Disorganized? Blame It On The Universe!

Entropy. It’s not often you read an article on organizing that begins with a brief introduction to the second law of thermodynamics, but today is your lucky day! Especially if you’ve been getting down on yourself for being a little less than organized.

The second law of thermodynamics is a universal law that gives information about the evolution of a system over time typically towards a state of disorder. At the very basic level entropy is the measure of disorder and in fact nature strives for maximum entropy i.e. maximum disorder (I can just feel the Physicists around the world cringing as it’s really not this simple).

It’s not simple but it serves as a good way to think of impermanence of objects, organizing and why it’s always a struggle to maintain order.

Everything, if left alone and unmaintained, will eventually decay to a point where it’s no longer usable, in fact it may not even resemble what it was initially. This is normal and should be expected. Nothing lasts forever and thinking the opposite will only lead to great disappointment.

This is not only true for physical objects but also relates to organizing and maintaining order in your home, office, car etc…

I’m sure I’m not the only who has had this happen:

I take a look around and think wow this place is a mess – kids toys scattered across the floor, my coffee mug is still on the table, dog toys and papers are everywhere. I should really clean this up. So I do. I take 20 mins and restore order. I take a look around and breathe a sigh of relief thinking…ahhh that’s better!

Then it happens almost spontaneously it’s a mess again! But I just cleaned it?!?

Fighting for order is something I’m sure you face everyday I mean that’s why we do the nightly reset or 20 minute quick clean right? But how can you reduce the battle, stress less and relax a bit more?

Do what you can and go with the flow

1. Keep it clean. One of the best examples of the positive effect keeping a space clean to slow it’s natural progression into disorder is a public restroom. Ever notice how a public restroom that is clean, I mean immaculate, tends to stay that way for a long time? Very few people want to be the first person to leave a paper towel on the floor, or water all over the counter of an otherwise immaculate public restroom. If you miss the bin, for example, you are more likely to pick up the paper towel and make sure it goes in. However, if there is already a pile on the floor and the general state of the bathroom is a mess most people are more likely to just leave it. From this point the decay of the bathroom is rapid.

The same goes for your home. If you have made a conscious effort to clear off every horizontal surface you’ll think twice about dropping the mail, newspapers or magazines wherever and creating clutter. On the other hand, if your place is generally untidy and has it’s fair share of clutter already, it’s easier to just “add it to the heap”.

2. Think things through. Before you make any decision think through how much effort it will require to maintain an ordered state.

As an example, our house has a rather long driveway which is not paved. I’m sure the previous owners considered the options and decided to go with compact gravel as it’s possibly more convenient from an installation point of view and it’s less expensive than paving. While making a decision based on price seems like an okay idea in this scenario, with a bit of looking into the future they may have seen what a pain weed control is. Pull one weed from the driveway and 10 more pop up in its place. But…this is the natural progression of the gravel driveway and it’s something we will constantly battle with until we make a significant change, like pave it.

3. Accept that things don’t last forever. Anyone who tries to sell you a product that promisses to solve all of your problems is either lying or has some great insight into something no one else does. Based on what I’ve witnessed so far, odds are it’s the former. There is no one system that will work for everyone in any situation. Even a system that works for you now may not work for you a month, a year or 5 years from now. Systems evolve and change this is normal and should be expected.

If you’ve found a system that works for you now great. But if, and more likely when, that system no longer works (i.e. you’re fighting it every step of the way) change it. Sit back for a bit re-evaluate and take a different approach. Nothing lasts forever so roll with the punches and try not to get too attached to one particular way of doing something.

The thing to remember is that no one is perfect, fighting entropy to maintain some sort of order is an experience we all have in common. Even people who write about organization and appear to have everything “just so” ALL of the time, usually don’t. They too are fighting, re-evaluating and re-establishing like the rest of us. The more you can go with the flow and just take things as they come the more relaxed and less stressed you will be.

See also:

On The Concept Of Friction

7 Tips For Cleaning Your Kitchen As You Go

When Life Gives You Lemons…Use Them!

A Real Simple Way to Organize Your Pantry

Photo courtesy of: jef safi