Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
Organized for Life
Last time, I suggested being mindful and noticing how you do things that you do regularly. I bet you discovered there are many tasks you do consistently. Whether it’s flossing your teeth, putting on your makeup every morning or booking your summer vacation in February, there are things that you do the same way because you know it works. I’m just asking you to bring that level of attention to more of the things that you do. A lot of those things may not seem important. But they are.
I made cultivating consistency the last step because it’s the secret sauce that makes every one of the preceding steps work better.
The thing about cultivating consistency is that, like 10-minute maintenance and last sweep before bed, it gets easier. (If it doesn’t get easier, maybe you’re making it too complicated, or trying to develop to many habits at once). If you focus on a task, and work on being consistent about it, the task will become routine, whether it’s the time you wake up and go to bed, when you run the dishwasher or when you pay your bills. Just like those habits you’re already consistent with— like flossing your teeth and putting on your makeup: once the habit is established, it doesn’t take much thought. This, of course, is the ultimate goal. You want to cultivate consistency because then you don’t really have to think about these things.
Yes, you want a lovely home, but you don’t want to spend a whole lot of time thinking about it, right? You’ve got bigger fish to fry. I get it. I’ve read The Feminine Mystique and The Women’s Room. I don’t advocate the fetishization of housework, but I want you to cherish your home. When you’re consistently dealing with the mail so you don’t end up with that same pile on the kitchen counter, it’s a way of honoring your home. When you consistently hang up the outfits you didn’t wear, instead of draping them over your fabulous chaise lounge, you get to enjoy that chaise.
Cultivating consistency may seem like drudgery, but in actuality it opens you up to enjoy your home and the possessions that you love. I know that I can write better, enjoy my friends and family more, and waste less time searching and stressing out, when I am consistent in my habits.
So lean into the mundane, and watch how it frees you up for the stuff you really cherish… and summer is the perfect time for that.