The Comedian
A few nights ago I was scrolling through Netflix and saw that comedian Todd Barry had a new special. The title was Spicy Honey which seemed interesting enough to click. About eight minutes in, my casual paying attention turned hyper-focused. He said he hired a professional organizer. I spend a lot of time explaining my occupation to people, so to hear mention of my industry in a comedy special was exciting. Once I got over the initial shock I waited to see where he was going with this. Without spoiling the joke, the premise had to do with throwing things out. When people think professional organizing they think throwing things out. So much so that a popular comedian knew that everyone would get the reference immediately.
The Setup
Organizing is not about throwing things out. Tossing leads to regret. Throwing things out is what your parents did to your stuff when you went off to camp or college. Throwing things out is what your spouse does when fed up with messy bedroom. Throwing things out is what you do in a panic on closing day when the buyer's lawyer is staring at you.
The Punchline
Organizing is all about what we are keeping. Where should items live and how can one find them when needed. Linda, Kathleen and I build relationships with our clients based on trust. In fact we can't organizing a space without our clients because their goals are all that matter. We use our philosophy, experience, patience and humor to decide what should be kept and the best system to store and find it. Additionally, any system we create has to work for everyone in the family (and be easy to use). Organizing is about time. Setting aside specific time to finish what we start through motivation and having a plan of action. Organizing is about control, not regret. We never want anxiety, so if you feel like it, the next time you overhear someone say, throw it out, tell them the joke's on them.
