Lessons from the Sock Drawer
Uncategorized
Sep 09, 2024
A little fun fact about me, my organizing journey began in the sock drawer. Kind of strange, I agree. I knew the clutter and disorganization in my life needed to change, I just didn’t know how to make that happen. It happened that my sock drawer had gotten out of control because I really had no time to deal with it while in survival mode. In all honesty, many areas of my home and personal life were in chaos and disorganization. In a moment of helplessness, I opened up the sock drawer and decided on the spot to organize that space. This seemed like an area I could make sense of without a lot of effort. For me, the sock drawer was not of importance because I am the only one who uses this space. I really didn’t have a clear idea on what organizing actually meant. In my mind, I had a vision of all my socks matched up and positioned in such a way that I could easily find them. After about fifteen minutes of emptying the drawer, matching socks and getting rid of anything that had holes or not mates, I had accomplished this task. Here’s what I learned about this experience:
- It didn’t take more than 15 minutes. As with most things in my home, I told myself it would take much longer to do something then what it really would and this would allow me to ignore that task. I began to think about other areas of my home in a different way.
- The sock drawer was important because this process was the impetus for the rest of the house. It also showed me how I could gain time in my day because I didn’t have to continuously go on search parties to find what I need.
- I learned this process was duplicatable and could be applied to every area of home. That was in fact what I did, I started on a mission to live organized by choosing 5 small spaces to organize.
- My mind was clearer than it had been. I had no idea how much sharper my mind could be by clearing out the clutter and chaos. Once I finished the sock drawer, it was as if my mind was awakened from a deep sleep. Each space I organized made my mind sharper. I also could free up a lot of space in my brain from trying to remember where I put things. Once I created a home for the stuff in my house, my brain was able to let go and allow other areas to flourish. My creativity was awakened and this was something I had not seen since elementary school!
- My family also needed the clutter and chaos to go away. My husband told me a calm came over our home once I had finished creating systems that would help everyone live more organized. I worked with each child to help them create systems in their rooms to help them live organized. This made every morning before school to run smoothly, a win-win for everyone!
- I may go backwards from time to time and that’s okay. Once I laid the groundwork for decluttering and creating a system, It became easier to put things back together if they went awry from time to time. We didn’t fall back into the total disorganization that we were once lived in.
- Setting aside a few minutes periodically for maintenance will pay dividends in the long run. This keeps the clutter at bay.
- Periodic purging is good for my soul. There is a freedom in letting go of things. I look forward to it now!
- I learned that doing things a little at a time is what works well for me.
- I found others like me that I could help. This led to me starting Organize You Inside and Out. I had no idea that there were others like me! I kind of felt alone in my shame. How refreshing it was to know I was not alone.
When I reflect back on the ten years that I have been living organized, it seems kind of funny that I started with the sock drawer. What a powerful fifteen minutes that was! If you are trying to figure out how to get the clutter and chaos in your life to settle down to something manageable, find one small area in your home you could declutter.