5 Tips on Discipline to Live Organized

One of the comments I get is, “I bet your house is very organized.” I’d be lying if I said, “yes.” Truth be told, life gets crazy and busy at my house too. What I can say is discipline is what has made a huge impact in my quest to live organized.

What is discipline? According to Google, it is the practice of training people or an activity that provides mental or physical training.

Discipline is an action that takes practice to achieve a desired outcome. (That is my thought on discipline!)

Here are 5 disciplined actions to help you live organized:

1. Make your bed. Did you know that making your bed each morning is living organized? It actually makes your bedroom look less cluttered and put together. This gives you the first win of the day! Of course, having no clutter on your bed is why you can make your bed. That is organized!
2. Before you go to bed, set up the next day. By looking at your planner, you can get the items ready that you will need for the next day. Suggestion: pack your lunch, get out your clothes, take out or prep the parts of the meal for the next evening, this saves time.
3. Exercise. Taking care of yourself is a discipline that benefits ALL areas of your life. If you’ve never exercised before, start by going for a walk each day. For me, exercise and organization are deeply connected. When I lived in clutter and disorganization, I had no time to workout. Once I started my organizing journey, I had more time. Now, I’ve come to notice when I don’t workout (except for rest days), I find myself less organized.
4. Creating a daily/weekly schedule. The discipline of creating schedules is for prioritization, intentionality and accountability. These are all facets of living organized. Productivity is the byproduct of all of this. Think about how good it feels to get things done. Now, imagine a life that is built around this discipline. Suggestion: Set up the weekly schedule taking into consideration ALL of the activities for the week. Create a daily schedule that is more detailed or as detailed as you need to feel organized taking into account ALL of the activities and prioritizing your top 3 things that must be accomplished in the day.
5. If you get it out, put it back. Now I know this sounds contrite, however, it’s 100% true! When I find myself disorganized and cluttered, it’s usually a result of what I didn’t do. Putting things away when you are done with them is strong discipline in living organized. For many, this is a good place to start. Walk through your house and simply put things back. Notice the difference in your home? It’s not fancy or complicated, it is just action. The continued action is where this becomes your discipline. Suggestion: Go through your home at the end of the day and put away anything you see laying around from the day. This works for people of all ages. Children too, can be taught to put their toys away or their clothes into a hamper at the end of the day.

There is no magic wand that can help you become organized. It will take action and then it will take building habits that keep the actions going. The five disciplines shared above are easy to implement and start today! Pick one and work on each day for at least seven days before you move on to another discipline. Building good habits is a process and the goal is to have them be sustainable.