The Saga of Chaos vs. Order

When I tell people I'm a professional organizer, they often ask me if my house is organized.  Then I must confess: it's an ongoing battle, and the front lines are always moving.  For the last couple of weeks, my office has been the site of several skirmishes.  My opening salvo was a horizontal file cabinet, purchased at the Goodwill for $19.91.  I have kept my eye out for one of those for a couple of years, so when I saw a nice one, I procured it for my arsenal.  It enabled me to empty out four file crates that have been standing in for something more permanent.  I'll post some pictures of the process on the "before and after" page.  Here's a teaser:

before the new file cabinet

after the new file cabinet

The current action is taking place between me and the stuff I've been unpacking since our last camping trip.  I've emptied out the bins, and even kept one aside to start packing for the next trip.  I left the smaller baskets and some of the supplies that I might not need between now and then inside.  It just barely fits under the bed, so its out of sight.  Right now we're fighting for the dining room table, a battle-scarred territory.  Yesterday morning it was almost completely clear, but it's the perfect staging area, so it almost always has my current project on it.  Sound familiar?

How do I live with it?  I'm giving up perfection, and reframing my goal of having a perfectly organized home to having a home that is continuously evolving as I continue to work on decluttering and repurposing and creating spaces that contain the tools I need.  This keeps me from feeling like I'm failing in this endeavor.  Instead, I'm constantly improving!  I like that a lot better.  Why not try that on for size yourself?

A useful attitude is so important, especially when you are doing long-term projects.  There will be ups and downs, starts and stops, steps forward and back.   That's just the nature of the beast.  No need to dress yourself down!  Give yourself medals for your progress, instead.

I need to earn lots of medals, because I'm hoping that next winter we'll start the remodeling in earnest.  We'll be downsizing as we convert our downstairs into an apartment.  This weekend I'll be doing some strategic planning for the next six quarters, with quantifiable goals emerging from that in the near future.  I'll post them to keep myself accountable.  You are welcome to post your goals and progress here as well!