A more organized home will not transform you into a new person.
I’m sitting with my coffee on this beautiful Sunday morning with the windows open (man, I’m so glad spring has arrived), listening to Jose Gonzalez radio. I just finished flipping through some magazines (fun fact, I keep all of my magazines and love revisiting them over and over again), and read something about design that inspired me to write this post. Nancy Meyers, about her newly renovated home, said that “nothing was a complete departure from what was there before”. This is so much our mindset when we enter your home for any organization project.
There’s a misconception in the world of home organization that in order for systems to work, you have to transform yourself into a completely different person. I think this is why a lot of people shy away from it. It feels much too overwhelming. How can you possibly transform into someone that suddenly folds laundry as soon as it’s done, decants every pantry item in their kitchen, and never allows their home to get messy - ever!
The truth is that successfully organizing your home requires you to reflect on your natural habits, and to integrate those into new systems and habits. You have to work with your natural tendencies, not against them. Organization that doesn’t recognize your natural rhythms will always feel like a chore. If you drop your keys on the table when you walk in, a bowl is a better solution than a hook. If your kids kick their shoes off at the door in a pile, a basket will work better than a shelf (that’s how we roll at our house!).
The patterns of how you already live are not always problems to fix, they are clues to how you can move forward.
Perfection is never the goal
An organized home doesn’t mean it’s never messy. It means your home can reset itself easily. It means everything has a home (usually with a label to create accountability), and it means you aren’t having decision fatigue on a daily basis.
Your systems will change with time
Seasons change, kids grow, activities shift and evolve… and so will your home. Creating flexible systems that are easy to refresh and adapt to new phases of life is an essential piece of the organization puzzle.
When your home reflects who you are, things are more manageable. Systems will work. Your life will feel lighter.
Letting go of unrealistic expectations and instead creating a thoughtful rhythm in your home that allows you to maintain your space with ease is where true organization lies.
It’s not about perfection, it’s about alignment.
Happy Sunday,
Amanda, Founder of Sensibly Sorted