getting organized — Organization — t.His

Getting Organized- Why Is It Even Worth the Trouble?

Closets full of color-coordinated separates hanging, equally spaced, on matching hangers.

Spices, lined up alphabetically, each jar equidistant from the cabinet’s edge. Each label reflecting the overhead kitchen light just so.

Sigh.

That right there is the sound of contentment as it passes through your lips.

Those ARE things of beauty; there is NO doubt.

As a matter of fact, I firmly believe you’d be hard-pressed to find a person who would willingly choose shirts dangling willy-nilly from hangers left askew or spices teetering devil-may-care out of overstuffed cupboards. Can you say midnight tripping hazards?!

A girl’s gotta be careful though. That beautiful imagery up there? It can be dangerous.
See, it’s super easy to get caught up in the trappings of an outwardly organized life. Trappings that, instead of freeing you from the soul-crushing C.R.A.P. (chaos, resentment, anxiety, and panic) of everyday-ness, serve as just another prison in which we find ourselves locked. Just another failure we find ourselves guilty of.

Gorgeously patterned bins filled just shy of the brim.

Closets full of color-coordinated separates hanging, equally spaced, on matching hangers.
Spices, lined up alphabetically, each jar equidistant from the cabinet’s edge. Each label reflecting the overhead kitchen light just so.

Sigh.

The Cost of Disorganization- Four Ways Disorganization is Costing You Money

Yelling.

Screaming.

Fighting.

Crying.

Cussing.

Self-loathing thoughts.

Blame.

If you’re struggling with organization, some of that sounds pretty dang familiar, doesn’t it? For some people, I’m describing just a regular Tuesday night.

See, most of the time, people who struggle with disorganization are acutely aware of how that disorganization directly effects the environment in which and the people with whom they live.

They realize they fight with their spouse because the laundry is never done. They scream at their kids because their rooms look like they’ve been burglarized. They dump their purse in the middle of the garage because they can’t find their stupid keys and everyone is about to be late for the fourth time this week.

5 Things to Remember When Getting Organized Makes You Feel Like a Failure

I wanna tell you something right now.

Something that, for the past few weeks, I’ve found myself repeating to multiple clients. Something that you probably already know, at least logically.

This whole process of getting organized?

It can make you feel like the biggest loser on the planet.

Like a complete and utter failure.

Worthless.

Defeated.

Pathetic.

It can make you think the absolute worst of yourself and beat yourself up for all the things you haven’t done or should’ve done or could’ve been doing all along for the past decade, so you didn’t end up in the mess you’re currently buried in.

It’s like you’ve got this evil troll who masquerades as the person you wish you were whispering in your ear. Whispering why you won’t ever be able to change. Whispering how you’re the only one who lives this way. Whispering so loudly about your undeniable failure that it blocks out all the other sounds in your life.

So when you find yourself in this situation, what’s a girl (or guy) supposed to do? Just surrender to it? Lie down and willingly drown in the mess?

Heck. No.

Staying Organized: 5 Must Haves to Ditch Old Habits and Maintain Zero

So.

Old habits.

Those suckers die hard, right?

I’m talking Bruce-Willis-circa-1988-kinda die hard. You can try to shove them off a building or pepper them with gunfire or push them down an elevator shaft. REPEATEDLY. And still? No dice.

Essentially, old habits are the cockroaches of our lives--ugly, stubborn, and kinda gag-inducing when you crunch one dead.

The thing is, it’s not a completely hopeless plight when it comes to ditching them. For good. What most people don’t realize is that it’s not as simple as just making a decision not to do them again and being done with. I mean, come on. Do you know how many times I’ve told myself I won’t bite my fingernails anymore? Do you know how many times I’ve cracked my front teeth (I’ve got some bad dental genetics, just FYI; no offense, Mom and Dad.) biting my nails after I’ve sworn to myself I’d never nibble again? It’s an embarrassingly high number of times.

Your Organization Questions Answered: Part 1 (Systems, Labels, and Kid's Artwork)

People ask me questions all the time.

All. The. Time.

As soon as someone figures out what I do for a living, one of two things happen. Either the questions start rapid fire or they slowly back away, first murmuring and then shouting words that sound a whole lot like “She can never come to my house. NEVER COME TO MY HOUSE.”

Now, those questions I get asked? Sometimes they’re just straight up curiosity about the things I have seen, and OH SWEET MOTHER, you should see some of the things I’ve seen. I have seen some STUFF, lemme tell you. Rarely, if ever, do I run screaming and crying in the opposite direction though. Okay, that’s a lie. I actually never run screaming and crying in the opposite direction as long as someone is open for a little bit of help.

If you’re sitting there shaking your head thinking “This chick hasn’t been to my house yet!” Lemme tell you a little secret. There’s always going to be someone who’s in better shape than you are, and there’s always gonna be someone who’s in worse shape than you are. And let’s get this straight right up front- There is no shame in my organizing game.