I sat on a mountain and looked at the galaxy. I found infinite space infinitely
overwhelming. I think many people see
their belongings this way. My solution
to the vastness of space was to feel the earth beneath me and to focus on the
rock at my feet. Organizing is like
that. Sorting and filing one item or
topic at a time creates structure and reason in a chaotic world. It calms me.
I was once told to add "organized" to my
resume. I said everyone says that. "No, most people aren't organized and
don't say they are." I frankly
didn't believe this but I've come to understand it's true. Innumerable books are written on the topic, though I can't agree with
Marie Kondo's advice to "Discard everything that does not 'spark joy'." Crazy woman. Belongings are more complicated than that.
I recently house-sat for a friend. Before leaving, she suggested I amuse myself by organizing one of
her bedrooms. I know, this doesn't
sound like much fun for most of you, and you didn't even see the amount of
clutter she'd managed to stuff into the room.
It took me 2 days to get to the closet, and when I opened that closet
things flew out of it and smacked me in the head. I laughed and dug into my project.
About halfway through my friend's trip, I got grumpy. I was tired from amassing large piles all
over her otherwise beautifully decorated house, and also realized she wouldn't
maintain the order I created. It felt
like a waste of time, but I was committed by then. I trudged on repeating the mantra, "A place for everything
and everything in its place".
My friend clearly wants to be organized. She has piles of new photo albums and
frames, folders, containers, and organizing books -- which takes up as much
space as the stuff she wants to store.
Her issues are shared by many people.
I wonder how many people are like myself who feel compelled to organize
things?
I love my personal library of alphabetized books which are
sorted by subject, yet I'm aware most people aren't looking for this kind of
bliss. They just need to get their
books onto bookshelves. They close the
door to the crowded bedroom while my skin itches at the thought of the hidden
chaos. I need to work on that.
This self-awareness reminds me of a time when a different
friend and I shot photos of monarch butterflies resting after flying over Lake
Erie in their annual migration. Each of
my photos was a single butterfly, aiming for perfection in the details. My friend did landscapes of butterflies. It hadn't occurred to me to see the world as
she had. I opened my eyes to seeing the
world differently after that.
It takes all types.
My disorganized friend loosens me up.
I create order for her. I think
the ideal is somewhere in the middle? I
feel great satisfaction in the fact you can dance in that formerly packed
bedroom. She's thrilled. I added "organized" to my resume.
"To put everything in balance is good, to put
everything in harmony is better." ~ Victor Hugo
It seems organizing and tidying are common themes this time of year. I know I've been doing my fair share... which led to me finding a fun drawing pen for IF this week :)
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to see the world through another's eyes. Your monarch illustration is nicely organized and tidy!
I'll look forward to seeing what you do with your found drawing pen. You must be right about this being the time of year for organizing. Another friend of mine is pursuing Swedish death cleaning. I doubt I'll ever want to try that!
DeleteLike you, I think that Kondo's definition of what we should keep doesn't work. It works for decluttering but not for post-declutter times. Tax papers aren't much loved but I am obliged to keep them 5 years. And in a studio it doesn't work at all! I don't love varnish but I need to keep it. Old projects don't spark joy for months and then all the sudden they do. But I am organized and I need an organized house. Like you, I have a large library as a result of 10 years of homeschooling. I adopted the International Library Classification to keep it .....organized.
ReplyDeleteA woman after my own heart! I actually thought about following the library classification but I found my personal library sorts into simpler categories, but then I don't have to sort 10 years of homeschooling books :)
DeleteWhatever arrangement you take, there are always book that leave you puzzling where they fit in. I have a few beautifully illustrated children books on Leonardo da Vinci. Where should I shelf these: at the art-section, science or male VIP (History biographies)? These are the better problems, aren't they?
DeleteI'd be inclined to put them with the art books, but I see your issue. I've got some oddballs too. But that just means we're people who read interesting things, right?
DeleteYes, we just need to add an 'Interdisciplinary' and 'Uomo universale' section.
DeleteGosh your friend must love that you brought order to her chaos Linda, well done! Such a gorgeous butterfly today xxx
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane! She's a good friend and I was glad to do something nice for her -- except for that bit of time when I was getting grumpy. I never claimed to be angelic :)
ReplyDeleteI like to have it organized around me, too, but don't like the process of organizing in itself and certainly wouldn't do it for others. So kudos to you for helping out your friend. As much as my place is well organized, I stop alphabetize my books long time ago. It just takes too much time and effort to move half the library around in order to put a new book in the middle of the alphabet, particularly when new books almost arrive every day...
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could still alphabetize if you only got Z authors? :) I don't buy as many books as I once did, and I often give new books away when I'm finished with them these days. Maybe that's one category where I agree with Kondo's joy rule? I keep the books I love which isn't too much of a burden to keep in order.
ReplyDelete