In Junior High, my math teacher blamed the barometric pressure for those days when everything went wrong in his classroom. You know, the days when you weren’t safe from spit balls, or when the guy behind you pulled out your chair and you sat in slow motion all the way down to the linoleum.
If only we could blame the barometer for the clutter that builds up where we live. You desperately want to live in an orderly and peaceful environment. What keeps holding you back? It seems like for every step you take to get organized, you take two steps back!
Often people assume that their disorganization stems from one of two problems: they don’t have enough storage space OR they must be lazy, sloppy or incompetent. The good news is that most cases of disorganization do not stem from lack of space, but from not using the existing space effectively.
In the same way, many people expend a lot of time, effort, and money trying one organizing solution after another to no avail. This is not the sign of a lazy or sloppy person. Each person is unique and has a particular bent to organizing his/her world. There is no “one size fits all” organizing system.
According to Julie Morganstern in her book, Organizing From the Inside out, the causes of clutter can be classified as having three levels:
1. simple technical errors – the easiest to remedy with a change in habits or systems of dealing with everyday life.
2. external forces – these are the unchangeables, circumstances or people in your life that you have no control over.
3. hidden internal forces – these are the psychological and puzzling ways that you can submarine your own efforts.
The surface symptom (clutter) may be a result of one or more of these root causes. Addressing these specific problems can lead to a customized organizing solution that works for YOU!
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