30 Apr Not everyone loves to organize?? (excerpt from Coordinating Chaos)
“We hear the word ‘organization’ all the time and to you it might sound like ‘clean’ or ‘rigid’ or a big ol’ hassle. Especially with recent movements like Marie Kondo or creating a minimalist lifestyle – these ideas are absolutely valid, especially for those of you that don’t love organization as much as I do. And yes! I would argue that simplifying does make things feel less hectic, having things put in place does help produce a sense of calm. But truly, organization doesn’t have to be this extensive. Yay! Organization really is just coordination – and finding the coordination that works for you, your family, and your activities. And since we are all Chaos Coordinators, that means we are all also great organizers. I promise. I’ll show you how to tap into your inner organizer in the following pages.
Whether you think so or not, organization really is a gift that we all have. You may be sitting there thinking, “I’m not organized, my house is a crazy disaster” or “organization stresses me out.” I get it. It IS one more thing to have to think about in an already busy, hectic day. It IS one more thing to have to regulate as your humans are running around and terrorizing your house. I am right there with you. But, according to a study in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, women who described their homes as “cluttered” or full of “unfinished projects” were more depressed, fatigued, and had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than women who felt their homes were “restful” and “restorative.” So let’s get you to feel restful and restored in your home! I’m going to show you how, by identifying some of the limiting emotions you have towards organization, and revealing some ways to break through those barriers, you will be able to create and implement a personal organization style into your day, which in turn, will help you feel more productive and the environment in your home will feel more calm.
Now, let me start by revealing to you… one of my spiritual gifts is organization. Truly. Dr. Charles Stanley, in his text “Ministering through Spiritual Gifts,” describes that “The people with this ministry gift…find great satisfaction in being organized and in seeing work done, tasks accomplished, and projects completed” with a characteristic belief that, “every aspect of life is subject to order.” So for me, this is inherent. It’s just part of my jam. Understanding this about myself, first, makes a lot of sense. I LOVE organizing. Me and Monica from Friends are almost on the same level. I used to describe it as OCD and actually thought of it as kind of a negative. It turned into a control issue that was stealing some of my joy – but we’ll talk about that in a later chapter, don’t you worry. But, once I learned that this was a gift I was given, that it’s really just how I roll, I began to embrace it. I also realized that gifts aren’t meant to be kept to yourself; this was something that I needed to share with those around me. Also, I didn’t find this out about myself until a couple of years ago, and so, I thought EVERYONE thought the same as me. I thought everyone just ‘organizes’ stuff around them. So when people would ask me, “how do you organize it all?”, I thought, I don’t know, it just happens. And I didn’t understand what they didn’t understand. SO – if that was one of you, I’m really sorry – yes, I judged you, and that is awful. Please forgive me. Ok, now that that is out of the way and you’ve forgiven me, we can move forward and I can share some of my insights with you. I know the power of organization and how it can help produce the feeling of calm in the chaos and peace in your home. And since this is one of the things I love, I am going to share a few tips of easy things to integrate into your day and in your home that could help you tap into your inner-organizer. But first, let’s look at some of the organizational emotional barriers that hold people up.”
Check out the rest in my book Coordinating Chaos!