(Be sure to read The Benefits of Being Disorganized (Part I) http://blog.housefairy.org/did-you-know-you-are-blessed-to-be-disorganized . I wrote about the significance of time and motion studies for the disorganized. I think you’ll be surprised.)

(Part II)

So you've got multiple stacks of paper on your desk and slyly hidden piles under it, three extra kids you didn’t plan  (disorganized women have more babies than organized ones do), and when you get the ironing board out the dog barks at it, BIG DEAL. In my humble, reformed slob opinion, I believe there is actually a price for attempting to be organized for the neat-police who can hold so much authority over our lives. And I think the costs outweigh the advantages.

I heard of one woman whose messy desk was more an annoyance than a hindrance. In her 360 degree review process, some of her co-workers and employees commented that her desk was a disaster and that she appeared disorganized. But, she was highly praised in these same reviews for her timeliness, leadership ability, communication skills, strategic thinking and ability to get things done. She received several promotions throughout her career and is now a vice president with her firm.

A Bradford, PA police chief who actually was fired for not having a neat desk said,

September 24, 2014, by Pam Young

Doing laundry is so simple, so why do we let it pile up and then make such a big fuss about it? There are several reasons, but the first one is, that it's so simple; therefore it’s easy to procrastinate. If we had to haul water from the well and heat it over a fire we had to build earlier, or had to drag our clothes down to the river with homemade soap and a scrub board, we’d have to have a laundry day and we wouldn’t put it off so easily.

One other problem we create when it comes to the laundry is having too many clothes. You can bet if you took the amount of clothing you have today and went back to the pioneer days as you came west to build a log cabin, you’d create your own Oregon Trail with the unneeded duds real fast.

The laundry room is a great place to declutter, because you get a chance to look at your family’s wardrobe and discard rather than launder.

Even though laundry is simple enough a child can do it, it does have a four-part process: wash, dry, fold, put-away and leaving any step out spells trouble. So always keep in mind the four parts.

September 17, 2014, by Pam Young

Have you ever stopped to think that there are benefits to being disorganized? 

You've probably spent a lot of time berating yourself for being disorganized, but there are actual benefits to your disorder!

1. The disorganized get more exercise.

All I ever wanted to be was a wife and mom, so I majored in Home Economics in college. One of the courses was in cooking which I’ve always loved to do. Part of the curriculum included a time and motion study to track our steps while baking a cake.

“By being organized,” Miss Cratzberry, the professor, told us; “you will save valuable time and energy to use on other activities in your homes. Being aware of the steps we take in the kitchen, preparing the family’s meals, is vital to becoming efficient in the daily tasks of homemaking.” I’m sure this study was thought up by some efficiency expert like Miss Cratzberry who never married and never had kids. In fact, one of the lessons in her course study was entitled Handling Servants. (Over the years, that information has sure come in handy for me!)

Back to the cake walk; I remember winning the prize for the most steps taken! One quarter mile! (Actually I didn’t win a prize as it was supposed to be bad news for me, but I decided to turn it around in my 19-year-old mind into a good thing.) Webster defines a time and motion study as: a systematic observation, analysis, and measurement of the separate steps in the performance of a specific job for the purpose of establishing a standard time for each performance, improving procedures, and increasing productivity —called also motion and time study, motion study, time study. This is what I envision my resulting steps to look like.

2. The disorganized don’t have to pay to go to the gym.

Years later when I really was a mom and wife, I never forgot the results of my time and motion test. One day it hit me while I was packing up stuff to take to the gym for an hour workout, that with my gift of taking too many steps in life, it really was a benefit! Because of my attention deficit disorganization, I suddenly realized I was probably getting in a full workout every day. In fact, if I didn’t go to the gym, I’d save the time, energy and money that that activity took from my day. Put that in your time and motion study Miss Cratzberry!

As a parent, you can nurture your children’s imaginations by providing good books that inspire them to imagine and art supplies that give them a way to express their creativity. If they’re musical, be sure to give them access to musical instruments. One of the best gifts you can give your kids is clutter-free space in which to create.

It’s also a good idea to encourage kids to share their dreams when you’re at the breakfast table every morning, as sharing dreams will cultivate the child’s ability to remember their dreams and learn from them. Children love to talk about their dreams, I know because whenever I get the privilege of being with a messy-haired, sleepy-eyed child, I always ask and it always turns into a wonderful and creative discussion. Try it tomorrow morning as you sit and enjoy the start of your day with your kids.