Get in the habit

iStock.com/No-Mad

As I shared in my most recent e-newsletter (which, by the way, if you want to be added to the e-newsletter mailing list, please send me a quick email), I’ve been taking classes through the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) to obtain my specialist certificate in Life Transitions. One of the classes used a brilliant analogy about developing habits:

Habits are formed when nerve cells that fire together wire together, and creating a new habit takes time. A habit is like walking through grass; the more you walk on the same path, the more the path forms. When you stop, the grass grows back.

Maintaining order and organization is a skill that can be developed and learned, similar to creating a new habit. The more you practice those skills and habits, the easier it becomes to maintain organization.

Like I’ve mentioned before, getting organized is not a “one-and-done” situation. Unless you decide to become a nun or a monk, there will always be new stuff coming into your home. It’s how you handle that new stuff that can make or break staying organized.

This is why I educate my clients on the skills they need in order to keep order in their space. For example, one of those habits clients can develop and hone is mindful purchasing. If you purchase a new shirt, do you have space for it in your closet? Or do you need to donate another shirt to make room?

See? There IS a method to my madness!