Purging or Saving?

          I can’t find any statistics on this, but I’m betting the organization industry is a billion-dollar baby.  From people who organize for you, to stores that sell bins and buckets, to people like me (as the YouTube Mom) who dispense tips on how to organize a drawer or a personal file, it seems the world cannot get enough advice on this.

          You’ve probably heard of Kon Mari, the trendsetting tidiness tycoon from Tokyo who tells Konverts to touch every item and only keep what you love, what “sparks joy.”  And magazines and websites are packed with a new idea every month—how to become neat instead of sloppy, clear instead of cluttered.

          But, even though I teach it myself, I have to say it’s a little like algebra—you either love it or you don’t.  Some people are born into the world wanting order and delighting in neatness. We are the people who gobble up new ideas: Labeling! Hanging clothes by color! Grocery lists!

          Then there are those who may somewhat like the idea of a tidy home, but who are perfectly comfortable letting stuff slide.  And then slide some more.  If houses would organize themselves, they’d allow it.  But they aren’t so thrilled by the concept that they’ll actually do the organizing.  They don’t like to throw stuff out or store things efficiently.  You can show them how to file papers and de-clutter cabinets all day, and they’ll go right back to piling stuff everywhere tomorrow.  Some of these folks laughingly admit they are Stage 1 Hoarders, and you know what?  I’m actually okay with this.

          I don’t think the entire world needs to be alike.  I have neatnik friends and I have did-someone-break-in-and-ransack-this-place friends.  Both groups have marvelous traits I admire, both groups are treasures.  And I always feel a little bad for the messier ones who are made to feel guilty and shamed by the more OCD ones.

          So I’m using the Kon Mari method as I look at my friends, and I realize how much I love them all. Whether they like algebra or not.

Hey, if you’d like to see my demo of a Home Management Binder, click here!