On we go with our exploration of the serious and lighter sides of organising with a wander through the alphabet with The A to Z of Organising.
You can catch up on previous posts here:
Joy – “Joy is not in things. It is in us.” I spotted that phrase, embroidered and framed, in a client’s home. It made for a great talking point and opened up a good discussion about that client’s hoarding behaviour. The phrase inspired me to share a 60-day gratitude project, which you can read about here.
Juggling – In life we all juggle many roles and responsibilities. Throughout life, the things we juggle changes as we enter different seasons of life, or face challenges. Getting the balance of those roles and responsibilities requires skilful juggling at times. Professional organisers are excellent coaches of juggling, of how to get the balance right. They can also help to reduce the number of balls in the air.
Junk – There are many words for clutter. Junk is one of those. But it’s not a word I recommend organisers fling about with abandon. There are words that our clients get to use about their possessions. They get to express their frustration, exasperation, aggravation about the things that are dragging them down. But unless we are directly quoting our client, deprecating words like “junk” should stay out of a professional organiser’s vernacular. On the other hand, if it really is junk, I can recommend this Planet Ark website to know where to send it.
Just in case – We’ve all heard it: “I’ll keep this just in case.” Just in case I find the device this weird cord belongs to; in case I remember why I bought it; in case someone needs this crumpled business card; in case my partner changes their mind and decides they really do like orange shirts with scratchy collars. So much that we, as organisers, come across in our clients’ homes is simply “just in case” clutter. It’s another example of delayed decisions which really just holds people back from having the home or work environment that they long for.
