Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
Cultivate Consistency
We have reached the last of my seven steps: consistency. My favorite, it is really the cornerstone of an organized life. Every one of the steps we’ve discussed so far will only work if you practice them consistently, and any habit will flourish when you practice it consistently.
To cultivate consistency, you are going to have to be mindful. That means you need to slow down and turn your attention to things that may seem unimportant, and you might not think are worthy of your attention—but they are, I promise, and the rewards will be great.
Here are some exercises to practice cultivating consistency. There are many others, but these are particularly useful for most of my clients:
Folding: If you spend a little time making your drawers neat, you should discover that a particular way to fold works better for you (folding jeans in thirds or rolling camisoles, for example). Being consistent in how you fold things will ensure that it all fits back in beautifully, every time.
Hangers: When you take something off a hanger, return the empty hanger to the far right of your closet (or far left, it you are left-handed). That way, you know where the hangers are when you want to hang things up.
Filing: Alphabetically, by subject categories—how you file things is up to you—but once you decide, be consistent. For bonus points (and rewards), make the labels consistent: all handwritten, using a label maker, lowercase or all caps, any way is fine, but just choose one. It will be easier on your eyes, and soothing to your soul.
Chores: Doing laundry and grocery shopping at the same time (or times) each week will not only keep you in a good rhythm, it will also make it easier to maintain control of your inventory in the kitchen as well as the closet (and the linen closet too!).
Summer may seem like a hard time to cultivate habits—we travel more, kids are home from college or off at sleepaway camp, and all our usual routines are upended. However, we also tend to slow down a little bit over the summer. That’s a perfect opportunity to practice mindfulness and observe your habits. Try this: Just notice how you do things. What things do you do the same way every time, and where are you all over the place? Try to bring some thoughtfulness to your everyday tasks and see if you can’t gently, slowly, begin to cultivate consistency. It may take a while to flourish, but when it does, the rewards will be bountiful.