Real Solutions For Living...Why I became a Professional Organizer

"Hello, my name is Nancy and I'm a recovering perfectionist."

I know what you're thinking--a perfectionist couldn't possibly understand about clutter and chaos. Hold on and listen to the rest of the story.

I've always been rather particular about my belongings--a "neat-nik". Early in my marriage I had my household organized, clean and tidy. Everything was under control. Then came children.

Of course, you can't have a baby without your home resembling a small-scale Babys R Us. It's amazing how much equipment is needed for such small creatures. In spite of the influx, our home remained very organized.

Time passed, we grew into a bigger home, accumulated more, and became busier, yet I still maintained a well organized home for my family.

An opportunity arose for me to purchase the preschool where I had been working part time. After much prayer and discussion, we made an offer and it was accepted. The next three and a half months were incredibly hectic as we put together our own "licensing packet" for the state's approval, formed a corporation to own the school, and prepared for ownership.

My organizational skills were a definite plus during this time. With my perfectionism in high gear, I was busy paying attention to every single detail for the sake of quality in both the environment and program of the preschool.

As you can imagine, something had to give as I couldn't keep up this pace in every area of my life. Things around the house began to slide. If I didn't have the time or energy to do a job right I wouldn't do it at all (an all too common trap for the prefectionist). The clutter at home grew as I continued to pour myself into my work at the preschool.

On top of being a wife and mother, I was engulfed in administrative duties, went back to college part time, and taught three classes to train new staff members! Can you say overload? But I was enjoying every minute of it!

Within the first year of ownership of the preschool, some personal problems developed which threw me into a sinking depression. If you thought my plate was full before, imagine what it was like at this point. It is extremely hard for perfectionists to accept less than perfect outcomes. Our expectations are very high for ourselves, others, and all that we pursue in life.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain an organized home, let alone a clean one. All hell didn't break loose, but it was a far cry from the standards I had maintained for so long.

A couple of years later, the depression worsened as the personal problems had yet to be resolved. I began forgetting things, lacked the energy or desire to keep up with necessary tasks, and the work that once brought me joy and satisfaction (including parenting) became a thick glop of sludge I tried to push through every day. Guilt plagued me whenever I looked around the house. I felt like a failure on the homefront as piles of paperwork, laundry and gathering dust bunnies took over. I could no longer stay on top of all the important details to run the preschool as effectively as needed either.

It was at this time that I injured my back while organizing the storage room at the preschool. I did some physical therapy and my doctor sat me down and had a frank talk with me. She suggested that I take a long hard look at everything in my life and eliminate some of the stress I was under. Something had to give. So I left my position at the preschool so I could begin to heal.

It's been five years and I'm doing so much better now. I've learned a great deal since then as well. I've learned how to have more realistic expectations of myself and others. I've learned how to loosen the grip of perfectionism. I've had to learn how to cope with less than perfect or ideal outcomes in my home, within myself, parenting, marriage, work and everyday living. I've allowed myself to relax my incredibly harsh standards of order and cleanliness. I woke up to reality and am now truly living.

So I've lived in total organization and perfection. It can be stiff, I admit. I've also lived with chaos and mounds of clutter. This can be overwhelming, frustrating, and make you feel like you've been defeated and are a failure.

How am I living now? Definitely not perfect! And definitely not cluttered! I strive for balance. Some days are better than others, but overall I aim for a happy medium that gives my family and me room to breathe, live, and yet find what we need when we need it.

During the Winter of 2005, I was agonizing over the decision of what I should be doing once my youngest graduated from high school in 2006. There were several ideas floating in my head, but I couldn't settle on any particular one. Eventually I realized I needed to stop worrying over the decision and, since I am a believer in Christ, decided I should put the matter in His hands and trust Him for direction in this decision. It made sense to me that He would know what my purpose was--He knew what I had been through and what my gifts and abilities were.

In just a matter of a few days or a week I woke up one morning and four things were burning on my mind. I grabbed pen and paper and wrote them out: speaking, writing, teaching, helping others. When I looked at the list, it jumped out at me--organizing encompases all of these! Becoming a Professional Organizer was one of the things I had considered possibly doing.

Professional Organizing gives me the opportunity to relieve some of the stress others are facing in their lives. During my own healing, I learned a very valuable lesson: there are things we can control and things we can't--it is imperative to recognize which is which, let go of what's out of our control, and then turn our energy to what is within our control.

Organizing our spaces is within our control regardless of what else is going on in our lives. Getting things in order empowers us. It gives us energy, peace of mind, extra time, and a sense of accomplishment.

I love to organize! I love helping people! I want to get the message out that you do not have to muddle through things alone--there is help and there is a way to get through it!