Would your friends and family describe you as somebody who is very organized? Is this ever put in a tone that makes you feel like it could be a bad thing?
Being organized is not a bad thing. Organizing is determining what you have, sorting, and putting everything in the spaces where the items are used the most frequently, which can only be beneficial to your life. The only time that organizing could be bad is if a person is unable to think about anything else.
For more information about why being organized is actually a good thing, how to know if it has gone too far, if organizing is wasteful and if you may have a problem, keep reading below.
Is Being Organized Ever Bad?
Being organized is generally considered a positive trait for somebody to have. What could possibly be bad about having a home where you know where everything is?
Not only will you know what you have and where it is stored but the visual aspect is actually really rewarding.
My question to you is, would you ever look back and wish you didn’t spend time organizing your home?
Chances are, you will be so thankful that you spent the time and now you know what you have and where it belongs.
When I am doing anything, I always think, “Will my future self thank me for this?” If not, it’s maybe not worth investing much time in. Otherwise, it is worth doing.
We are all tired, stressed, and unmotivated at times, but not all the time. So when you have bursts of energy, use that time to accomplish something. This could be decluttering or organizing, as they will both make a huge improvement in the flow of your home.
Here are some facts about organizing:
- Your future self will ALWAYS thank you for the time that you put into organizing, because while it seems like a lot of work up front, it will actually save you a ton of time going forward.
- You will purchase less because you will be able to quickly see what you already have.
- Family members will stop asking you where things are because they will know exactly where to go.
- Shopping will happen less often because you won’t have to run out and grab something that you can’t find or didn’t realize you were out of.
- Being able to put things into their designated spots is really satisfying and makes it easier to locate later.
- It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to be functional.
Is somebody making you feel that there is something wrong with you because you are organized? If anybody is making comments teasing you about being too organized, they are just wishing they could accomplish what you have.
Not everybody is born with the skill to organize their space. For some people, it comes very naturally and for others, it takes time to learn or even care about. This does not make organizing bad or weird.
Can Organizing Ever Go Too Far?
Very rarely will organizing go too far and actually be a detriment. Worst case scenario, you micro-organize too much. Micro-organizing is when people use smaller containers to sort out every individual type of item. One container for paperclips, one for elastics, one for hairclips, etc.
This may also include sticking tiny, detailed labels on everything. While labels are really great, there can be a time when it just adds time and confusion.
Micro-organizing can work really well if you are organizing inside of drawers because little baskets can fit into the drawers and keep everything separate but still easy to locate.
The only time this could become an issue is if you are stacking tiny little containers in a cabinet or closet. This is like a losing game of Jenga. You can’t easily take a “block” out of the pile without knocking the rest of them over.
Plus having so many containers will make your items harder to find and will take longer to open up and get what you need.
For the majority of people, being organized means sorting and storing items where they are used. Then finding the best option for containing the items. It can take time to find the best solution for storing the items, but generally, once you find something that works well for your family, it will continue to work long-term.
Is Organizing Wasteful?
Often people think they have to throw away everything in order to be organized. This isn’t true! You can actually organize without throwing anything away.
The process of throwing away and donating is done in the decluttering phase. I would always recommend decluttering first because it will make it much easier to organize when there is less stuff.
If you love everything that you have and don’t want to get rid of anything, that’s entirely up to you! It will just take a lot longer to put everything in the proper spaces and find solutions for how to contain everything.
If you’re throwing away perfectly good items or donating too much without thinking about how it will make you feel. This could be considered a bad thing. It is definitely possible to go too far and have some regret after.
When Organizing Could Be a Problem
If you can’t stop constantly reorganizing, then it may be a problem.
Once you have put everything in the areas where they are most frequently used and sorted based on the type of item. You are already three-quarters of the way there. There is no need to rearrange beyond that.
The next step is just coming up with the type of bins, shelves, baskets, etc, that you want to store the items. What you choose to organize in may change more frequently, because you may have thought bins would work but they ended up not being the best option for you.
This is completely normal and isn’t an issue. Try different organizing units before settling so that you can have long-term success.
If you are constantly feeling that you need to move things to other areas in your home and you are unable to focus on anything else, you may have a deeper issue that needs to be talked about. This is often referred to as OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and there are options available to help deal with this so that you can feel more content with your home.
In Summary
You will be pleasantly surprised by how much your life improves if you have a good organizing system in place in your home. It takes the weight off of your shoulders and allows you to live without fear of misplacing anything, spending money on items that you don’t need, or looking for something for an extended amount of time just because you don’t remember where you put it.
Don’t let anybody tell you that you are too organized or imply that there is something wrong with you. Being organized will allow you to feel at ease in your home and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
