Home Back to Articles Shannon Seek Author, Organic Organizing November 2002 - Are You Too Perfect to Ever Be Organized? The Organic Organizing Newsletter | 4th Edition by Shannon Seek, BS, CPCC, CDS, Professional Organizer Jean had a laundry problem. She was interested, wanting and capable of having clean clothes. Perhaps too much so, and you will see why in just a minute. When I came to her house, laundry was everywhere as if it was her passion. There was the unfolded clean pile in the dining room, the dried clump in the washing machine, and dirty clothes carpeted her bedroom floor. An accomplished career woman, her mess humiliated her. She rarely had people over. It brought her down, and she felt like she must just be an irreparable slob. I wondered. Was the idea of never being able to have every bit of laundry done and put away keeping her from following through in the first place? Guess what? It never occurred to her otherwise. Unfortunately, she never once stopped to consider that the idea of having every piece of laundry completely done was next to impossible. It would be all consuming to have every single piece of laundry done at all times. The clothes on her back would still need laundered and she would have to wear some of that clean laundry tomorrow. Interestingly enough, while her laundry was not done, it was still all consuming. With unrealistic standards, she set herself up for failure. I explained to her that such perfection is for museums. Being organized it is not just about a clean space, it is about having easy access and use of what you need to live how you want to live. (continued, above right) Back to the top (continued) Once she saw that a mess was a natural part of the process of having and wearing clothes, she was able to relax and find a new way to operate that supported her instead of her unrealistic idea of perfection. Here are the steps I used with Jean and her laundry problem: 1) Noted the various stages in the cyclic process of wearing clothes: dirty to be sorted, wash, dry, fold, clean to be put away. 2) Made room for each stage: a hamper for sorting clothes, a folding area, a dry cleaning bag. 3) Gave her permission to never have all of her laundry perfectly done What shifted? Jean now had the permission to honor her Self and the process, one of the "Three Secrets to Being Organized Naturally" from the Organic Organizing Matrix sm/tm. Is there somewhere in your life where unrealistic expectations and/ or perfectionism are making your life unmanageable? Try giving yourself permission to honor yourself and the process first! About the Author: Shannon Seek is available for private coaching, teamwork and presentations on getting more focused, effective and organized. For more information, please contact Seek Solutions at: findit@seeksolutions.com or visit her coaching & consulting website: http://www.seeksolutions.com Back to the top | Home |   | OOM Store |   | Info (Newsletter) |   | Contact |   | Privacy Policy | All Rights Reserved. Copyright, Shannon Seek, Seek Solutions, 1996-2004 Marin County, San Francisco Bay Area, California (CA), USA Tel +1 415-925-8856 www.organicorganizing.com info@organicorganizing.com