15 Key Mindset Shifts to Adopt For lasting Organizing Success
Whether you seek professional help getting your home decluttered and organized or you go it alone, you’ll need to change a few of your habits and adopt some new mindsets that are conducive to maintaining an organized home. Much like going on a diet to lose weight or starting a new fitness routine to get into great physical shape, the work does not end there. At some point, you have to transition into maintenance mode which can be just as hard to keep up, if not harder. But - it doesn’t have to be if your remember your why and your goals!
I keep my why at the forefront of my mind when making decisions on what I allow to take up space in my home (and on my calendar). Why do I want to have an organized and minimal-ish home? Because I know how I want to feel in my home, how I want to move through it each day, how little time I want to spend managing my stuff and how much more time I want to enjoy the people in my home and my downtime.
Remember your favorite idea or mindset below or periodically review the entire list when you’re struggling with clutter or maintaining the systems you have in place. And always go back to the basics - think about your why and overall goals for how you want to live and feel in your home.
15 MINDSET SHIFTS:
Make your bed everyday. Yes, this is a phsyical act, but the effect on your daily mindset is priceless. Start your day off with a quick, easy win by accomplishing a simple task that looks and feels neat and tidy, kickstarting a productive day.
Be conscious and intentional about what you allow to enter your home daily. Do you need it? Where will you put it?
Make frequent decisions about what gets to stay in your home. Is its purpose complete? Can it leave now?
Get better at making decisions faster (“master faster”), reducing the need for a 2nd or 3rd round of decluttering (as well as decision fatigue).
Avoid impulse purchases, especially online. Try waiting 24 to 48 hours before checking your cart out. And remember: buying more things you don’t end up wanting to keep will require more work for you to return them.
Question the items you buy in bulk. Is it necessary? Do you have the space to store it?
Strive to ruthlessly declutter - because the stuff you own ends up owning you.
Remember: the less you have, the less you have to manage.
In every space that’s over capacity or simply not working efficiently, ask “how can I simplify this?”
Think about this idea: “A place for everything and everything in its place.” Everything in your home shoud have a place that it belongs. When it’s time to tidy up, it’s easy to put it away in its place, and later retrieve it again.
Home starting to feel crammed or cluttered even with systems in place? You likely don’t need more storage - you need less stuff.
Guilt is a useless emotion - put it aside. Don’t want something? Get rid of it.
Remember that your home is not a storage facility. It’s for living.
When you create physical space you create more room literally and figuratively for the important things in your life.
Open space is not necessarily wasted space. White space is more than ok.
At the end of the day, you should be able to come home to an environment that helps you relax and supports your daily life. You can create and maintain the life and home you want, by getting rid of what you don’t.
If you need help creating that home, grab your behind-the-scenes guide to working with me, a professional home organizer based in Denver, here.
