Organizing Myths

Peggy Walker Barnes
Simply Living with Peggy Walker Barnes

In my job, as a professional organizer, I have found several misconceptions about being organized.

Myth 1: Your house should always be immaculate if you are organized.

Being organized does not mean your space has to look like Martha Stewart lives there.  We don’t live in magazines.  Homes are meant to be lived in.  Homes are meant to be a comfortable place to be, not a place where everyone is so worried about mis-stepping.

Myth 2: Your space is too small, therefore you are unorganized.

Nope, most of the time you have more stuff than you need rather than there not being enough space.  There are many people living in very small places that are very content and organized.

Myth 3:  Lots of cute organizing containers will help you be organized.

You should never buy organizing containers prior to getting organized and knowing exactly what size and type of container you will need.

Myth 4:  If you put things in a container and label it, you are organized.

Putting things in a container does not make you organized.  You could have put a lot of things in the container you really don’t need!  Put like things together, pare down and only keep the things you know you will use or add value to your life, then put those things in a container and label.

Myth 5:  All organizers have immaculate, perfectly organized files and homes.

I hate to disappoint but many organizers deal with many of the same issues you do!  Organizers have busy lives, have stuff, have to deal with paper and have people that are unorganized in their lives.  We just have a mind that can organize things more easily, have a better idea about how to get organized and have the creativity and resources to come up with organizing ideas.

“Being organized has less to do with the way an environment looks than how effectively it functions”. – Julie Morgenstern

How does your space feel and function?  That is the key question in any organizing quest.

By Contributing Author: Peggy Walker Barnes, Organizer, Life Coach and Speaker, and The De-Clutter Bug