January Brings Organizing Joy
Are you experiencing the January blahs? Looking for some joy in your life? According to Netflix star Marie Kondo, joy can easily be found by simply tidying up your home.
The cold winter weather often means spending more time indoors, and this can lead to a renewed focus on the clutter in our homes. “Tidying Up”, the new hit series on Netflix starring the diminutive Marie Kondo, reaffirms the known fact that professional organizing is in need when the clutter becomes a source of stress.
According to Marie Kondo, the ultimate goal of tidying is to learn to cherish everything that you have. By touching each item, you connect with it and discover whether or not it sparks joy within you. This process enables you to discover what is important to you; it can change the way that you view your possessions, as well as your life. Marie notes that by keeping only the items that spark joy, you will be left with a home that elicits a warm, positive feeling.
Tidying up allows you to create a space that suits your “ideal self” as clutter can make your house and your life feel heavy. Having a tidy home helps to keep you focused and by choosing to be surrounded by items that bring you joy, life becomes much less stressful.
The lesson to be learned from watching Marie Kondo is this: organization makes a house a home. By extension, if every item in a home has a place, consistent tidying takes less time, again adding more joy to life.
What exactly is “clutter” and how does it affect us? Clutter is described as “a collection of things lying about in an untidy mess”. A disorganized and cluttered space can cause a range of emotions such as anxiety, stress and anger. According to Esperanza, a magazine devoted to helping people deal with anxiety and depression, “Clutter robs a space of your ability to get still, get quiet, and get in touch with your heart and dreams. Removing clutter allows you inner peace, where inner creativity and inspiration can emerge”.
Comedian George Carlin coined the phrase, “Your stuff is stuff, other’s people’s stuff is crap”. Living within clutter, especially someone else’s, can be a source of friction. These negative relationships can be with family members, friends and even co-workers. According to MakeSpace, a full service storage company, 28% of surveyed employers claimed to be less likely to promote someone with a messy desk. Why? Perhaps due to the fact that on average, 30 minutes per day is spent looking for things in an unorganized office. Furthermore, clutter produces excess stimuli which overloads our senses and impairs our ability to think clearly.
Organized and efficient people are able to maintain focus and ignore distractions. They are able to acknowledge their emotions, and thus tackle projects effectively. Clearing physical clutter results in clearing mental clutter.
This concept of less clutter equalling less stress is not a new one. Hideko Yamashita, a clutter consultant in Japan, has written a series of books centred on the idea of DanShaRi which basically means “Deciding”, “Releasing”, and “Leaving” stressful situations and things behind. It isn’t so much about minimalization, as is widely believed, but about using mindfulness to create a personal living space. She suggests keeping only items that are necessary to you right now. Hideko notes that “space has a lot of power” and “its influence should not be overlooked”. Too much clutter takes away from the power of space. The focus should be on organization; creating a home with less clutter, which then creates more space, and more peace of mind.
Professional Organizers find themselves in need for many specific reasons. Some clients are busy professionals who require organization to help with time management and a better work/life balance. An organized home allows for less time tidying up overall, less time in the kitchen, and less time cleaning. Having a method of de-cluttering leads to a much more functional home or office.
Certified Ultimate Professional Organizers™ can implement strategies which have been proven over time. These might include paper management and filing systems, a variety of storage solutions, as well as specific techniques for folding laundry so that everything is visible. Certified Ultimate Professional Organizers™ can suggest various methods which can then be personalized to fit your life.
A well organized space leads to productivity, peace of mind, good health, and an overall sense of well-being. Certified Ultimate Professional Organizers™ use a proven system similar to Marie Kondo, to tidy up a home and as a result, bring joy to clients’ lives.
Eileen Taylor, USC™, UFSC™, UCPO™, UDRC™
Certified UltimateStager™ | Feng Shui Specialist
Ultimate Professional Organizer™ | Ultimate Decorator & ReDesigner™
President & Co-Founder
