But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. - 1 Corinthians 14:40
I'm a really organized person. In my brain, that is. While my world is subject to more clutter that I'd care to admit, I long for a way to stay organized in a more meaningful way. However, I'm not willing to be a dictator to my family or get caught in the continuum of nonstop cleaning in order to do it. I've had to lower my standards, with two young whirling dervishes in my presence, but that does not have to mean that all hope is lost.
I might not win any awards from Good Housekeeping, but I'd like to introduce you to my "Fabulous Five". It's actually really simple, and it works from where you are now in life. The Fabulous Five has worked so well for me in the last month that I have managed to declutter my hall closet, purge and change out my kids' off season clothes, reorganize the board game and puzzle cabinet and see visible, practical improvements in the orderliness of my home. All without killing myself, staying up inordinate hours or missing out on the fun stuff of life.
So here is my Fabulous Five in a nutshell: When you walk into a room, find five things that are out of kilter and put them away. That's it. Just five things. You could either put them away, throw them away, or put them in the right room. If you don't know where it goes, you can put it in a holding basket until you decide where to put it. But, it's got to go someplace! It may sound too easy to be true, and if you have a lot of clutter, finding five things will take two nanoseconds. However, this concept really works for two reasons: 1) It does not require a huge amount of time. and 2) You can do this at ANY time - whether the kids are around or not.
You may not think that this will amount to anything, but if you put just five things away consistently every day, you will see change. It may also get trickier to find your five, which is another sign that you are making headway.
Now, you skeptics out there are already cringing. You're thinking, "Yeah, right! My kids will just undo anything I try to do!" That's why there's another key to my Fabulous Five. Toys don't count!! There are two good reasons for this. 1) The kids should be picking up their own toys and 2) If there is a constant battle with toys, you may have too many. Put away some of their toys at least temporarily, so that you are not constantly picking up the same things. (I get my kids to do their own Fab 5 when they want to play with the “next thing”!)
As long as you consider organization a slow and steady marathon and not a sprint, you will see improvements. I'm not winning any speed cleaning records, but I'm able to accomplish something even in the midst of chaos.
Paul's admonition above, to the Corinthians is in reference to how they should conduct worship. However, you really can apply it to all aspects of life, because when you do things in an orderly way, you can focus on the things that are really important in life, and not just clutter.
