Day 24: Make It Fun

a beautiful way to visually transform a room whether I'm getting organized or staying organized

Do you find it easier to get organized than to stay organized?

Getting organized can have several pay-offs.

1. It solves a problem. There's a tremendous sense of accomplishment that can come from that.
2. It visually transforms a space. That can give you a lot of satisfaction.
3. The activities of sorting and categorizing, figuring out the best storage containers and labelling can be quite the stress reliever. It can give you a sense of control.

The only problem with liking to get organized (and it's a real problem if you like it more than the activities involved in staying organized) is that you'll probably tend to let things deteriorate to the point of needing to be organized again--just so you can get what you need from the activity. The only problem with that is living with the chaos between the organizing sessions.

As with changing any habit, a great way to change it is to seek the same reward--but with something different. For example, if you love solving problems, perhaps you can find a different way to do that. One of the things about my new job is that I am helping people solve problems. What colour should we paint the adjoining bathroom? What glue will work for this and this? How do I paint my kitchen cabinets? How do I stain a shelf? It's great fun.

If you love the visual transformation an organizing session brings, perhaps you could change out your accessories and tchotchkes. You could rearrange the furniture, or paint, or do something that changes up the way your rooms look.

If organizing is a stress reliever, you could find other activities, like exercising, or playing with the kids (or the dog), listening to music, going for a stroll, meditating, or journaling. There are lots of different ways to relieve stress.

Likewise, think about what could give you a sense of accomplishment? Could you volunteer? Craft? Paint? Take a class? Cook or bake something?

But, if there's really no conflict and you just find the day-in day-out routines of staying organized a drudge, perhaps these suggestions will help make it more fun:

• Listen to the radio or audio books while you work. I've already mentioned how I like to do this when I do dishes. It works for folding laundry, too.
• Use a timer and play "beat the clock." Kids love this one, too.
• Invest in fun tools and supplies. (No one in blog land does this better than Toni Morrison of A Bowl Full of Lemons. Did you see the post on her office and Project Life this week?)
• Picture yourself straightening and tidying and picking up and putting away and how great you will feel when it's done.

Is staying organized a challenge for you?
Do like getting organized more than staying organized?
Can you think of a way to infuse the mundane with fun and excitement? Do share.

ETA: You can catch all the posts in the series here.