It helps to remember that even a little time invested in the project of organizing can yield worthwhile results. If one little corner of the house gets tamed, it creates one place of calm, orderly and intentional ease that can carry throughout the household.

If that’s not persuasive, the added benefit of teaching our kids to get and stay organized should be.  Play your clean up cards right, and your child will be doing more and more of the organizing with you.  In the process, they develop healthy, lifelong habits that will serve them well in their future academic, work, social and inner lives.

Spring is in the air. It’s a natural time to tackle the clutter and throw open those closet doors to bring new order to the looming messes that lurk behind them.  Let’s get started with some basics from our local guru, Claire Josefine, author of The Spiritual Art of Being Organized.  Josefine begins her book by stating her organizing belief, which is “Being organized is a spiritual process  Chaos is conquered as much by awareness, gratitude, grounding, and breath as by a well-labeled filing system.”  Ahh… doesn’t it feel good to think about it this way instead of some losing battle to be fought in vain?

Josefine’s Zen approach is shaped by the following 12 principles:

1.    Think! Think vertical, think verbs, think function, think consequences.
2.    Put like with like within zones created by function.
3.    KISS (Keep it Simple, Sweetie).
4.    Create, and use, habits and schedules.
5.    Be realistic.
6.    Set Boundaries.
7.    Dishes before dusting.
8.    Slow down and pay attention.
9.    Adopt an attitude of gratitude.
10.    Base decisions in love instead of fear.
11.    Remember that we have choices.
12.    Ask for help.

Each of these principles is usefully spelled out in Josefine’s book with concrete steps and tips for how to bring order into your life. Here are some examples:

Little by Little: Start with short organizing sessions, i.e. 15 to 60 minutes.  Longer than that, says Josefine, and you may get overwhelmed and tired.  Keep it positive by not biting off more than you can chew.  “In order to facilitate a sense of accomplishment in a short amount of time,” decide on a small project like one drawer or one cupboard and spend a limited amount of time totally focused on organizing that area. Set a timer if you need to.  If you do this consistently, your entire house will get organized without wearing you out in the process.

Give things names: You don’t have to remember where every item goes, nor do you have to get repeatedly annoyed with family members who put things in the wrong places.  Use labels.  Labels don’t have to be aesthetically problematic. You can make your own using color, embroidery, photos, drawings, carvings, etc. to fit your taste. “You can even hide labels by putting them inside cupboards and drawers,” reminds Josefine.  “Labels are especially important to children who are learning to read… work with them to label the shelves and containers in their room… make a label that has both a picture and a picture of the category and the word, printed clearly… [this] will enable your young ones to put away their toys more easily and will build literacy skills at the same time.”

Put Like with Like within Zones Created by Function: Identify the “zones” within your home based on what happens there, then put the tools that go with it within that “zone.”  Group like things with like things. Some ideas for “zones” or “lands” are:  sleep land, clothes land, bath land, food land, entertainment land, reading land, etc.  In each zone, you group/store the “tools” for the activity that takes place there. For example, in sleep land you would obviously have a bed and only things that go with sleep like jammies, a lamp, maybe a clock, inspiration or relaxing reading, etc. This area shouldn’t contain large electronic devices or anything stress-inducing.

So, when you feel that spring-cleaning urge, go with it and keep simplicity in mind. If you aren’t getting the seasonal urge to purge and organize, pick a drawer and schedule yourself 20 minutes to work on it. Put on some music and just chip away at it. When your time is up, take a break. One step at a time….

You can get more ideas, inspiration, and order the book at www.clairejosefine.com.