I try to take notice when the same issue or topic seems to be coming up a lot in my life and my work. It can feel like a big tap on the shoulder from the Universe that maybe a lot of people are struggling with the same thing, and perhaps it would be helpful to talk about it a bit more here on the blog.
And that is exactly why I am sharing today’s article.
So what exactly do I mean when I ask “are you keeping it together??” Maybe you, too, are flustered by things scattered around and feeling out of control…
Oftentimes when we are overwhelmed by our STUFF–all of our possessions, papers, pantry items, you name it–it is because of how we store them. We are scattered because they are scattered.
You see, it is really easy to make the mistake of storing similar or identical items in many different places all over our house. Things aren’t together, like at all.
Let me explain how this creates problems for us:
For example, you are a tea drinker & you have a stash of your favorite blend right next to the stove where you heat the kettle every day. You also have a few different boxes on 2 or 3 shelves in the pantry across the room….
OH! and there is also some that you bought a while back (just to be sure you wouldn’t run out) on the shelves near the basement steps.
When your supply near the stove gets low, you find yourself at the grocery store buying more because you aren’t sure if you really have more in the pantry. And you probably have completely forgotten the boxes on the basement stair that are getting older and more stale by the minute.
This scenario could be repeated for many, many different items we keep on hand in our homes. It seems especially true for food items, but it can also be the case for things like lightbulbs, cleaning supplies, sewing notions, scrapbooking items, office supplies….you name it! Not being able to see at a glance the total of what we have and not knowing there is a central location where they are kept leads to confusion, lack of clarity, the wasting of time, the wasting of money …..and, of course, clutter.
Your assignment this month is:
- PICK ONE category of things you know you have scattered in various places around your house
- COMMIT to one central location where these things will now be kept (preferably very close to where they will be used) and
- PUT THEM ALL IN THE SAME PLACE.
This can be as simple as finding all of the cans of soup you have on different shelves in your pantry and making sure they are stacked together. Set a timer and devote just 15 minutes to this this weekend.
HOORAY! I hope that this simple idea helps in many ways around your home. Taking small, manageable steps toward keeping like items together can be the beginning of big meaningful change. 🙂
