2: What does it mean to be organized enough?
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JoAnn Krall: Welcome to episode two of Permission to be Messy. I'm your host, JoAnn Krall and today I'm talking about what does it mean to be organized enough?
As I was preparing for this episode. It just happens that Marie Kondo came out with her message that her home is now messy. I'm going to read a quote from an article, which I will put in the show notes.
So Kondo says. "My home is messy, but the way I'm spending my time is the right way for me at this time, at the stage of my life, up until now, I was a professional tidier. So I did my best to keep my home tidy at all times. I've given up on that in a good way for me now, I realize what is important to me is enjoying spending time with my children at home."
And I say yes. Yes. Yes. Amen. I am so glad that she has come out and said this. Because when I read her first book. I was a little bit taken aback by her process, which I know works for many people, but I also knew it wasn't going to work for a lot of people. And there was a line in her book that basically said it works for everybody. And I watched an interview with her alluding to the same thing, including when somebody asked her about hoarders. And to me that felt very damaging. I do believe that her process works for many people, but I also want people to realize that if her process or anybody else's process for that matter, doesn't work for them.
There's no shame in that and there's nothing wrong with you. There is no one way for every person.
Before I had kids. My house was immaculate. It was spotless. It was clutter-free. In fact one when my husband and I got married, my bridesmaids had everybody bring a cleaning product. That's how much I loved. A clean home and tidy home. I don't like the word tidy, but a clutter-free home. And then I had kids. And having children is one reason why I became a professional organizer. but there was many factors that led me to the point where I was once organized and then I wasn't. And, and having the kids, this is why I'm talking about this now, because I could identify with Marie Kondo because I said, when she brought out that book,
That. Oh goodness. She doesn't have children. And then she had her first child. Now she's on child three. And so she's finally getting it and that really makes me happy. So being organized enough, what does that mean? To me, it means. Having systems in place that make your day easier. But it doesn't mean. having the beautifully aesthetic pantry, or having all your spices organized alphabetically, or having the perfectly, color coded filing cabinet. That isn't what it's about. The Instagram aesthetics, Pinterest aesthetics. To me, it's all about function. And I preach this all the time function before beauty. And that doesn't mean that beauty doesn't have to come.
So one thing I will share with you is my girls had this bag of wooden blocks. There was 150 blocks in that bag. And at the end of every evening, I would make sure I would round up all 150 blocks. I had to get them all. And I had to put them all back in That was exhausting.
I finally let that go. But it was interesting because what I did realize is that. I was organized enough in other areas. Take for example, my clothes. I do not fold KonMari style. I do not. match my socks up and organize them. I rolled them up in a ball and throw them in. That is me still to this day.
My husband on the other hand. Has been folding that way since way before Marie Kondo was even born, he folds his, t-shirts magazine style. He has his socks lined up toe to toe. He even matches the wear on the socks. That is important to him and that makes him feel organized and it looks great to be honest, he probably looks at my socks and cringes. And I'll tell you a well-organized home or office gives you the ability to find what you need when you need it. That's really what organization is about.
Now, there are people that need everything to look really aesthetically pleasing. There are ways to make it look nice without having to make a huge investment. I always believe in doing that first.
Before you then say, okay, this system works really well for me. It's adaptable. That's important too. and so now I can go out and find the stuff that's going to just make it look aesthetically pleasing for me.
What I want to leave you with today getting organized is about prioritizing function over everything else. As I said, and most importantly, being realistic when it comes to what's involved in maintaining the organization on a regular basis. Shows like the home edit when they come in and they organize these beautiful pantries. Sometimes they're not leaving room for change and change could be. you no longer buying the products that you set it up for and things don't fit as well. Maybe you have more canned goods or you have more box goods. So knowing that you can be flexible with what you create is important.
Life is hard and it's busy. It's already challenging enough to keep up with everything you have going on. So keeping your home or your office organized should not add more stress. So give yourself grace. Realize that if you can find everything and you can move through your home then you may be just organized enough and if you can get to that point you can start chipping away and refining things as you go.
And I'll leave you with this quote from Melissa Sullivan from her book Organized Enough "The quest for perfection is the root of the problem not its solution" And that my friend is why i give you permission to be messy. Thanks for listening
