I like the idea of being organised. In fact – I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t like the idea of being organised.

Some people may not be so organised and I bet if you asked them honestly, they’d admit that they don’t like being unorganised…

It’s just not a strength of theirs and that is ok. We’re not perfect.

I believe, we all like to appear that we have it ‘all together’. Whatever ‘it’ is. So being organised is a common goal we share as women (and mums).

These people who can’t come to terms with the task of being organised (meaning that everything in life always seems chaotic and out of control) – what do they do?

First of all, you have to agree that life is more enjoyable when you’re organised… and identify the mess.

It seems to be my reality that no matter how much I strive and desire to be more organised, things just end up a MESS!

It’s like I’m creating more of what I don’t want- does this happen to you too?

Some people are better at hiding the mess than others and I think that I probably fall into that category as well.

To the naked eye – my life may seem in good order, well thought out, structured and planned activities – but in reality, it’s a mess! I’m a mess. My life is chaotic and unorganised and I hate that I’m not more organised with particular things.

Maybe it’s just my mind? My mind is chaotic and unorganised and I hate that I cannot keep everything within my grips of control.

I’ve noticed over the years, in different areas of life, that I function better and feel better when things are a bit more organised. So of course I’m going to want to be organised when it’s a natural desire to keep me going.

I go through stages where I let something become so unorganised and chaotic that one day in a mad rush of adrenalin I attack it with my superwoman organising powers and nail that thing into the most organised thing in the world! I know I am not the only one who does this.

It could be the receipts drawer, dockets and invoices shoved in from every angle.. then one day.. in my superwoman organising mood.. I sort them all out into the neatest of neat order and systemise how it can be a bit more functional. (then usually in 3months time, I have to do it all again!)

It could be the Tupperware cupboard.. lids over here, large containers, smaller containers, recycled containers, blue ones, clear ones, odd ones .. (then usually in a weeks time, I have to do it all again!)

It could be the kids clothes drawers.. shirts with long sleeves, shirts with short sleeves, singlet tops, skirts, dresses, shorts, long pants for around the house, town pants, jumpers, cardigans, winter jackets, leggings.. then, slowly but surely it becomes a mystery clothes basket of tangled socks/undies and who knows what that is inside out!

The office…The toys…My washing /sorting/Ironing pile…

The junk cupboard where all the handy stuff goes, like tape, a hammer, lightbulbs, odds and ends, broken bits that need fixing, handy things that could be useful one day.

Of all these things – that become unorganised so quickly and easily – the hardest one to declutter would be my mind. When my life shows unorganised mess (on the outside) my mind is usually racing in a frantic mess of worry. I’m confused as to which comes first. Is it my life making a mess of my mind, or my mind making a mess of my life?

It would appear to me now that the chaos I see around me and try to hide is purely a reflection of what is really happening in my mind. If anyone would want to know what’s going on in my mind – all they need to do is take a look at my ‘I’ll deal with it later’ drawer.

You know when something comes in the mail, sits on the bench, gets moved from one place to another then finally shoved in the drawer because I’m sick of looking at it and promise myself that if it’s in there I will eventually deal with it later .. one day.

Well – I think the only solution here, if I really want to see some organisation in my life, I need to focus on organising my mind.

Instead of letting things just swirl around in a whirlwind  of thoughts and tasks and ideas and moods and feelings and dreams and hopes and goals… I need to structure how I go about each day. How I handle each task given to me and how I handle the things ‘unplanned’ – because really – we are NOT in control. NONE of us HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER. No-one has ever HAD IT ALL TOGETHER, and I am certainly not going to be that one person in the world to conquer the task of being the most organised.

I’ve just got to deal with everything I am served each day and strive to be that little bit better than I was the day before. This is how I find myself leading my kids and it has sure taught  me a very valuable lesson. . . If you want your life to appear organised and be more organised then you first must organise your thoughts. Eliminate all the unhelpful negative thoughts, completely disregard their meaning to you and focus only on what you can do with what you do have.

Instead of sitting amongst the mess wishing it were cleaner or tidier or more in order, do something. Change something. Get on with improving things that little bit better than they were yesterday and you’ll be right.

I am not perfect – my life is not perfect. Trying to make my life look perfect is not going to make me any more perfect. But being organised helps me to stay focused on the things that matter and filter out the things that don’t.