Time. We all have 24 hours in a day. The question is, how do we use the time we have? How often do you hear, “I don’t have time for that.” Is it that we don’t have time, or we don’t take the time to do “that”?

Statistics from the National Association of Professional Organizers say that we spend one year of our lives looking for lost and misplaced items. Our most misplaced items include our TV remote, phone, keys, and glasses. Those are items we use regularly, so why do we misplace them and lose valuable time looking for them?

A statistic I read was that more than half of people are regularly late to work or school because of their search for these items.

Another statistic I read was that we lose up to nine items per day that we end up searching for. Is it because we have too much stuff, or is it because our stuff is not organized enough to find things? Maybe it is because we don’t have a definite place for the things we use regularly. Or that we don’t take the time to put away what we do have where it belongs.

According to NAPO, we can eliminate 40% of housework in an average home by taking the time to declutter. As my out-of-state parents were aging, I would go through boxes of stuff they would have stashed away in corners or under beds. It was usually unsorted papers they had done nothing with. Most of it went to recycling after we looked through it. The house was so much easier to vacuum without the extra clutter on the floors. It was interesting that, when I came home to visit, they started asking me to pull boxes that we would go through together.

“A place for everything and everything in its place.” How easy to say it, but how hard it is to do it.

What would happen if you hung hooks by your entryway to hang your keys when you got home? What about a decorative box to hold your TV remote that was right by the TV? How about a container or two where you can drop your glasses? What if you put your phone in only a few places in your home so you don’t have to look everywhere for it?

Losing items can be very stressful and frustrating. But we continue to let it happen. How many people just go out and buy more because they can’t find what they are looking for? I have been a witness to this many times in my organizing with people. They are often surprised how many of something they have when we are finished sorting through their stuff. Think how much money could have been saved if there was a place for everything and it was always put back.

Growing up, we had one scissors that all nine of us used. If it went missing, we could track it down by who used it last, as it was constantly being used.

Everyone can start to declutter and organize. Often, it’s a case of lack of interest in organizing and decluttering. Sometimes, it is because you don’t know how to start. Whatever your schedule, you can start by cleaning up something daily — say, setting a timer for 30 minutes or an hour. Or you could set a certain block of time each weekend for working on it.

You can also get help from a friend, relative, or professional organizer. I can’t tell you how many people I talk with that say they need help but never take the next step to actually set up an appointment. Do we not take the time, or do we have no interest in changing our situations?

When you let lack of order take over your life, you waste both time and money, along with the frustration and stress of losing items. All of that being said, how can you not take the time to be organized?