The Necessity of Order
Order plays an essential role in bringing disparate elements into a unified aesthetic, harmonious whole. Without order, we would live in chaos, feeling scattered and unfocused. Order opens the way to further seeing—you are more apt to be enticed by a garden path that is neatly trimmed than by one overgrown with weeds. Order, because it is not random but disciplined, lays the foundation for more profound seeing and living.
Order on the outside also means there is order on the inside. Our environments are often the exterior reflections of our interior worlds. Order eases and enriches life.
While disorder is easily identifiable, immediately causing unease, the positive presence and effect of order is often subtle. When we see order, we experience a sense of well-being. Having all the necessary elements of your domestic and creative life systematically arranged frees you from unnecessary tension as well as from wasting time. When your house is well organized and the time is right, you are free to do anything you choose because you are prepared. For example, a well-organized clothes closet, with each element of your wardrobe having its own section of the closet is enormously satisfying. You can find your shoes, shirts, ties, scarves, and skirts without having to dig, enhancing the pleasure of dressing and undressing.
Order is not measurable, rather it's an approach to life.
The same holds true for everything in your house and office. To see at a glance where everything is, in view or categorized and stored in a logical storage space for easy use, is calming and reassuring. The more organized you are, the more effective you become, and your capacity to enjoy a full, stimulating life increases.
Being in a space characterized by order, tranquility, and a physical manifestation of your tastes, can soothe you and help release stress.
The better your ability to see, the greater your capacity to visualize the arrangement of objects in a practical, systematic manner. Being well-organized, at its best, aids us in undertaking more creative endeavors, enjoying the process, and gaining pleasure in seeing everything run smoothly. Without order, there is no beauty.
You do not have to be wealthy or have a large house to create a space that constantly reminds you of your own deepest values and hopes and inspires you to realize them.
When your possessions are well arranged, you are ready to cook a meal, set a table, pay a bill, read a book, get dressed, go for a hike, take photos, because everything is neatly in its place. When you have an organized life, you are freer to reach for more visual adventures. If you are arranging flowers, not only do you want the flowers at hand, but you also need to be able to see your vases and containers and look at them for the form, shape, color, and size that are compatible with the flowers. The more interests you have, the more need for putting your different categories of things carefully away so they are shipshape and ready for your enjoyment and use.
No matter what place you call home, the very word strikes a chord deep inside each of us. Home means sanctuary, the place we can rest, relax, enjoy time with friends, learn, grow … and just be. Our homes say a lot about who we are and what we think is important in life.