I had an “Aha” moment while staying at a hotel over the course of a week. By midweek, I could not wait to have the bathroom cleaned. The bright lighting, white towels and my memory of how perfectly placed everything had been before we started using it made me see the dirt so clearly. I disliked the feeling but loved that it triggered the thought that I needed to clean and tidy up.  

I realized that within three days I could see the dirt in this bathroom, but not at my home. I needed this type of trigger to clean to bring it to the top of my to-do list. Just because it didn’t look like my rugs were dingy didn’t mean that they weren’t. 

And this is where I give a special shout out to my fellow Anosmics. It is more likely that you have seen this word now more than ever as it can be a symptom of COVID. Anosmia means, An-“no” and Osmia- “smell”. I am a Congenital Anosmic which means that I was born without my sense of smell. This is something that I typically only share with my close family and friends or as my “fun fact” during ice breaker activities at meetings. But I chose to share on here now as it has brought me some life lessons and best practices that I think could benefit those that can smell too.  

I have no idea how my children, house, car, food, cats, laundry, myself or anything else smells. I am constantly in a state of trying to find ways to prevent something from smelling bad before someone else has to tell me. Although I do appreciate when someone does tell me, I actually need them to! My refrigerator needs to stay clean and organized because I do not get a whiff of something that went bad in the back of the drawer to trigger me to throw it out. Is that puddle on the floor water from my daughter’s sippy cup, or did the cat have an accident? I need to assume the worst-case scenario. And thank goodness for the magic line that appears on my baby’s diapers when he needs to be changed. So many interesting examples that I could list. 

I share this to all of you to not only bring awareness to life with Anosmia and teach you something new, but as a way to think about organizing differently. I am not telling you to go out and buy white towels and rugs to see the dirt like I did after my hotel “Aha”. Although, I have never washed or have had cleaner bathroom rugs in my life… But I am telling you that you will benefit by organizing and placing items in your home, car, desk, wherever, for you to see and be triggered when something is not its place. Not only will you be able to tidy up quickly and more consistently, but those that you live with will hopefully get on the same program. 

Surface clean and surface organized is like being surface happy. You need to unpack those closets in your home and in your mind and get them set right. Your kitchen may look good on the countertops and that is great. But if your drawers are a disaster and your pantry isn’t functional then there is opportunity to improve for you to feel better and be more efficient on the daily. And while you are re-organizing those drawers, maybe you can multitask and think of what is holding you back from being deeply happy too. 

Happy March and beginning of Spring Cleaning and Organizing my Efficient friends!