We share how we needed to define a shared language in order to collect data and discuss solutions. The submitted article is titled The Role Women play in the 21st Century Home and Gender Equality- A State of the Art Literature Review. As soon as it is available, we will share a copy of the publication on our research page at organize365.com/research.

My initial hypothesis was that women were doing more work at home than men. Interestingly, those are not the results of our research! Members of younger generations share housework far more equitably than we expected. Gender roles have changed and we need solutions for all genders, all age groups, and all types of households. Organize 365® is adjusting based on this information. 

The literature review covers four major topics in the home: cueing and goal attainment, gender roles, female entrepreneurship, and future research. Listen in for a sneak preview of all these topics.

Today, I am excited to announce our very special guest, Sarah Dyson, PhD. I want to introduce you to Sarah who is our new lead researcher here at Organize 365. She is the reason we have been able to launch our research efforts. Sarah has been a listener since 2014 and she has done the 100 Day Program and uses several Friday Workboxes. 

Sarah is passionate about research because, as she explains, it can be used to find evidence and data to solve almost any problem. After Episode 365, she reached out to Lisa to offer her services and experience to assist Organize 365 to conduct empirical research to prove that the Organize 365 systems work. She has helped us pivot from business research to real, rigorous, significant, academic research.

As Lisa explains, Organize 365 has a great foundation and is building the systems to support what is coming, but we definitely need the help of our audience and supporters to bring our mission and vision to life. Sarah is one of many people who have stepped up to join us - and there’s always room for more!

Sarah and Lisa share about the IRB, literature review, survey construction, and some specific definitions we used in the research. One of the most mind blowing things is that there are no standard definitions of “housework” in the US. Sarah and I talk about four major kinds of housework that we focused on in this first research study - cleaning, maintenance, tasks of daily living, and organization were all defined and studied separately. We also talk quite a bit about how gender roles, depression, and anxiety all play into how we deal with housework.

For more information on the Organize 365 research - check out organize365.com/research

I want to talk with you about the Weight of Paper in American Households. I began talking about paper in 2012, when I shared a DIY version of the Sunday Basket® that transformed my paper organization at home. At that point, I had been using my own Sunday Basket® for ten years. I began using this paper organization system when I had two kids under two years old, and I needed a way to get my actionable to-do’s actually accomplished. I needed a way to manage the mail, the kitchen counter piles, and the kids paperwork. Looking at random papers all over the house kept me reactive, and I wanted to be more proactive and effective when managing my home. 

For 2022, we are adding to the Lisa glossary. This week, we are talking about the Organize 365® Research projects. 

No matter when you begin your transformational journey (or when you need to reset or restart), this information will be here as a reference for you. Listen in as I teach you about the ideas and beliefs that are at the core of everything I teach and how I approach organizing.

Several years ago, as I was writing the Organize 365® vision, I knew that I wanted to conduct research to bring to light the organizational needs of Americans. I want to be the go-to resource for knowledge about home and paper organization.

I legitimately had no idea how to do research surveys and data analysis. Recently, I have been learning about the difference between market research and academic research. Organize 365® is now sponsoring academic-level study and third-party data collection backed by Harrisburg University. 

Research always starts with a hypothesis — what you think the result will be. I wanted research results that showed that women are doing the majority of the work at home. But, that’s now what we found. We have started to share our initial research findings.

As I learn more about research, we really end up with more questions. One of the steps in research is to define every term used in study surveys. For example, you cannot ask a participant about “mental health” because that term is too broad and open to interpretation. However, you can ask about anxiety or depression. 

When we developed the first survey, I needed to figure out how to define “housework.” The research questions ended up focusing on four different types of housework.

Cleaning - Cleaning is related to the dwelling and covers any task a cleaning company would do. Learn more back inPodcast 422. 

Tasks of Daily Living - These are tasks related to the person regardless of where they live. These are the tasks defined by Social Security Disability and include things like preparing food, consuming food, running errands, planning meals, and washing laundry. Learn more back in Podcast 424.

Maintenance - is an optional housework activity where the property owner makes an additional infusion of money into their investment (property) to maintain and improve their property. In the long run, maintenance expenses increase the value of the initial investment. Learn more back in Podcast 428. 

Organizing - is an optional housework activity where a person makes an investment of current time for a future return of time. This is completely optional and customizable. Time spent today organizing results in an exponential time in the future. Often this involves setting up systems of organization and can be applied to renters and owners. Learn more back in Podcast 426. 

Literature Review 

As part of academic research, researchers look at other studies done on similar topics. The Organize 365® review looked at the role of women in the 21st century home. As I mentioned above, I thought women were doing all of the housework. It turns out that everyone thinks they are doing the majority of the work at home. There is so much work to be done.

Defining housework and recognizing these four areas makes housework feel overwhelming and never-ending. As women become more effective at articulating their role in housework, families will be able to better understand how much work is being done and proactively decide if the work should continue to be done at all. 

Our next study survey has been completed and we are busy analyzing the results. Learn more back in Podcast 430.

#myextra5 

The Sunday Basket® consistently saves people at least five hours a week by getting organized and being proactive.Through organization, you get extra time, and we all need more time. Follow or tag Organize365® on Instagram and share how you are spending your extra time once you get organized! — #myextra5