Organizing and the Current Economy

We’re in a mess. Large retailers are going under as fast as mom and pops. Entire malls look like ghost towns, completely vacant of tenants. Consumer spending is limping along. Our relationship to Stuff is changing, out of necessity. Our values around what we buy are shifting as we tighten our belts. And organizers everywhere are responding to the shift, helping people realign their Stuff with their changing values.

When the going gets as rough as it is right now, we realize we need to get our act together. After 9/11, I expected a slowdown in business. The opposite happened. Disaster struck and the response was, “I need to be organized and prepared because the world is not a safe place and life is not as predictable as I thought.” Well, here we are, again.

There is no better time than right now to rid your life of everything that doesn’t matter, that doesn’t serve you, that you don’t need – use – love. Organizing and letting go is part of the process of being able to focus on what you need to do, on who and what is important to your surviving and thriving while we move through this global paradigm shift.

We cannot afford to spend money on things we don’t need. We cannot afford to buy duplicates of things we already own, but cannot find, amidst our clutter. We cannot afford to misplace cash, checks issued to us, or jewelry. And yet, these things happen every day in my clients’ homes and offices.

How can you stay sane and fearless in the midst of chaos? We professional organizers understand that clearing up exte
al chaos will have the undeniable, symbiotic effect of mitigating your internal chaos. It works.

Our relationship to money is changed forever. So is our relationship to Stuff, as a consequence. So is our relationship to our friends and loved ones, as we get clear on what’s really important. Many of you have seen my bumper sticker that reads, “The best things in life aren’t things.” Amen to that. Let’s remember to express gratitude for our blessings and clear what no longer serves us from our lives.