Benefits of Being Organized and the 7 Positive Effects It Has On Your Health
I’m sure you’ve heard about the benefits of being organized. If you’ve been reading our blog posts for a while, you know that having strong systems in place helps your life become more manageable and stress-free. This is something professional organizers make clear to their clients. Because when we leave your home or place of business, it’s up to you to keep the systems going.
Besides making your life more manageable, systems also come with amazing health benefits. Being organized means having some semblance of control in an unpredictable world. Why not take advantage of it?
So what are some of the top benefits of being organized?
It saves you time
How many hours a week do you think you spend looking for something? Your misplaced wallet, keys, etc. At work — where did you place that specific folder? What happened to your latest meeting notes?
A Forbes study revealed that the average executive spends nearly a month out of every year looking for misplaced documents or information. It also said that women spend a year of their lives selecting their daily outfits!
Did your jaw just drop to the floor? Can you imagine spending an entire year on selecting outfits? Two minutes today and six minutes tomorrow doesn’t seem like a long time. But when you add it up we spend more time searching for items than we do watching TV.
Having systems in place not only helps save you time but also gives you more time to do the things you enjoy doing. That's more time reading a book, watching TV, working out, playing with your kids — whatever relaxes you.
It saves you money
In many studies, the average American says they want more time (which we covered) and money. One of the benefits of being organized is that it actually saves you money. Too often people run to the nearest Ikea or Amazon to buy things they don’t need. Why? Because they think with more storage, they’ll be more organized.
They purchase bins or new pieces of furniture.
Before you put your credit card information in, take a step back and survey your surroundings. More often than not you have storage space available, you might not just be using it efficiently.
When you create storage systems — especially ones that are label-friendly and easy to find — you save money. This is because you're not buying more furniture or bins to store your items. Try and reorganize a storage space before you spend money.
And to learn more about the importance of labeling, check out our blog post about it here.
It reduces stress
Did that fact about how women spend a year choosing their daily outfits stress you out a little? I know I did. Stress and disorganization go hand-in-hand. When you’re unable to find something your stress levels begin to rise. Even if you don’t notice it at first, they do.
Imagine you cut your finger while preparing dinner. It’s nothing life-threatening, but it definitely needs a bandage. Where is your first-aid kit? Do you have boxes of bandages in different areas of the house? Do you have all your first-aid together in a single basket in a closet? If you’re in need of a bandage, who is going to find it faster?
When you have systems in place — like a first-aid basket in ONE place — you find things faster. That immediately reduces stress. Creating a home for everything you have, especially those items you use every day, means less time searching and more time getting to where you need to go.
It increases productivity
When you spend too much time looking for something, the less time you spend on a task that matters. This is especially true in work environments. If you want to be your most productive self, knowing where everything is means more time for you to focus on the actual work.
Organization and productivity are another hand-in-hand combo that improves as your systems get better. It’s important to adapt your systems because what might work for you this year may not work next year. If you want to keep increasing your productivity, keep note of how your systems work. The moment they stop, investigate why and make some tweaks.
It promotes creativity
If you’re a creative person, it can be stifling to be surrounded by clutter and disorganization. It’s not the best kind of environment to promote creativity. Solid systems also give you room to produce whatever creative project you're pursuing.
Writers can’t hope to write well if their desk is covered with clutter. Painters can’t hope to paint if they have nowhere to set their canvas. Musicians can’t hope to compose if their instruments are buried underneath things.
Something you can do to help promote your creativity is to set up a specific area for it. Create a creativity corner or creativity zone. Organize all the materials you would need in this area and use it only for your creative pursuits. Not only will you get a creative boost, but you’ll also work hard to keep it organized once you reap the benefits from it.
It boosts your immune system
A cluttered and disorganized home makes the act of cleaning it a hassle. There’s too much to maneuver around and so you decide not to do it. Allowing dust, pollen, and other pathogens to remain in your house is opening a door for an unhealthy environment.
A clutter-free and organized home makes it easier to dust, wipe down, and mop spaces and promotes a healthy environment. Have you ever dusted a table only to start sneezing afterward? That’s a result of all the dust you’re clearing away. Now imagine only doing that once a year. Or not at all. How much dust are you inhaling while you sleep?
Studies have shown that people with allergies are more healthy in a routinely cleaned and clutter-free home than those who aren’t. If you’re someone with allergies or someone prone to getting sick a lot, the first place you need to look at is your home.
It improves sleep
One of the greatest benefits of being organized is how it improves your sleep. Have you ever taken a long time to fall asleep because you're thinking about things you have to do? Have you ever gone to bed without putting the laundry away and hear it whispering to you in the night beckoning to be dealt with?
A cluttered and disorganized home disrupts sleep. You close your eyes knowing you left things unfinished. There’s a sink full of dishes. Piles of laundry to be put away. Your brain is going a mile a minute wondering when you’re going to get it done. That doesn’t bode well for a good night’s sleep.
But when you know you’ve done everything you possibly can, you rest easy. You put the laundry away instead of scrolling through social media. You washed the dishes and completed all the important tasks for the day, your sleep is undisturbed by stressful thoughts.
Keeping an organized home is a one-way ticket to a healthy lifestyle. Besides saving you time and money, it has the added benefits of promoting creativity, improving your sleep, and keeping you healthy. Systems don’t have to be complicated. They do have to be unique — unique to you and the way you live. And when you find the right systems, it all comes together.
There are many more benefits of being organized, but this list truly highlights the importance it has not just on your lifestyle but on your health and wellbeing.
Dexterous Organizing is a results-oriented lifestyle company for professionals and families in the Washington, DC Metro area. We’re well aware of the benefits of being organized and we want to help you reach those goals. We strive to be assistants and gentle guides in the journey of organization and productivity well-being.
Learn more about us here and then schedule your free discovery call. We’d love to talk about how we can help you.
And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram for daily tips and organizing inspiration.
Resources
https://www.infobloom.com/how-much-time-do-people-spend-searching-for-misplaced-things.htm