Honestly, when you walk into your room, which shelf would support calm and effective parenting during a stressful moment?
I seriously, really, honestly, love helping people and families get organized. The freedom being organized creates, the space, the harmony, the goodwill, the positive self-talk is so giant, so underestimated, so overlooked. If I could sell that in a pill form I'd be a Billionaire AND I would still love helping people get organized (I think?).
People think BEING organized is the key, and you know what . . . it's NOT. GETTING organized is the magical place. Do you know why? Because you can do it over and over and over again, at anytime, in any place. Feeling overwhelmed and anxious on your plane ride - try tidying your space, your purse, your briefcase - jot down a quick agenda - I'm not kidding - 20 minutes meditation, 20 minutes reading, 20 minutes composing notes from conference and the rest is movie time. Did you feel that anxiety go down, the control go up (but the good kind of control, not the white knuckly kind of control)? Did you notice I stopped trying to keep the plane in the air with the small of my back, the turbulence is what it is, the weird guy sitting next to me will be out of my space in two hours? Through a bit of organizing and tidying I got myself out of my anxiety spiral and right into my very own space and moment - THAT's where the power is.
It's hard to start, until you have lots of practice, and lots of good self-talk and you are forgiving, compassionate and you give yourself a wee bit of tough love. Professional Organizers, or a good friend, or an organizing book that speaks to you, or an inspiring and funny workshop (wink, wink, click the button below!) is sort of like the turpentine to our sticky, messy crazy thoughts that slow us down or stop us in our tracks. Once we identify our particular brand of crazy (usually perfectionism, fear, anxiety and lethargy mixed into a stew of self-doubt) we can make changes, purge, find the treasures, create traction, get some movement, get straight, go forward, move ahead (Devo, anyone?).