O is for Organizing

 

More than a decade ago, I began writing about organization. I did this not because I'm perfectly organized, but because I'm not.

I'm organized in the sense that I know where most things are and I can usually find what I need when I need it.

The label I use for this is "functionally organized." In the past decade or so, I've had a lot of fun  encouraging others to reach the same goal. At the heart of this is honoring who they are and how they do things, instead of trying to fit themselves into someone else's designer box, or turn their living spaces into a minimalist museum. 

I didn't write about organizing because I'd reached a destination. I wrote to find my way. 

Writing's great that way. We can sit down amid a plethora of feelings, and write our way through them. We can sit down and start writing one thing only to have it turn into something else. And sometimes, we can sit down and write our way to a solution.

Much lies in how we organize.

Whether we are organizing words or things, some of us start out with a plan and stick to it. Others evolve, bringing our stories and plans along with us, creating something new (and often surprising) in the process.

In 2015, I started a second blog, one dedicated to my musings about organization. Those musings led to the publication of Know Thyself: The Imperfectionist's Guide to Sorting Your Stuff, a less meandering, better edited version of my posts.

Still, for me, the journey is ongoing and O stands for organizing, not organized. Whether it's words or things, it's a process. Some days, it's frustrating, other days, it's fulfilling but, with any luck, I get better as I go.

And, if I'm lucky, I make some friends along the way.