How is your New Year going?

People have fascinating misperceptions about professional organizers.  In general they think that we lead perfect lives because we're organized. Ha! We're human beings who are subject to colds, the flu, flat tires and ... changes of heart.  I may not always love that green sweater I bought this past Christmas.  One day it will be in the giveaway pile.  I saw a wonderful quote from a designer in Architectural Digest about a year ago that I loved.  I'd like to share it with you:

"A house should change. It should never stay static.  If it does, it's symbolic of your life."  

That's very often the message our possessions are trying to tell us: let me go.  You've moved on and I'm not needed anymore. Heaven forbid we stay stuck! Very often I think a bit part of our sorrow comes from the fact that the item reminds us of a time long past.  Perhaps it's from a relationship that failed or a loved one who passed away.  Maybe it reminds us of our carefree school days when we lived at home or that great trip to France we took a few years ago.  Whatever the association we are sometimes afraid we'll forget the experience without the object.  Take a photo of the treasured object or better yet frame a photo of you wearing/using/living with the item and look at that from time to time.  We hold memories in our hearts and minds.  No matter how dear, 'stuff' is always going to be 'stuff.'

I want to leave you with another quote.  This one is from Julia Cameron and it's from The Artist's Way.  I loved it so much that I used it in my first book The Zen of Organizing. I think it speaks for itself.

Shifts in taste and perception frequently accompany shifts in identity.  One of the clearest signals that something healthy is afoot is the impulse to weed out, sort through and discard old clothes, papers, and belongings ... By tossing out the old and unworkable, we make way for the new and suitable... When the search-and-discard impulse seizes you, two crosscurrents are at work: the old you is leaving and grieving, while the new you celebrates and grows strong.

If you've gotten stalled on the path to fulfilling your New Year's goals and resolutions maybe it's time to clear out a bit more of the physical past.  Make room on every level for the new!  Let me know how you're doing.