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„Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.“ (Gustave Flaubert)
How many times have you been about to leave home and realized you cannot find something critical you need, e.g. your keys? Usually a frantic, violent search ensues leaving your home looking like something Led Zeppelin used as a hotel room in the seventies. If you’re lucky enough to find what you are looking for before collapsing into a sobbing wreck, you then make a spontaneous 100 metre dash down the street to catch whatever form of transport you have probably already missed. Later on, what joy it is to come home after this ordeal, where amazingly the cupboards and drawers have not reassembled themselves and with a bit of luck your partner awaits with some “feedback” on the state of the household. If this sounds like fun and you want to keep these events as part of your life, then read no further. Otherwise, this is your lucky day.
The stress and inconvenience described above can be so easily avoided, it is almost lunacy not to implement this habit. With a few hours work upfront and a smidgen of self-discipline later you can have Rainman-like knowledge of where every single item in your home resides. You simply need to define a “home” for everything you own so you can find it there easily and reliably every time you need it. This will bring organization into your home with spill-over effects into other parts of your life. If for some reason you have gotten it into your head that bohemian creative types cannot have well-organized homes, then you will be surprised to find that a home without stress is actually conducive to being creative, not the opposite. Give it a try, and if you are concerned that being late and frazzled is the only thing lending credence to you bohemian lifestyle, then this will be a good litmus-test on whether or not you need to consider more profound changes as well.
How to implement the habit in four simple steps you can take TODAY:
- Take a look around your home and every item that is lying around visibly. Now think of a logical place for each item, according to where similar stuff is, and put the item in with its “buddies”. E.g. if you have a drawer for electronics, then your iPod, cell phone chargers and random cables should go in there. Otherwise just take a random cardboard box and make it your new electronics repository!
- Make it a rule to never, ever leave something lying around. Everything has to go back to its place every time, or all hell will break loose. If you live together with someone, agree on a fine for leaving stuff lying around.
- Ideally before you find a place for something, or at the latest if you cannot, think long and hard whether or not you really need the object in question. Have you used it in the past year? Are you actively planning to use it during the next year? If not, give it to charity, sell it at a flea-market or just throw it away if you cannot imagine anyone getting any use out of it. This is very important, as most humans are hoarders by nature, and unless you impose very strict self-discipline in chucking stuff out, you will quickly wind up with closets full of e.g. hammer-pants you are saving “just in case someone ever throws an 80s themed party”.
- Due to our innate hoarding-nature, we humans tend to accumulate more stuff, which is why it is important to repeat this exercise every now and then. We suggest getting a small (really, small) box where you place items that do not have a designated place yet. Once this box is full, that’s your cue to go through the “where the hell should I put this”-rigamarole again.
Now, go forth and organize!
