Clarifying "Does it spark joy?"

As of late, many of my clients have been reading (or have read) Marie Kondo's  "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up".  "How can I explain that keeping a gray t-shirt doesn't give me joy but I want to keep it?" "Does it give you joy?" is the modus operandi of this philosophy of purging.  Let's break it down...

1.  Does this item (let's talk clothes) have a valuable use? This means,

IT'S INCREDIBLY COMFORTABLE

I LOVE HOW IT FITS, IT MAKES MY (insert body part here) LOOK GREAT.

I NEED IT FOR WORK.  AND, ALL OF THE ABOVE

If YES to any of these, KEEP.

2.  Does this item (let's talk Tchotchkes!) bring me joy?

MY MOM/DAD/RELATIVE/FRIEND/BOSS GAVE IT TO ME  Even if your mother (et.al.) is deceased, if that item doesn't remind you of them and illicit thoughts of lovely memories, it becomes a random object.  Mom wouldn't mind.  KEEP what reminds you of the good things. Donate the rest.  Someone needs or wants it more than you.

3.  THIS WAS EXPENSIVE.

It doesn't have the same monetary value that it used to.  The only way to deal with these items/clothes is to sell!  I have some great designer "stuff" in my house.  But if I Google the value, I find often that it may only be worth a fraction of its price.  DISCLAIMER! If your item is worth selling, it will become part of a "to-do" list (ie. adding the item to a SELL pile in a corner of a room and will have to actually be listed and sold.) Then research what people will offer to buy it for.  If it's not worth the time to list it, LET IT GO! Housing these item wastes mental energy and valuable real estate in your home.

Let me know your thoughts!!!!

Basics When Working With a Pro Organizer

Wow. Check out that five head.

When clients call,  I most commonly hear...

I'm already an organized person but I need help...

I'm already an organized person but I need a system...

Calling a professional organizer is like calling a personal trainer.  We can walk into a gym and "work out." However, most people call a trainer because they need the extra push to actually get to the gym and get the proper feedback from someone who's focused on their goals.  The first step of this process when working with your organizer/trainer, is to go through everything with a fine tooth comb.  This forces you to be very specific when making decisions. When an objective-outside eye is present to assist you, you are forced to look at every item and make a  SPECIFIC decision.

Organizing is first and foremost about MAKING DECISIONS.  

Our personal stuff contains hidden meanings and values.  A professional organizer forces you to look at why any object is taking up space in your home.   I/We work collectively with you to decide whether or not something is valuable enough to Donate, Keep, or Sell. (Or what my boyfriend affectionately calls "The Donkey Kong System.)

DONATING...Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent's, etc. literally create jobs from our donations.  When something you think SHOULD be worth what you paid for it, it probably isn't true.  A classy jacket from St. John or BCBG that you spent $200+ for is no longer worth that price.  Now, someone can get a job. Someone who normally wouldn't be able to buy something that made them look professional at a job interview, because YOU donated something they could afford.  AND, Goodwill specifically has an employment program providing services to individuals with disabilities and who are seriously and persistently mentally ill.  Which, come on, is awesome.

KEEPING...You love it. It has real sentimental value.  It's worth holding on to because when it comes back into style you are proud that you've held on to vintage greatness. 

SELLING...If you believe something you own is worth selling, then that becomes a priority, ie, part of a "To Do" list.  I'm going to create a blog for my favorite places to sell, wait for it...  If it is not worth your time to sell online or take to a re-sale shop it is not a priority.  Hence, take these items to donate.  Someone will probably need that item more than you ever will. Refer to Donating paragraph above.

TRASHING... No professional organizer worth your time and money will force you to get rid of anything or do it "their" way.  I/We have made it our duty to ask the right questions to streamline your choices, and make your life more efficient.  

There is no one system to organize.  Organizing is personal and specific.  However, if you can clearly make decisions about items that enter your home you are already heading toward a clutterless and and more organized space.

Tah Dah!

How to Make Organizing Perfect For You and Your Brain

Being a professional organizer, I never organize the same way for each of my clients.  Everyone functions differently.  I can color code, alphabetize , and beautify everything, but the question is, “Is it going to stay that way?”  “Will I put it back in the same place each time?,” is a question you need to ask yourself.  It’s about form AND function.  For example: hair brushes. If you are honest with yourself you know that you can’t deal with brushes on the counter and you also know you can’t deal with putting them in a vanity cabinet. A reasonable alternative, in this hypothetical case, is a brush drawer or brush basket under the sink.  It’s easily accessible.  Then your  aesthetic comes through when you buy that cute little basket that perfectly fits!

The bottom line of organizing is prioritizing and decision making.  This constant decision making about what is important to us and WHY it is important to us can cause mental fatigue. Check out this article on LifeHacker.

This is why we find organizing our shit so incredibly daunting and exhausting.   Physical clutter and mental clutter cause the same final result: stress and inefficiency. 

Also, go easy on yourself. Be careful not to second guess or obsess over your decisions.  Nothing will ever be “perfect”.  Allow your space to expand and contract.  I can obsess over perfecting a space to make it look the way a picture in a magazine does. I have to remember that idea doesn't exist. Those pictures are taken with a crew and quite a bit of production. A space is perfect when it's efficient and pleasing to the eye. And even that should be constantly changing. As in everything, we expand and contract as our universe does and so do the spaces we inhabit. Sometimes we nest and sometimes we purge.  And that, is perfect.