Organizing as a de-stresser!
Gah! I went to the hardware store today and it’s like the Christmas Elves have been working non-stop since Halloween – the trees have sprouted twinkling lights, the stockings are hung on the fireplace displays and there may have been the gentle chimes of Christmas music over the loudspeaker! I grabbed what I needed and bolted – I refuse to rock around the Christmas Tree just yet! I’m not ready for this – I have so much still to do before I start thinking about the holidays - this stresses me out and I’m sure I’m not alone!
When I got home, I did what I always do when I’m feeling stressed out and out of control – I tidy, organize and clean. (Yes, it’s weird, but hey – whatever works, right?). This gives me a sense of control and brings down my blood pressure and makes me feel like I have an handle on things.
Because resisting the holiday onslaught is futile, I decided that I needed to do something to gently guide me down that road. I decided that my project was going to be getting out my winter clothes. Although I don’t do a full seasonal wardrobe swap, there are some items of clothing that just don’t work in off-seasons. I have an old suitcase that I use to store them, and it lives in the back of my closet. In the summer, it holds my thick sweaters, thermals, wool socks and the like. In the winter, my light weight clothes make the move. Living in Southern Ontario, Fall and Spring temperatures can fluctuate wildly, but I am quite confident that my linen trousers are not going to be needed until next year. But, if a sunshine holiday comes up, I know where to find all my summer items!
Going through my winter clothes gave me another chance to joy-check them – do they still spark joy; am I looking forward to wearing them? Most made the cut; the others will be donated before the cold weather really sets in so that someone else can benefit from them. Switching out my clothes also gives me a chance to fine tune my closet – move around a few things, replace hangers, re-fold items, wipe down the shelves and generally spruce things up!
It only took about an hour and I’m grinning like the Cheshire cat at my closet! It wasn’t always like this – a few years ago, just the thought of switching out my closet would have had me diving under the covers. It would have been a full weekend project, if not more, and I would have put it off until the last feasible moment.
I’ve spent so much time in the past just trying to keep up with my “stuff”. I had tried many times to get things organized, read loads of organizational hacks and thought I was doing a reasonably decent job of it. A few years ago, when Marie Kondo hit the North American psyche, I read “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up!” Wow – it sounded like I’d finally hit on strategy that worked - I started folding like Marie Kondo and didn’t do much else. (I tried the cheat code version of a full Tidying Festival and surprise, surprise, it didn’t work). I hadn’t really done a thorough KonMari® style tidy – I’d just been moving my clutter from room to room or putting it into boxes in the basement. Although my t-shirts looked great, it really was not life-changing.
However, when the pandemic hit and I spent more and more time at home, the clutter started to get to me. I picked up the book once again and really, really read it. I then began my own Tidying Festival with a “why not?” attitude. I came to the shocking realization that not only did I have so much around me that really didn’t Spark Joy®, but that my belongings were weighing me down physically and emotionally. Once I completed my Tidying Festival - 3 months of work in between career, family, and life – I realized that it was, in fact, completely life changing. I enjoyed my spaces more; I found things more quickly; and I didn’t buy things I already had!
Being organized is a continual journey – it’s very rarely a one-and-done thing. Life happens and messes things up, but having an organizational baseline makes it easier to get back. Having things in order and where I can easily find them makes me less anxious. By nature, I do sweat the small stuff. I used to try and “let it go” but all that did was make me stressed about trying too hard not to be stressed. I’ve just come to a time in my life where I’ve simply embraced it. I love a simple, decluttered and organized space - having things in order and knowing where they are just helps me be calmer. At this point, it doesn’t take me very long to get it back to where I want it to be because I have a space for everything and everything has its space.
If you need me, I’ll be making my gifting list – but not listening to Christmas music. That stuff makes me nuts!