organizing — Organization — t.His

Finding Your Big Why- The motivation behind everything you do

So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the whole “big why” extravaganza.

Do you know what I’m talking about?

Your “big why” is your motivation behind everything. The thing that keeps you going when things suck. The thing that punches you in the gut and kicks you in the butt when you want to give up.

It’s something uniquely yours and once you figure it out? No one can ever “unfigure” it out of you.

I figured it was time to let you guys in on MY big why. The REAL reason why I organize other people’s stuff for a living.

In a nutshell?

I think home and family are the most important things on Earth.

I mean, yeah, I think organizing is fun. And yeah, it comes naturally to me. The thing is? Those two things aren’t enough.

You see, I wanted to do this whole professional organizer thing WAY before I actually started doing it. I kept hitting roadblocks though.

How Organized is Organized Enough? Two Questions To Ask Yourself

I’ve got a confession to make.

No, it’s not that I think Kid Rock is hot. Or that I love El Caminos. Or even that I once snorted Pixie Stick. Intentionally. (I’ll tell you THAT story some other time. It was in the name of science.)

I mean, yeah, all of those things are true but this?

This is BIG.

This could change the way you think about me. Forever.

Ready?

My name is Brenna, and I’m a professional organizer, and my closet isn’t color coordinated.
WHAT?!

My name is Brenna, and I’m a professional organizer, and my spices aren’t alphabetized.
GASP!

My name is Brenna, and I’m a professional organizer and, more often than not, my underwear drawer is messy.

WOW!

You have no idea how good it feels to get that off my chest.

WHEW!

I feel like a new woman!!

Now, you wanna know something else?

My name is Brenna, and I’m a professional organizer, and my home is perfectly organized for my family and me.

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.

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.