Make Putting Things Away a Daily Habit!

Are you a person who routinely puts things away when you’ve finished using them? Or, are you a person that uses something and leaves it where it landed when you were finished using it? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess which person would be most challenged with staying organized. Regularly putting things away as you move through your day is one of the most important behaviors necessary for staying organized.

What is the benefit of putting things away?

• You restore visual order. An orderly space is peaceful and feels good. It has positive energy.

 • You snuff out a bud of clutter. Anything left out of place immediately creates a negative energy that will attract more of the same. Once one thing is left out, it’s much easier to leave other things out.

 • You’ll be able to find the item when you need it.

• You maintain order in your space and a sense of control in your life.

Why doesn’t a person put things away?

• You were never taught the habit of routinely putting things away. It is a habit to use something and leave it where you last used it. It is also a habit to use something and put it away!

• You have attentional issues that keep you bouncing from one task to another, leaving object litter in your wake. • You haven’t created a home for the item. There is no place to put it away.

• The home you created is not convenient enough given how often you use the object.

• The home you created has become so cluttered that putting it away is a hassle.

• Putting things away seems boring to you.

• You are rushing and putting an item away will take time you don’t think you have.

I could go on and on with reasons why people don’t put things away. Whatever the reason, you pay a heavy price when you neglect to regularly put things away. Over time you create your own nightmare of clutter and chaos in your space.

Putting things away is a behavior over which you have complete control. It can take only seconds to do if you’ve created convenient homes for everything. Being faithful to the behavior requires self-discipline, but it is one of the best ways to stay organized and directly correlates with feeling in control in your life.

Watch yourself today. Are you taking those extra few seconds (yes, seconds, not minutes) to put things away when you are finished using them? Remember, your peace of mind, stress level, productivity and success are affected by what you choose to do. Make putting things away a priority every day! If regularly putting things away isn’t a habit, make it the next habit you acquire in your effort to stay organized, manage stress, and have the life you really want.

Debbie Bowie's Feng Shui