As most of us know, wanting your life to be organized, and actually maintaining an organized life, are two completely different things. Most people find that initially decluttering and organizing a space is easy, but keeping it that way (especially with kids in the house) is a much more difficult task. The secret to this maintenance of organization is actually quite simple – it’s all about convenience. If keeping a space organized involves a lot of work, no matter how good your intentions, it is not going to stay that way. You will simply find “better” things to do – like enjoying your family!
I used to get frustrated with my eldest child for never putting his clothes in the hamper, despite my constant pleas to do so. When I stepped back and analyzed the situation I realized that, though a sorry excuse, putting his clothes in the hamper was not convenient, as the hamper was located in his closet. Realizing this, I moved the hamper out of his closet. Still, however, his clothes seemed to land everywhere but the hamper. Back to the drawing board. My second attempt at making the clothing’s journey from body to hamper as convenient as possible consisted of getting rid of the lid on my son’s hamper. This final act of convenience worked like a charm, and it has not been a problem since (knock on wood).
Example of very cute children’s laundry basket that does not get my approval – I vote for no lid!
Another example of the essentiality of convenience in maintaining organization can be found in my experience with toilet paper rolls. Most people look at an empty toilet paper roll and feel nothing. I am not one of those people. When I see an empty toilet paper roll, I see my child grabbing the last square off the roll and leaving it there. Why would my children not just put a new roll on the holder? It seems like such an easy task! After all, what else does one have to do while sitting there? Apparently, it is not as convenient as one may think. The tedious task of taking the bar off, putting the new roll on the bar, and replacing the bar is quite inconvenient (at least to my children). Upon noticing this, I decided to work with the system as opposed to against it. I invested in a toilet paper holder which only requires sliding the roll off an open bar. This too, like the hamper situation, solved the problem.
Check out this DOUBLE toilet paper holder AND double rods, double the ease – woo hoo!
Sometimes as parents, we have to choose our battles. Trying to get your kids, or spouse, to keep the cleanliness and/or organization you have implemented may seem quite trying at times. If there are specific places in your house which always seem to cause a problem, take a step back, and ask yourself, “is there a way that keeping this organized or clean can be made more convenient?”
If you are looking for a convenient way to get your home organized, reach out to Sane Jane. That’s our specialty!
You already knew the definition of convenience didn’t you? I couldn’t help it.
