This morning, I woke up at 6 AM to get my daughter ready for cross country. I pulled open the curtains above the kitchen sink and caught a glance of the thermometer sitting on my window sill. It displayed a chilly-for-July 62 degrees. “It’s the perfect morning for a run,” I thought.

As soon as Kailea left, I got myself dressed, put on my running shoes and hit the concrete. As I started on my run, it struck me how different my current approach to running is than it was just a year ago. Today, I look for excuses to run. I see that the weather is perfect and I simply can’t help myself. I want to get out there and run.

running shoes

Everything changed for me when my running had a purpose—such as training for a race or hitting an aggressive mileage goal. Having a bigger purpose behind my running made me want to do it, as opposed to feeling like I should. This has been a huge momentum shifter.

If you’re losing steam on your organizing  journey, or you’re getting worn out by what feels like a never ending battle to keep your home organized, step back for a moment and consider your bigger purpose. What are you organizing for? What will you be able to do easier, faster or at all, when you’re more organized?

Write down your answers to these questions and keep digging until you find an answer that really excites you. Maybe you’ll picture yourself throwing a party for friends, feeling happy and relaxed because you’re so comfortable in your home. Or maybe you’ll see yourself kicking-back and relaxing with your kiddos, completely guilt-free.

When your reasons for organizing are compelling to you, you’ll see your motivation shift. And as crazy as this may sound right now…you just may start looking for excuses to do a little bit of decluttering and organizing, instead of looking for reasons not to.

So what are you organizing for? Let me know in the comments. 

Happy organizing,

Aby