In our journey through the serious and lighter sides of organising with The A to Z of Organising, let’s take a look at the letter L.
Labels – There are good labels and there are bad labels. Let’s tackle the bad labels first. Those are the labels that are used as either insults or badges of honour and they label people. They lump people into categories which may or may not even be accurate. You know what I mean. “Hoarder”. “OCD”. Let’s not use those labels. They’re not helpful. They minimise the reality and complexity of hoarding disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Let’s leave the diagnosis to the professionals and treat each other with respect.
Now that’s off my chest, let’s talk about the good labels. Labels help you find what you need when you need it. They also help you (and others) put things away again, right where you can find them for next time. Labels don’t have to be fancy. They can be handwritten on masking tape or a swing tag. Of course, I do love a good label maker. Here’s an article I wrote about my label maker and why I chose it.
Laundry – One of the most common areas of concern in any family home is the laundry. Having clean clothes ready for wearing is a constant domestic cycle with an increasing degree of difficulty directly related to the number of people and/or clothes in the home. An efficient laundry routine is essential to a smooth-running household. The cycle goes like this: Ready to Wear – Lightly Worn – Dirty – Washed – Dried – Folded/Ironed – Put Away – Ready to Wear. But there can be bottlenecks in the cycle that quickly turn order into chaos. I wrote an article about how to deal with those bottlenecks. Read it here.
Lists – I love lists. They are perfect for getting things out of my head and into action. They can be used once, like a hopping list. Or they can be used over and over again, like a “packing for a weekend away” list. What lists have you written lately? I wrote in more depth about the wonder of lists here.
Loved Ones – One fabulous reason to get organised is so that we can spend more time with loved ones. Away from the distractions of piles of clutter or unfinished tasks calling for our attention, we have more time to spend with the people we love most. That’s my “why”, the reason I keep things simple and stay organised.
But while we’re on the subject of loved ones, I need to mention that many of the enquiries I get come from the loved ones of people who need help to get organised, get rid of clutter and get on with living full lives that don’t revolve around “stuff”. If you a friend or family member with hoarding tendencies, and you really want to help them, check out the Hoarding Home Solutions online course for Family & Friends. There are lots of simple strategies that will help you support those loved ones to break free from clutter while maintaining your relationship.
If you’d like to catch up on past A to Z of Organising posts, here you go…
