Organizing Obstacle #3 – You’re Afraid Someone Will Take Your Stuff if it’s Too Organized

They let themselves in through the wooden side gate. They walked past the kid’s bicycles laying on the grass and broke the sliding glass door.

10 minutes was all it took for them to grab the computers, jewelry, personal documents, and credit cards.

These guys were pro. They knew where most people “hide” their valuables.

Then they just waltzed out the door—casually, loot in tow. Not a single neighbor even noticed them.

And all this before Jim had lunch at work that day.

“I just feel so violated. And what if my family had been home? It’s terrifying.”

Having your home burglarized is an awful feeling. It robs you of not just your valuables, but of feeling safe in your own home.

After that Jim got security cameras for every room and a bolted-down safe for the bedroom.

Suddenly, he had a new resistance to getting organized.

“I mean, if things were organized, anyone can find anything…including robbers. Maybe being disorganized will stop people from stealing from us.”

And this brings us to Organizing Obstacle #3:

You’re afraid someone else will take your stuff if it’s too organized.

Having your home organized means that things are easy to find…not just for you but for everyone. That can be a very empowering feeling. But for others, being organized just doesn’t feel safe.

The good news is that you don’t have to sacrifice organization (and feeling good in your own home) to make your home safe. There are ways of keeping your valuables hidden without clutter.

No matter what you want to hide, or why you want to hide it…you can keep things safe from others while being organized.

When you’re used to hiding things in plain sight, it may feel strange to plan to hide things…especially in your own home.

To stop using your clutter as a hiding spot, do the following things:

1 – Decide What to Hide: Get clear on what you want to keep hidden. Make a list of the things that you want to keep out of sight in your home.

2 – Create a Strategy: Come up with a game plan for how you can hide these things in plain sight, or tucked away. Labeling can help with this. Labeling a box “checkbooks” invites attention. Using code words like “origami paper” will throw someone off of the scent.

3-Location, Location, Location: Consider putting valuables somewhere they aren’t usually stored. Robbers go straight for mainstream storage areas. The first place they look is in your master bedroom, clothing closet, bathroom, dressers, and under the mattress. Consider hiding valuables in more discreet, rarely visited locations.

4- Make it Difficult: People often go for the easy mark. A locked cabinet or security camera will sometimes deter people who are trying to grab and go.

Wanting to keep things safe and sound makes perfect sense. And you don’t have to keep a cluttered environment to do it.

In fact, the more organized you are, the more in control of your spaces you can be.

Remember, you can have your cake and eat it too…without sharing a bite! (if you don’t want to)

To your safety and freedom,