3 Simple Ways to Stay Organized, Starting With Your Mind

Feeling like your spaces—and your mind—could benefit from getting more organized? As per a key theme of this blog, what’s happening internally can greatly affect what’s happening externally. In other words, your mindset and headspace can spill over into the concrete circumstances in your life. By that logic, external organization starts with internal organization…the question is, how do we achieve that? Look no further than this post for a few simple tips!

1- Declutter what you no longer need or want.

I already have a whole post about decluttering, Decluttering Tips + 6 Things to Declutter in Your Spring Cleaning, so go check it out if you haven’t already! In a nutshell, letting go of what doesn’t serve you well can result in peace, relief, and of course, feeling more organized. The fewer pointless (or worse, harmful) things, whether physical, digital, or otherwise, that take up space in your life, the easier it is to organize what’s left! A figurative example of this is if you have a large social circle, but you realize that some of your “friends” haven’t been true friends to you. They’ve talked about you behind your back, excluded you, etc. By removing them from your life, you’ll be much better able to manage your true friendships. You’ll have more time to prioritize those friendships and more space for them to flourish!

2- Write out anything that’s been overwhelming you.

Scheduling details, to-do list tasks, personal goals, closet inventory, big decisions to make, complicated feelings, you name it. Instead of having it all swirl around in your head, why not put it somewhere concrete? Information is so much easier to make sense of and analyze when it’s all laid out in front of you! As per the last point, if you eventually no longer need or want that piece of writing, you can declutter it! But for the time it’s relevant, it can be incredibly helpful in organizing your thoughts.

3- Create systems for yourself as needed.

Another way to reduce mess and overwhelm is to create systems that work well for you. This is a broad tip and can look any number of ways. Habit stacking, scheduling routine decluttering sessions, sorting your belongings / files in a logical manner, color coding your closet, etc. If it makes sense to you and helps you stay organized, go for it! Again, the goal is to keep both your mind and your spaces organized. Experiment with different systems until you find the ones that tailor to your unique needs and preferences!

The bottom line…

All of these tips are ongoing strategies that are meant to be used regularly. After all, it’s about STAYING organized, as per the title of this post! As you and your life evolve, there will be new items to integrate into your systems, new things to declutter, new mental clutter to write out, etc. So, keep on top of it, and let your organizational systems evolve with you! Another keyword in the title is simple. Organization is meant to simplify your life, not complicate it. Keep that in mind as you choose your methods!