Easy On The Organizing

I received a tweeted response the other day that sort of bugged me.  Not because I'm not used to the snarkiness and sometimes bitter attitudes of others on the feed, but because it implied something that just gets under my skin a bit.  It didn't even look like a response from a legit account - when I clicked the link there were all sorts of misspellings and grammar issues.  But what it said was, basically, "...Organize Your Home Shortcuts - The Easy Way."
The Easy Way.  Hmmm. 

You all may know one of my favorite quotes:

"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?" - John Wooden

And if I had a dollar for every organizing book I find in a client's home or office with a title like, "50 Super-Easy Ways to Be Organized!!"  or "Get Organized Fast!!" I could finally take that trip to Costa Rica.  With apologies to anyone who's actually written books like that, I don't ever find that my work with clients is super quick, or involves shortcuts.  And if I want to work on my own organizing project here at home, trying to do things quickly just seems like putting a band-aid on a severed artery.  I'm always going to have to come back and re-bandage.

How many of us have tried to find a quick, easy way to lose weight?  Save more money?  Look younger, find a soul-mate, and achieve nirvana all in one weekend?

Quick and easy organizing may work for folks who are already pretty much there (or those who don't have spouses, ex-spouses, children, extended families, pets, jobs, or any major life events whatsoever).  But in my world, people have issues.  Trauma.  Celebration.  Deadlines.  Stress.  It takes time to work through what causes the disorganization and clutter so we can move forward with the right system.  I rarely schedule any session under four hours, because like any worthy goal, organizing TAKES TIME.  Of course there are solid, quick tips that can help you get further down the path, but those tips won't organize your entire filing system.  It didn't take you half an hour to pile 2 feet of paperwork on your desk, so why would it take half an hour to clear and sort it?

You won't find shortcuts with me, but together, we'll find what works.

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