Disenchanted With My Disorganized Life
But….my disorganized life made me so stuck, like wearing cement shoes, that change felt impossible!
- Disorganized papers (in most rooms)
- Toys creating obstacle courses (in most rooms)
- Spending all of precious Nap Time searching for missing items/documents (in all rooms)
- Rarely tidying the kitchen after breakfast, lunch or for dinner (most days)
- Feeling inadequate as a wife or mother due to the visible and secret clutter (all days)
My disorganized life made me feel exhausted and overwhelmed.
I felt as if I was climbing up a glass mountain.
Paradoxically, I could help anyone else get organized. With panache.
On the flipside of my disorganized life, for as long as I can remember, I was the one helping friends and family get organized.
At any job, I instinctively streamlined processes while organizing cabinets and bosses.
How could I be so good at organizing others, myself, not so much?
I thought of myself as a Creative! My disorganized life was just part of that.
A young mother of two, working from home, I was constantly moving with and after my boys, doing, giving, making…
I created 3D invitations of mini sleeping bags complete with pillows for my son’s 6th birthday sleepover party.
The pillow was glued onto a piece of cardstock that pulled out of the sleeping bag with all the carefully designed invite info.
My son thought they were “Sweet!” (as in awesome).
I had no time to get my life organized!
My disorganized life kept me from seeing it was the context of organizing that made the difference for me.
In my life, I was perpetually in survival mode.
Organizing others allowed me to be in helping mode.
It was helping, coaching, teaching, and giving that bridged my creative nature and my “superhero solution psyche”.
I believe our curses are our blessings.
My curse of being personally disorganized ultimately led to my blessing of finding work I love.
When my husband left us; I hit bottom. I had to figure out how to crawl out of the financial and unfinished construction hole he left us in, care for my boys and my life …or lose everything.
For me, getting organized resulted in:
- Saving our home, my children’s future education, and my sanity.
- Making enough money to transform our house, an unsafe “tear down,” to a beautiful safe haven and home.
- Letting go of anxious thoughts and the extraneous so I could gain a sense of self-acceptance and self-love
- Gratefully uncovering my passion for helping others have better daily lives
Why a formerly “Not Born Organized” can help you go from disenchantment to organized, happier and more free!
It takes one to know one. I’ve been there.
I am a natural teacher, nurturer, and CPP–Certified Patient Person…(as per my clients.)
I spent years creating a flexible map to get myself organized. The result; I now successfully help clients go from a life of disorganization and chaos to a life of reassuring clarity. Change that supports their deepest desires.
I love what I do. I love using organizing as a practical, meditative method to make momentous inner and outer change for the people I work with.
How about you? Are you disenchanted with your life or a piece of it? I bet getting even just one thing organized could help you see new possibilities. I would love to hear from you in the comments below.
Ahhhhh I could have written this exact post 15 years ago! Now I’m kind of in PTSD and overly organized, practically pulling socks off people so the laundry doesn’t pile up.
Cause these are the great years my friend, and yes, organization helps! Love that you’re helping others do the same.
Karen, you have me laughing…”pulling socks off people so the laundry doesn’t pile up…” Why didn’t I think of that? Organization is indeed a help, and it’s my passion to help others discover how they can make it part of their daily life, one imperfect action step at a time. Thanks for your comments!
Beautiful post, Jul! That’s something that I need to work more on – getting organized! I suddenly get in an organizational frenzy but then I revert back to being disorganized. But one thing that I do need to organize are all my folders lying around in my room! That’s the first thing that needs to get organized. Thanks again for this post! 🙂
Hi Sita, I do Skype calls to help people get the folders, the papers, the piles of documents organized. Paper is my specialty, and for those of us who are deep thinkers, we often have hard copy and electronic…we mean well. We so want to be on top of things, and have the reference material for that next blog post, article, improvement of our lives and those we serve…but if it is not easy to access, guess what it’s just part of the clutter. Happy to help in any way I can with your folders in your room. Would love to hear an update!
Gorgeous article, Juls. While my backstory isn’t exactly like yours I can relate to it in a few ways, one of them being the feeling of needing your own help- I think you said your curse is your blessing. As a career and lifestyle coach I’m often working with women in transition- the situation has them overwhelmed and frustrated. I, too, am in a transition and am feeling my way in the dark a bit. Thanks for this timely post. Maybe it’s a time I lean into the place I’m at, like you did, so I can see what comes of it. x
Hi Anne! Thanks so much for your comment love. I used to feel like everyone else had it so together, as I can be enamored by externals; the presentation we put out to the world. What I have found is that habit of looking at things takes me away from my own deep inner knowledge. We all have it. Our intuition, inner voice, that well of self knowledge we forget to tap into. I think you just tapped into that place in yourself when you say, you are transitioning, like your clients and sensing mayhap leaning into the place you are in right now…will lead to clarity and insight. One thing I have noticed in my life, we are often already halfway their during transition, but we feel as if we are so “in the dark” as you put it, that we think we are lost. My point, you may be much further along towards your next step or arrival than you think. Here to support you to shining some light…xox
I had been traveling and still not in my own place yet. Whern I left, everything went in boxes so I still feel very displaced and ‘cant find’ anything! So iget where you ae coming from re the disorganisation and its not something I am confortable with!! Organising myself though, with my journal and things I do with my time is something I am getting better at and prioritise 🙂 Thanks for the great post!
Thanks for your great comment Farah! I completely understand, the “box life” is very disorienting. Searching for items you know you have, but where…you’ve made me realize I ought to write a post about moving, storing and labeling boxes. Practice makes perfect…great that you are getting better with your journal and prioritisng. Yeah! That’s taking care of you.
This is really interesting because I am an extremely organized person but sometimes that can be a double edged sword. You can spend most of your day organizing and leave no time for executing. My balance came when I started to understand that pattern and did surrender to the amazing feeling felt when a task was truly done. Thanks!
Thanks for your input and insight as a naturally organized person, Jovanka. I will look forward to hearing how you organize various tasks in your business and life. Seeing patterns in our actions is very helpful when we want to do more of an action that makes us feel good, or less when it seems to sabotage our goals. I love your comment about organizing, and having no time left for executing. Sometimes I fall trap to using organizing as avoiding myself. Good reminder!
What a great post Juls! You have a very inspiring story. Congratulations on recovering and making stronger everything that was left for you following your break up. You are making a difference to so many!
Thanks so much April! Knowing my story can make a difference to so many just warms my heart! Life goes on, and by counting our blessings daily, living in gratitude for my sons, my clan here, makes me able to take one step at a time toward my goals and purpose.
I adore this post. I needed this today! JUST yesterday, I spent 11 hours organizing my 200+ file folders and my office. I felt GUILTY not spending time on my BIZ, but whew… what a feeling. Now my mind won’t be CLUTTERED today as I work. Clearing out and cleaning up is imperative for the soul!
What sometimes seems disorganised to some, is just organised mess 🙂 I have that problem too and I try and declutter as often as I can. Really helps to allow things to flow in.
Absolutely Reena, it is true in more ways than one. People can confuse being organised with being tidy. However, a person may have piles that seem messy to someone else, but she knows where everything is in those piles; which is organised. De-cluttering is really helpful for those of us living in the world of things, things and more things. I completely agree…letting go of what we no longer love, or want or need, allows what we do want to flow.
Hi Caitlin! Thank you so much! In my opinion, you were working on your BIZ by organizing your 200+ file folders and office even if they were not business related, or if they were, but you were thinking your action of creating order was not a money generating activity. Either way, getting clear, going from chaos to clarity supports your mind, your biz or work and your life. Now that you feel mentally so free…you will easily manifest your desires. Organize On!
I so need some organization right now 🙂
Yes, I’ll start with the bills!
Good for you Llyane. Get those pesky bills handled. Organizing is about maintenance too, a little every day will keep you from drowning.
Okay missy. You’re not just an organizer. You’re a transformer.
This was the statement that bowled me over.
“My disorganized life kept me from seeing it was the context of organizing that made the difference for me. In my life, I was perpetually in survival mode.”
There is so much power here in what you provide. The context of life – determines our quality of life.
Thank you.
Well we are of like minds! I so appreciate your kind and caring acknowledgement of my passion, helping people move from survival mode to vibrant living mode. Thank you Annette.
I am also naturally creative, ideas bouncing everywhere. I am NOT naturally organized. I am organized just to MAINTAIN MY SANITY! People look at my notebook for school and think I must be little miss perfect, but my bedroom is a disaster. lol. It’s good to know you’re not alone. That even the experts have trouble with this. I agree that our worst curses can be our greatest gift. I apply this to so many areas of my life. In fact, I think its why you and I eve started blogging 🙂
From one Creative to another…pleasure to meet you. I love how you put it, “I am organized just to MAINTAIN MY SANITY!” That is a concise way to put what organizing can do for someone. Agreed…blogging to turn our curses into our blessings and greatest gifts!
Beautiful post, Jul’s. I love your story and how you can powerfully help others based on your own experience. This is so true: “I love using organizing as a practical, meditative method to make momentous inner and outer change for the people I work with.” It does bring inner change as well . . . sometimes very deep, healing change.
Thanks for your compliments Leanne. That is what I love about helping people get organized that it can often create an immediate inner shift that has alluded a person for years. I agree, deep, healing change, while moving the outer chaos of paper piles and stuff.