007 - Defining Housework Part 3 - Organization

Learn more at organize365.com/podcast/defining-housework-organization

In November of 2020, I did a two part podcast on the four kinds of work in business (361 & 362). It turns out, there are also four kinds of housework, and I introduced these in Podcast 418. There are many of these business concepts that also equate to our homes, we just don’t think of running our household like it is a business. We hear a lot about work/life balance as though these are two separate ways of getting things done. There are so many parallels between your day job and your home job. 

A few podcasts ago, I shared that Organize 365 is pursuing research about organization. One of the first challenges we faced is that we do not have a common vocabulary around work inside the house like we have for work in the workplace. As part of our research, we needed to define the words we were using in the survey questions. That meant, we needed to define housework. This is the third of a four part series that defines and explains the different kinds of work we all do inside of our homes. 

Today, I am sharing some details about the third kind of housework - organization. Organizing is a completely optional kind of work you do inside of your home. However, organization really impacts our overall sense of well-being. UsingStephen Covey’s matrix, organizing is important, but not urgent. 

As I share in Organization is a Learnable Skill, I first started getting organized with my Sunday Basket®. This weekly review of all of my commitments helped me to move from reactive to proactive by considering what was truly urgent and important in my life. The Sunday Basket® also helps to clarify thinking about what to-do items have significance. Significance, as Rory Vaden explains it, is about the future impact of decisions. You can hear more in podcast episode 386and on my YouTube book review. 

Organization tasks keep the home decluttered, organized, and productive. An organized home is one where each item has a place to be, gets put away in that place, and can be found in its designated place. Organization is an investment of time today for exponentially more time in the future. 

In this podcast, I also share a ton of findings from the recent Organize 365® research. Learn how many Americans feel organized at home and what keeps them from achieving their organizational goals. I also share the different ways men and women feel when a home is finally organized - listen in to hear which group is relaxed and which is relieved!