Clutter Busting: Are the closets cleaner on the other side of the fence?

One of the biggest problems that has infiltrated the minds of parents these days is we constantly compare our reality to what we perceive others reality to be. We assume that others breeze through life with ease and grace, while we find ourselves stumbling through the day trying best to avoid the sometimes inevitable land mines placed between waking up and going back to bed! Not only are we comparing our lives to reality (even perceived reality) but then there is the whole other category of fantasy (television, magazines, movies, etc) to make us feel even more self-conscious about our normalcy.

There are hidden cluttered areas in everyone’s life. Even the most seemingly organized people struggle with something. It may not be the clutter that you see when you look around your own living room, but sometimes the clutter you don’t see (including internal clutter) is far more damaging. Nobody is perfect and no one’s lives are without flaws.

It is good to get dirty! I remember when the study came out awhile ago that said we were over sanitizing our children. Finally, a report for the real parents out there! Let us all rejoice…a study that proves that it IS healthy and ok for kids to just be kids! Messy rooms, dirty hands, and runny noses… these are what little kids are made of!

I don’t want you to take this as a permission slip to crawl back in bed and stop trying, rather as an encourager that we are all fighting the daily battles of clutter, organization, time management and dirt – just on different levels! One of the biggest reasons that I often hear why people put off contacting a professional organizer is because of guilt and shame. My job is to make people feel proud of their surroundings, not embarrassed. A home should be a happy haven, not an evil vortex! Sometimes it is necessary to get fresh perspectives and a helping hand.

There is no cure to the disorganized clutter bug. There are no shots or pills to alleviate the constant struggle of what to keep, toss, put-away, and give-away. But, once you start in one area of your life, you will see for yourself the freeing feeling of letting go and gaining control. But don’t do it to prove a point to others around you, do it for you. Don’t do it out of guilt or to prove your love to your children to others around you. Your child will not become menace to society because you forgot to dress Jimmy in a red shirt on red shirt day!! Become more organized because gaining control over these areas of your life actually saves you time, money, and sanity and is infectious to the others in your life.

Betsy