Here is the best definition of being organized that I’ve seen. It comes from Julie Morgenstern’s excellent book Organizing from the Inside Out:
“Being organized has less to do with the way an environment looks than how effectively it functions. If a person can find what he or she needs when he or she needs it, feels unencumbered in achieving his or her goals, and is happy in his or her space, than that person is well organized.”
Hmmm … It doesn’t say anything about having your house look like the cover of Martha Steward with nary an object out of place. It doesn’t say that your house is always clean, always picked up and immaculate. It does say that if you feel good in your space and you can find what you want, you’re organized. You don’t have to demand anything more from yourself than that.
Stay-at-home moms especially can be so hard on themselves in their role as housekeeper. I’d like to see us adopt a more forgiving and realistic stance toward our home’s interiors and shift from “always clean and picked up” to “looks good enough.” Don’t buy into the look presented by home interior magazines and TV shows — it’s not realistic, sustainable nor necessary.
