Consistency - The Clutter Antidote

Do you ever feel like organizing your home or office is akin to something like this:

Feel familiar?

You get the coat closet purged and perfect, then turn around to find the kids have pulled out every single board game you own and mixed all of the pieces together to create a mosaic on the rug.  You get control of your paperwork, all filed neatly and labeled...only to have your mother decide to bring you every piece of school artwork she saved since you were in Kindergarten.  The pantry's clear, but the refrigerator has a serious case of the green fuzzies.  And the garage...oh, the garage.

So maybe, what's the point?  Why bother to get stuff in order when it just gets OUT of order in a matter of days?  How can anyone who actually lives a life keep up?

Organizing is not a one-time event, nor do you just wake up one morning and find yourself living in a permanently orderly home.  It's a process, a journey, and most of all a creation of new habits.  Making organizing a habit is a matter of trying out routines until you find what works, and then working those routines a little bit each day.  The important thing is not to get discouraged when your attempts get derailed by everyday living, because the unexpected will always "pop up" from time to time.

Consistency, as with most any worthy endeavor, is what is important.  So when you get finally a grip on all of the toys that need to be donated, congratulate yourself.  Just be mindful that many (if not most) things eventually wear out, and you'll need to revisit that closet again sometime in the future... 

Sigh.  Hang in there.