Why Get Organized?

There are many reasons to get organized.  

Clarity, balance, joy, and flow are a few possible positive outcomes.

But these are just concepts. 

We might ask why organization proves so elusive when it will likely bring such positivity into our lives.

It certainly does not take a social scientist to identify the obstacles that get in our way:

We lack time.  We lack energy.  We lack motivation.  And sometimes our inner life is such a jumble that it’s reflected in our outer world. 

But organization itself is a skill like any other: teachable and learnable.  Some people are born with a natural proclivity to put things in order, others are not, but like any other talent, it can be developed.  The inertia keeping you from learning to organize is not your fault.  Like all aspects of being human, we have our strengths and our weaknesses.  There’s no use wasting time beating ourselves up.  That brain space is put to better use identifying where we need support and how we might go about getting it.

I like to ask my clients this question:  

If you were the creator of your own life, (ps: you are) what would you want it to feel like?  

Do you even know?  Your life should be a thing that you create; something that you hone, choose, and pull together, not just a thing you’ve fallen into by accident.  And if you do feel like you’ve fallen into your life by accident, what would happen if you paused for a moment in the chaos and changed your approach by digging deeper into your bigger questions? 

A considered life is an intentional one.  And an intentional life is a life in your own hands.

Along these lines, it’s helpful to consider our STUFF.  The stuff we surround ourselves with is the habitat in which we live.  We’re constantly buying stuff, gathering it, and collecting it, reaching far beyond our actual needs.  This consumerism keeps us nice and occupied so we don’t have to feel our feelings or have those difficult conversations or think about how scary it is to be alive.

But the thing is, your stuff does not actually solve the problem(s) of being human. 

Beyond what provides for your needs and comfort; and secondarily, the things that authentically bring you delight and brighten your day; your stuff is getting in your way.  I say this because extraneous stuff does not add anything of value.  It drains you, blocks your energy, stresses you out, and sabotages your self-esteem.  It piles up in closets and corners, gathers dust, and hides problems.  It takes up valuable space.  The other bad news is that your superfluous stuff is an obstacle you’ve put there yourself!  I say this, again, not to make you feel bad, but to remind you that the situation is in your hands.  This is your choice to make and your action to take.

Let me be very clear about one thing: perfection is not the goal.  Nitpicking fastidiousness, an illusion of control where nothing is ever out of place, is not the way to live a relaxed and happy life.  The illusion of perfection is literally the opposite of flow.  The point of directing our attention to organizing is to make us feel good, not make us beholden to some impossible ideal.  Once the major space overhaul is accomplished and the systems of flow have been put into place, we can develop the organizing skill of going with the natural rhythms of mess-and-recover, maintaining our lives a little bit at a time.  Things don’t need to pile up because we’re able to easily take care care of the little daily and weekly messes without becoming overwhelmed.  This is just the formation of a habit.  Habits don’t take any energy because they happen by rote, so our attention is free to focus on more important things. 

But where does one get the motivation to get organized if it does not come naturally? 

You ask for help. 

A professional organizer can provide all of the decluttering, sorting, purging, containing, and beautifying you’ll ever need.  But did you know that it’s part of the National Association of Professional Organizers certification to teach you the systems we implement in your home and life?  NAPO members are certified to pass our knowledge on to you, empowering clients to take action for themselves in the future.  Whether you choose Life-Style-ist as your organizing solution in Seattle or identify some other wonderful organizer who fits your needs wherever you are, expect to make room for more freedom, time, energy, focus, and motivation. 

In the end, I think it can be really meaningful to feel gratitude for the things we own.  In the western world, we are drowning in an embarrassment of riches, so much so that we forget what we have.  When we curate our lives and intentionally choose what we have, then we are intimate with our personal inventory and the blessings we’ve been given, and in a position to experience this gratitude full-on.  We can enjoy our homes, welcome our guests, and bask in the ease and simplicity we’ve created.