Do you feel like you need to organise your life? Would it make a difference?
Let’s walk through these two morning routines and decide:
Meet Woman 1:
Woman 1 wakes up in the morning. Late. Because her phone battery died overnight due to forgetting to charge it and she never worked out how to set the clock alarm.
Her cluttered bedside table is piled high with books, loose change, tissues and other bits and pieces.
She throws the duvet on the bed and dumps her pajamas on the floor, panicking about leaving the house on time.
In the shower, the first shampoo bottle she picks up is empty; she really should throw it away. She avoids that weird green body wash and uses the other one. There are so many products in here that some have to be placed in the shower tray. She forgot that she put the towels in the wash last night so has to run dripping wet from the bathroom to the airing cupboard.
She looks around her bedroom and feels stressed. Clothes are strewn around. She doesn’t even know what is clean. She opens her wardrobe, which is full to bursting yet she feels she has nothing to wear. Those trousers don’t fit right except on skinny days. That shirt would be ok had she remembered to sew on the missing button. She settles for a slightly mismatched outfit. There simply isn’t time to give it any more thought.
She runs downstairs feeling harried and enters her cluttered kitchen. She opens a cupboard and a cup falls out. It’s crammed full of cups, which is silly because she doesn’t even use half of them. Anyway, she forgot to pick up milk last night so she’ll have to grab something on the way to work. The resolution to spend less in Starbucks will have to start tomorrow. What IS that in the back of the fridge anyway and how long has it been there? Last nights pans are still in the sink and the diswasher needs to be emptied but there’s no time now. She wishes she didn’t have to face it tonight though because she knows she’ll be home late. She has a fleeting thought that she should take something out of the freezer for later but gets distracted and forgets.
She picks up the bag she used yesterday and dumped on the floor. It doesn’t go with today’s outfit but there’s no time to swap it. She grabs her coat but can’t find the shoes she wants to wear. After a frantic search, she finds them kicked under the table. She hurries out of the door. A minute later, she realises she should have worn her warmer coat, her phone is still dead and she’s forgotten her phone charger.
The woman has left for work feeling anxious and fraught and it isn’t even 8am.
Meet Woman 2:
Woman 2 wakes up in the morning to the sound of her phone alarm and stops it by lifting it off the charging pad that lives on her bedside table. The only other items on the uncluttered space are the book she’s currently reading and the glass of water she knows she likes to drink upon waking.
She makes her bed and takes an extra 30 seconds to fold her pajamas and put them back in a drawer.
In the shower, there are three products, all of which she uses and all of which she loves using. The luxurious smell makes her feel relaxed. She mouth’s a silent thank you that she bought the highest quality towels she could afford. Sure, it means she owns only four instead of a ten old scratchy ones. But they wash so well and don’t take up as much storage space.
She dresses quickly due to today’s clothes being hung neatly on a hook the night before. It only took two minutes to choose the outfit by the way, because her wardrobe is colour coded and organised by garment type. Every item makes her feel great and fits perfectly.
Once the curtains are opened, the bedroom is perfectly straight due to her taking five minutes last night to make sure yesterdays clothes were placed in laundry or put away.
Feeling serene, she walks downstairs, pleased she has time for coffee and breakfast. The kitchen is tidy and clean due to her doing her habitual 10 minute clear up before bed last night.
Her tablet is on its charging station and with a couple of touches to the screen, she is listening to one of her favourite saved albums on Spotify. It is music she specifically chose to motivate her in the morning.
Whilst waiting for the coffee to brew she puts on a load of washing and opens all the curtains downstairs.
The granola she made at the weekend is delicious and she’s thankful that she made enough to last all week. She does a quick check of the fridge to see if anything needs to be added to the shopping list or thrown out. She takes out the meat that defrosted overnight and the extra vegetables which she chopped last night whilst preparing dinner. She throws everything into the slow cooker, adds stock and turns it on. She knows she’ll be back late tonight. so wanted dinner to be quick as well as healthy.
She places her used bowl, cup and spoon in the empty dishwasher and smiles at the fact she loves the style of her crockery and that they all match. It’s the little things!
She checks her command station to see whether there are any reminders written on the calendar for today and takes a photo of the shopping list on the chalkboard for when she visits the supermarket later.
She checks her bag, which was packed the night before. She owns only two work bags anyway but they are both fantastic quality and versatile.
After a quick look at the weather app on her phone, she chooses her coat and puts on her shoes which are in their usual place, a concealed storage cupboard by the door.
The woman leaves for work feeling calm, positive and ready for the day.
Woman 2 sees Woman 1 arrive at work looking like she’s had a bad morning and muttering something about her phone being dead. Woman 2 offers Woman 1 a phone charger. Women 1 smiles her thanks and comments that Woman 2 is so organised. Woman 2 shrugs and smiles. She just always keeps a phone charger at work.
She used to be just like Woman 1 but one day decided to change.
Now, she never really thinks about being organised. It’s just a way of life.
And she is so much happier now.
Thank you so much for reading.
A Tidy Mind.