What is organization?

---

Explanation organization of its abstract components; Being organized is a mindset that can be learned; You don’t have to do it all by yourself;

---

This is a very large subject and I doubt that we are going to be able to cover it all today. For now, let’s cover the basis of what is organization. Here is a question for you: what words come to mind when you hear the word “organization”?

• bins
• containers
• labels
• dividers
• colours

The above mentioned words are commonly the ones most of us think about when we hear the word “organization”. As you may have noticed, they are mainly physicals objects. You are not wrong in thinking about these words. To get organized you do need some supplies and tools to contain you items in their zones.

But, I’m here to say that organization is so much more than that!

If you think of organization on a deeper level, it’s also something that brings up things that are abstract like feelings and emotions. My goal is to enlighten you with knowledge about the subject and make you aware of what organization can do for you.

Let’s dig a little deeper!

What are the products exactly if I’m telling you that the products are not all that there is to organization?

In reality, the products are a step in achieving organization and are not all that is organization.

While we are at it, let’s get one thing straight, buying products is not a necessity. Many people do see organization as an expensive project, almost a luxury. When in fact, you can use what you have by shopping your home and using products in a different way than what they were actually intended for.

You can recycle different items that you would have usually have thrown out (ei: tissue boxes) and use them temporarily until you figure out a proper system or you want to invest in specific products. Many ideas are made available for you so you don’t have to go bankrupt with organizational products to get organized. If you are looking for ideas, be sure to check out my blog post on What You Can re-use to Organize.

Basically, organization is not just physical. It’s also about a mindset and a certain awareness that you need to bring upon yourself.

Organization can be about:

• a routine
• feelings
• your schedule

To make it simple: it’s something your bring to something else to that you do. Very similar to levelling up. It’s like an extra “Oomph” that you bring to the regular and mundane things that you do on a regular basis.

I’m not saying that I’m the expert on all things organization, but I will say this:

I have a sixth sense when it comes to organization. I can see organization in different aspects of life. It’s like my super power! I can see it in different areas where others won’t see it.

Let’s move on to an example so that you can better understand what I mean.

Example #1

For instance, in a session with me as your professional organizer. I will ask you questions to better understand how you function in your space to then be better equipped to organize the space in a sustainable way. The bonus here, which you probably don’t realize, is that the organization that you are seeking has an underlying emotional attachment or goal that you have for your space. As your professional organizer, I like to focus on the abstract that organization has to offer and not so much on the supplies first.

When we are in your space, I will ask you what you like, what you don’t like about your space, what you want it to be for you, what kind of function you want it to have, and then I’ll go into different abstract things like how do you want your space to make you feel when you are in it, when you are thinking about it.

As you can see, I’m mainly basing my planning of your space organization on feelings first and foremost and then as a secondary step, I will base my plan on the supplies. See what I’m doing here? My main focus will be you, my client, and how you feel in your space and how you want to feel in your space. I want to take that load off, I want to take the stress, the anxiety, this resentment and frustration that you feel towards the space or in the space; this negative emotion that you have with what ever the space is bringing to you and take a load off of you. Once that is taken out of the equation, I can address it as best I can and then contain it and make it a sustainable system with the help of products.

I have another example to offer you. It’s slightly different than the previous one since it pertains to me and is about a situation where I was very in-tuned with my emotions. Here is where I want to go with the emotions related to organization.

Example #2

My mother had gifted my husband and I a set of bed sheets. Beautiful bed sheets of a pretty plum purplish colour. If I’m completely honest with you, it’s probably not a colour that my husband and I would have picked if we would have been to the store together shopping for bed sheets. But personally, I thought that the colour was very pretty.  So I took the bed sheets and thought, you know what, we’ll just put them on the bed and they will act as an extra set and so nobody will see them since they will be underneath our bedcover and all the many decorative pillows that we have on our bed. That was that and I didn’t think anything more of it.

What I didn’t realize was that the first few evenings with the new bedsheets on the bed, as we were getting ready to go to sleep, read, or to watch tv in bed, as soon as I saw the colour of the bedsheets, it automatically brought a smile to my face. Every time we would get into our evening routine, seeing that colour would always have that effect on me.

It dawned on me that for a couple of years, I had been omitting to use that colour in any design aspect of our house or décor because it was a colour that my husband was just not a fan of and I was ok with that. I just brushed it off without realizing how that colour actually made me smile and brought me joy.

At that moment, I was like, o.k. I need more of this colour and of a feminine vibe in my life.

I was able to realize this because I was aware of my environment. Why? Because it was decluttered and organized. I was easily able to be aware of what I was feeling in that moment, without any distractions, thanks to organization.

Once I knew what was bringing me joy, it became a tool I could use. I knew that it was important for me to incorporate that colour in our unfinished basement. Which is exactly what I did on one of the walls in my home office by stenciling a whole wall. Now, it brings me joy every time I come into my office and see it. If you’re ever interested, I have a blog post on How to Stencil a Wall.

With organization, a basket can fix a problem but the finish on the product itself  (either it being of wicker, fabric, a specific colour, etc.) is what will help you maintain the system because if it brings you joy, you will want to put in that extra effort to keep it pretty which will subsequently make you keep the system sustainable which will keep it organized. You see how that all works? It’s like a hamster wheel. It just keeps on going if it’s motivating. It’s all about keeping you motivated and keeping you happy. If everything keeps you happy then that wheel keeps on turning.

I know this can be a lot to take in. I want you to know that you don’t have to have it all figured out now. This can and will take time. If you ever need help, that’s what I’m here for; I’m here to help you be aware of all of those things and guide you throughout the process.