Written by: Liz Crosswell, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Am I organized? That’s a question people ask themselves all of the time. My clients often ask me this. What they are asking is, How do they stack up to my other clients? I’m not sure that they are asking the right question. It doesn’t matter how organized they are compared to other people, it matters how organized they feel. The feeling of being organized is important for many reasons. Being organized helps make us feel more in control of our lives. That’s a big statement… to be in control of our lives… At least in control of the things we can control. The physical clutter in your home and in your life has way more of an impact on you and your family than you realize. Clearing your space, clears your mind. Being organized saves you money. I realize that that sounds a little far-fetched, but let me give you some examples.
Your closet: where you start and end every day. When clothes are piled up and smashed together, you don’t know what you have. You can’t see what you have, so instead of shopping your closet, you go shopping. We actually wear about 20% of what we have in our closet. Go through your closet, piece by piece, and ask yourself when was the last time you wore it? If you haven’t worn something in 2 years, you aren’t going to wear it. Make more room for the things you actually wear. To make your closet feel more organized, buy matching hangers. This may seem silly, but when all of your hangers match, your closet feels so much more organized.
Another example is in your pantry. Instead of taking an inventory of what is in your pantry, you just keep buying the same stuff you always buy. You buy pasta every time you go to the store, not realizing that you already have 4 boxes in there. Eventually, you have to start throwing food away because it’s been sitting there so long that it is now expired. In my business, my biggest hurdle is clients who buy in bulk. Ugh, the bulk shopper! Buying industrial sized mustard is great if you run a restaurant or a day care, but for most families, they never get through all of it before it goes bad. Buying a 12-pack of soup takes up a whole lot of room in your little pantry and you will probably get sick of that flavor before getting through all of the cans. Wasting food is not saving money.
My last example of how organization affects us, is how it affects our kids. Most people think their kids don’t notice the clutter in their homes. When kids feel organized, they have more self-confidence and they do better in school. Giving everything a place in a child’s study space, allows them to focus on what they are learning with fewer distractions for them to get side-tracked.
I will be contributing to Brainz Magazine for the next 12 months. If there are any organizational topics you would like me to focus on, please email me at info@crosswellorganizing.com.
Liz Crosswell, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Liz Crosswell worked through several early career endeavors before discovering her passion for professional organizing. Once she did, it wasn’t long before she founded Crosswell Organizing – a full-service organizing firm dedicated to discerning homeowners in Houston’s most premier neighborhoods since 2008. While CO calls Houston home, the team will travel to the ends of the earth to help a client organize a vacation home or manage a move.
