Resisting Organization and Cultivating a Neatness Habit



I used to resist organizational systems as I didn't always see their purpose and thought they were stupid processes being used for no good reason, dictated by people who were control freaks who had too much time on their hands.  



I later came to realize that not wanting to put things away in a proper place had its root in laziness. I always wanted to get on to the next fun thing and not take the time to finish putting away everything that I had just finished using. Even as an adult sometimes I'd not unpack my suitcase from a trip for a month!



I used to think that not putting something away in a specific place was saving me time. However, the chaos that results when trying to find items that you need at a certain point in time is stressful and anxiety-producing and can also cause problems for other people (such as those in your family).



In order to avoid the stress (which no one likes to experience), it is worth the effort to realize your situation, create a useful organizational structure that works for you. Then you must force yourself to use the system. If you have a negative attitude about it at first, and refuse to comply to try it you may not realize how much time and energy it actually saves and that it spares you stress in the long run. Just give it a try!



Being organized is not about control or trying to make work for someone else. It is about being deliberate and it is about being responsible and respectful of the things you own and respectful of the people you interact with.



Taking the time to put things away where they belong, and having a place where everything belongs, pays off in the long run.



The quality of life is so much better when people get along well and when the things we do in our daily lives go smoothly. Kicking the laziness habit and learning to be responsible and organized with our material possessions can only be a good thing.



For Christians, taking care of our material possessions is about being a good steward of the gifts that God has bestowed upon us.


Working at having an organized home is something that I've been working on seriously for about five years. It has been a long journey. In the end I realized it is all up to me, the desire has to come from within. However as a mother I am teaching my sons, or at least I'm trying to teach my sons these things so they don't have to suffer through it until they are homeowners themselves. We make mistakes and we see the negative ramifications of our errors. We are reminded that to do a thing correctly has benefits and to be lazy or sloppy creates problems and stress. It's a process, there is a learning curve when working with preteens and teens. We're moving forward in the right direction, I think.