When my son and I breeze through the door after school with less than an hour before karate, there’s no time to waste. He wants a snack, I'm unloading the inevitable five bags I always seem to have, and there's homework and a hungry dog to handle. But we manage to check all the boxes and leave on time thanks to an organized home.
I'm not saying my house is meticulous by any means. There are a few things scattered about, after all, we live here every day. But overall, everything has a place and everyone knows where those places are.
Three Things an Organized Home Gives Me as a Parent
I strongly believe having an organized home has made me a better parent, and I'd love to share the why with you.
1. Less Time With Stuff, More Time With Family
A vital benefit of maintaining an organized home is that it's easier to keep track of what you have. You don't waste time searching for car keys, homework folders, or missing shoes. Instead, you get to enjoy more time with your kids. For example, when I don't spend ten minutes trying to find my son’s karate belt, that’s ten minutes I get to talk to him about his day or help him with homework.
Over the past several years, my husband, son, and I have held some major decluttering sessions. We also have an annual tradition of going through our stuff before the holidays and around the beginning of summertime.
Less stuff means fewer things to expend precious time and energy on cleaning, putting away, and organizing. It makes it all the easier to keep the things we hold on to tidy. I also find having less helps fuel gratitude.
2. It's Easier to Be Present
Unorganized spaces affect how you think, feel and live. Clutter has physical and emotional impacts, like making you late for a meeting, zapping your energy levels, exacerbating allergies, or creating trip hazards.
If you need to focus so much on looking for things, stepping over toy piles, cleaning 80 knick-knacks, and so on, you're not able to give your full attention to your children. (Plus, your kids might be struggling with some of the same negative impacts.)
But when things are organized, you stay in the moment. For me, I'm not thinking about the mess. I know it's easy to put it away when playtime is over. Therefore, I get to enjoy the activity, no matter what it is, and stay present with my child.
3. An Organized Home Reduces Stress
When I cut down the clutter and everything has a place, I'm calmer. When I'm calmer, my son is, too. We get to enjoy more time (and space) together to play a game, bake cookies, or paint. When you don't feel stressed, you're more likely to have the energy and desire to be active with your children.
Of course, some people swear clutter doesn't affect them, but for me, I know it's a big obstacle. If you feel the same way, I hope you'll find these benefits of an organized home motivating. Invite your kids to help declutter and organize the house so it's a family affair and everyone sees how it can make life better.
Follow MaKayla @makay.la27 for more inspiration on how to enjoy a simpler, more organized life.
