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Being “organised” is currently the hip word. If you are organised you can overcome almost anything that life throws your way. It is a mindful act in everything that you plan and do.

I realised once again what being organised really meant when I was commissioned to assist a young mother, with 3 youngsters aged 8, 6, 4 years and a 3 week old infant, in her challenge to move to the UK within 2 weeks.

My first response was, “You are putting yourself under an immense amount of pressure and should consider postponing the date.”

Little did I know that dynamite comes in small packages? Let’s call her Mary, she was absolutely amazing!

Upon entering the playroom toys where all over, and casting my eye, I thought that it would take us a couple of days to corral everything up, to sort, purge and get the sets back together. Mary pointed out that all the toys were in the playroom.

She excused herself almost immediately because she had to drop off her 4 year old for a play date, with the words “Don’t throw anything away all the sets and puzzles are complete just put like with like, please”.

Famous last words I thought, being used to not finding all the pieces when organising. Before she came back, I had already found, that as I worked around the room, I did manage to quickly put sets together. There was an underlying order and organisation beneath the layers of chaos.

She was thrilled, that I had managed so much in such a short time. With her there, it went even quicker.  Mary knew immediately where a specific item came from or where a piece belonged to. It was incredible to see how calm she was, getting the stuff together and gluing parts into place, so that the complete toy would come along; “No use taking broken items,” according to her.

She made immediate decisions about donating toys and knew exactly whether a child loved a doll or whether they still played with an item. The piles for donation grew, as did the pile with complete sets of toys and boxes of puzzles ready for the packers. Within a couple of hours the room had been sorted and ready for the movers to pack, with all the unwanted items out of the way.

They did indeed move within two weeks, which I at first thought impossible.

You might ask yourself, how then can she say that Mary was organised with the toys strewn all over?

Well, that is just it, neat and tidy doesn’t necessarily mean that you are organised, being organised means, readily finding things when you need them.

Things do get chaotic at times, especially with having young kids, but when you have a good system, a routine and discipline it is easy to put things back into place in a short time.

The benefits of being organised is that:

1.    You can readily find stuff because there is an underlying order and discipline to put things back where they belong after using them.

Have all your possessions at your fingertips by having everything you own have a home. In this instance the kids’ toys were kept only in the playroom, if they were to have been elsewhere, they would be taken back to where they belonged, i.e. in the playroom and put into their respective containers.

2.    Less stress – because you know where things are kept

Mary knew what her children owned and what they loved, she didn’t stop them playing and wasn’t stressed about all the stuff. Everything they owned had a home but they still needed to learn the discipline of packing up after they had played, keeping the sets together, which at this stage still fell on Mary and the domestic.

3.    Managing time – getting things done by prioritizing and focusing on one thing at a time enhances productivity and you can work more efficiently

First of all, by knowing where everything is and putting things back, you save time not having to look for stuff. By scheduling play dates for the older kids, we got so much done in a little space of time, we could focus on getting things sorted and getting ready for the relocation.

4.    Save Money – eliminating duplication and buying quality items

The hand-me-downs for each child would be critically scrutinized, cleaned and placed in labelled containers in the top cupboard for the specific child. Cheap plastic toys were donated and only quality toys kept.

5.    Peace of mind as you are in control of your life

I have seldom seen a mother that has a little baby go about a move in such a calm manner, taking everything in her stride. She was only that, because she had everything carefully planned and was habitually organised, not only for the relocation but for life.

6.    Being decisive helps keeping you organised

You need to make decisions all the time. Whether they be about your goals, schedules, important documents, clothing and stuff at home. If you can make quick decisions about stuff, the battle of unwanted items and to-do’s that clutter your days will be eliminated and you would be organised.

Mary was decisive about every aspect of her life and even with four kids she was in control of her house, her life and being happier for it!

How we conceive our possessions, how our time is spent and what is of important to us changes constantly and needs revaluation to see whether it is still of importance. Decisions need to be made all the time otherwise we get stuck in the past with lots of clutter and can’t move forward.

If everything is in its place and you have a place for everything you will find things that you need when you need them. This will give you peace of mind and the knowledge that whatever happens, things are in place for you to quickly put things back into order should you need to.

I just love being organised it makes me breathe easier!

Heidi Meyer