Television is not real life.
The first organizing show I remember was Clean Sweep on TLC. Organizer Peter Walsh made an impression and introduced professional organizing to me as a career. I liked the “Keep”, “Sell”, or “Toss” decisiveness of their decluttering process.
Then there is Hoarders on A&E which features people with hoarding disorder. Hoarding disorder causes sufferers to excessively and obsessively save things that other people generally see as trash. Hoarders have difficulty parting with or throwing anything away, which leads to overwhelming clutter that disrupts their lives.
You can do real harm if you try to help people suffering from hoarding disorder by throwing things away. You need proper training and assistance from medical professionals.
Another offering is the Netflix original series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. I read Kondo's book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up before watching. She works directly with clients, implementing her signature “keep it only if it sparks joy” methodology, and it is enormously satisfying to observe. She is exceedingly kind to her clients and has a very deliberate, structured, and effective process.
Netflix also has Getting Organized with The Home Edit. Hosts Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer own a home organizing company based in Nashville, TN. They simply buzz with energy. Their signature organization technique is placing things in rainbow color order in clear acrylic bins.
Their team works without the clients. They move quickly, transforming cluttered disorder into beautiful, colorful displays in 30 minutes.
Does RETHINK work like television?
The short answer is no. I am an organizer and I do not play one on TV.
Organizing shows can be enormously satisfying to watch.
Generally, a homeowner is struggling with some seemingly insurmountable pile of clutter. In 30 to 60 minutes you uncover the situation, an expert weighs in, work is done, and the problem is solved.
These shows have a tremendous following. I am in a Facebook group called The Home Edit Life Book and Netflix Show with 42,000+ members all devoted to arranging their homes into rainbow color order in clear plastic containers with special labels.
I have my own preferences on how to help you.
Put simply, I believe there is no one right way to organize anything.
I meet you where you are. You are not a mess, you can get organized, you already have within you what you need, and I am here to come alongside and help.
The best organizing method is the one that works and that you'll use.
How will RETHINK work with you?
I will not send you away while I magically organize your space.
There are organizers that do this in real life and this is a key element of The Home Edit.
I on the other hand believe clients feel better about what they themselves have created and working together leads to better ongoing results.
Working with an organizer transfers skills and knowledge, provides encouragement, and leads to pride of ownership in what you did for yourself.
My advice is to work with someone who will teach you how to maintain your space.
I will not encourage you to purchase containers to put things in.
I will not start by telling you what you need to buy. We'll start by using the things you already have in your home.
I actually tell you not to buy anything at all - at least not until we have really dug into what you have and determined that you actually need it.
Again, there are organizers that do this, but I think “shopping” what you already have is more satisfying and cost effective and better for the earth. (Reduce, reuse, recycle!)
I will never tell you to throw anything away.
On Clean Sweep, the setup was two competing household members (generally spouses) have to outsell each other at a yard sale. The loser of the competition has to give up an item from their “Keep” category.
This makes for terrific drama and tension onscreen but makes for horrible interpersonal relations at home.
Your belongings are your belongings and you are entitled to keep them. Consider parting with duplicates, broken items, or pare down what you have so you can have more space.
But you should never feel forced, cajoled, or shamed into parting with anything.
Sensible storage is important.
One of the key – and visually appealing – elements of The Home Edit strategy is to store everything in rainbow color order. Books, clothes, art supplies, home cleaning products. It is one of their signature strategies.
This is just not practical.
Take books, for example. If you want to read a certain book, in their system you have to know what color it is. How would you ever know? A more practical way to store books is in alphabetical order by author’s last name.
Same with housecleaning products. Store home supplies by use: floor cleaners, bathroom supplies, dishwashing materials, dusting cloths. Do not store by the color of their labels.
Storing items by color means you have to mentally process what each item is before retrieving it, and that ultimately lessens productivity and ease of use.
You do not live in a magazine and you need to be able to find your belongings.
Reality organizing television shows are not realistic.
In real life, sadly, there is no magic wand.
In all of these organizing shows, we only see a tiny fraction of the work. The time lapse from beginning to end is significant.
In real life, it can take hours or days to complete a project depending on what you need to do. On television, there are unseen teams of people scurrying to complete the work off camera. Unless you want to spend a fortune, this is unrealistic and unfair to expect of yourself - or your organizer!
Just like fashion and beauty magazines that mess with your self-esteem by using airbrushing and Photoshop, these shows – while satisfying and lovely – can lead to unrealistic expectations.
So my advice is to enjoy them. Watch to learn your preferences and get ideas. Feel free to discuss these with your organizer, and ask questions.
But leave the judgment and unrealistic expectations at the curb. You've already got what you need in your own space.
When you're ready to tackle your tough organization project, I am here to help you learn how.
Let's RETHINK organization together.
For more information, visit the RETHINK website today.
Mandy Thomas is a professional organizer fulfilling her lifelong passion for creating order out of chaos. She finds joy in helping people tackle their most overwhelming spaces and collections to create the optimal living space and enjoy their homes.
RETHINK organization is on a mission to help you develop long-term patterns of organization that you can maintain and feel good about long after our work together is done.
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