Is Professional Organizing a Luxury Service?

In the organizing community there’s the saying that organization is a luxury. In my opinion, that statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. 

Organization is, and always will be, a basic necessity for life. 

In our modern world, we lack so much of what we truly crave and desire. The simplicity of basic human needs that are fundamental to life. Things we all need, but have such a hard time trying to obtain.

More time in our day, peace of mind, a life of purpose, healthy habits and good relationships. Ultimately - a better quality of life.

I tend to see home organizing as a tool, a key that unlocks the door and opens the way to all of these necessities.  

It isn’t so much that organizing is a luxury, but rather the results and the benefits that it provides - that is the luxury itself. So from that perspective, professional home organizing is a luxury. 

It provides a means of obtaining some of our greatest desires in life, but yet are so hard to achieve and maintain.

Here’s an in depth look at four reasons why professional organizing is a luxury in today’s modern world.

Saves You Time

How much time do you spend cleaning up your house every day? No doubt you spend more time than you’d like to admit. Especially if you have a family, kids and pets, that question probably brings up a lot of emotions for you. 

One of the benefits that I’ve seen over and over again with my clients is the amount of time that’s freed up in their day from having their home professionally organized. 

There’s no more looking for items that don’t have a designated place in the house. All of the unnecessary clutter is gone, so you only see the things you actually use and enjoy. 

Your home becomes intentional and purposeful. You gain hours in your day from not having to deal with the stress of looking at the clutter, the job of cleaning up the clutter, and especially those piles that keep accumulating on the countertops and in the walkways of your home. 

Your kids only have the toys they like to play with. It’s easier for them to clean up their bedrooms, and as a parent, you spend less time bugging them to clean up their bedrooms. 

The few hours that you have at the end of the day are now free for quality family time, a real dinner being cooked, working out or whatever it is that you enjoy doing at the end of the day, but don’t have time to do. 

Just imagine, less laundry to wash, less dishes to clean, less stuff to stare at that you’ve been wanting to get rid of for months or years. Less stuff that belongs to your partner and family that you’ve been wanting to get rid of for months or years! 

Having your home organized gives you back so much time and hours in your day. Especially for all of you parents, who can’t remember the last time that you had even a little bit of time for yourself.

Creates a Manageable System for the Whole Family

There’s a big difference between a clean house and an organized house. The former focuses on dirt and cleanliness while the latter focuses on a functional system, designed to create order and simplicity within the home. 

Whenever I work with clients, the first thing I like to do is diagnose the root of the problem. Or should I say, how did they get into this situation? 

For some people, the root of the problem is that they don’t have sufficient time in the day to organize their home. For others, they may have a family member who keeps counteracting their efforts to keep the house tidy. 

We start looking at the root of the problem, then we can see how to break down all the pieces and reconstruct something better that works. When we’re creating a manageable system for the home, it’s almost like we’re building a machine. 

The house is filled with parts and pieces, some of them fit, others don’t. Once we remove all of the pieces that don’t fit, we’re able to build something that functions properly and can be maintained with regular upkeep.

So what does this look like? 

This means that you have a streamlined process for handling the mail that comes in daily, and where the kids dump their backpacks. Everything has a home….everything. Your kitchen is set up in a way that accommodates your style of cooking, whether that’s microwavable dinners or full on Food Network style meals. 

The way that you prefer to clean up, whether you have 15 minutes to spare to get your house ready for the house cleaner, or you’d like to just DIY in 30 minutes to an hour each day. 

Your morning and night time routine has a flow, so it doesn’t stress you out or give you extra work to do. 

There is a process for regular decluttering, in order to not overcrowd and clutter up your home. Everything in your home has a purpose, and just like this well-built machine, its function makes your life easier. 

Creates Healthy Habits

How many of us desire to have healthy habits that truly bring value and benefit to our lives? Just ask around and someone will tell you about something they wish they were doing better, or was able to even do at all.

 The thing with home organizing is that, once you have this system set up within your house, it requires a little maintenance and upkeep to continue receiving the benefits from it. 

Instead of having this huge obstacle to overcome, by being weighed down with clutter, your house is finally manageable with less, so it provides an opportunity to spend a little bit of time each day creating habits without getting overwhelmed. 

One suggestion I like to give my clients is to set a timer each day. It’s easy to say that we don’t have time for things that are important, but we can always set a timer for 15 minutes and see what we can accomplish. 

Most of the time you’ll accomplish quite a bit, especially if you get the family on board as well. The point is to just do it every day and give yourself a time limit. 

There doesn’t need to be a huge commitment, there just needs to be a habit. 

It’s 7 o’clock at night and your timer goes off. It's time to pick up and organize the house. After that, you can do whatever you want! 

It will actually start becoming fun, and you’ll feel accomplished. This is its own reward, and will start to become something that you look forward to, instead of dreading. 

There’s a saying that organization is a learned skill, it’s not hard, it’s just a skill to be learned and practiced.

Better Quality of Life

If you’re being honest with yourself, most people you talk to, and possibly even yourself, happen to be living a low quality of life. 

Now, I don’t want this to be confused with poverty and sickness. 

I’m talking about what it means to be living your best life. 

What does this look like?

I’m sure a few of those things would mean that you have more time for what matters most. Great physical and mental health, the circumstances to strike a balance with all of the key areas in your life, and your overall happiness in general. 

Organization won’t make you rich, give you perfect health or great relationships. However, it does free up not only your time, but also your mental space. It gives you an opportunity to spend more time thinking about the things you care about. It gives you an opportunity to plan and do the things that you’ve been putting off for so long that make you happy. 

What passion project have you been putting off either because you’re too stressed about your house, or you spend all of your free time cleaning it up? 

How much anxiety have you suffered, feeling trapped and suffocated in the one place that you’re supposed to feel safe and secure - your home? 

How much money have you spent at The Container Store trying to organize all of your clutter? How many of you have gotten to the point where you just feel like giving up? 

That is not a good quality of life. That is not peace, that it is not happiness.

Let me tell you, my life is by no means a walk in the park. I run my own business, take care of my husband who has a lot of health challenges, and have a dog that wants to sit in my lap 24 hours a day, all on top of my own needs. 

Thankfully I’ve organized my house in a way that’s intentional. I use everything in my house, and there’s nothing here that I don’t regularly use. 

My house gets messy every single day, and sometimes it’s a complete disaster! 

But I do have a routine and a system in place to manage everything. 

I spend 30 minutes in the morning, and 30 minutes in the evening putting my house back together. 

Dishes washed, laundry done, bathroom refreshed and so forth. Because of this, I’m able to have hours left over in my day for what matters most. 

Working out at the gym, my favorite Netflix show every night, and time with family, friends and spirituality. 

I feel fortunate. 

Even though my life is full with work and duties that have to be done every day. I’m still able to have a balance in these other areas of my life that mean so much to me. I can 100% say that this would not be possible if my home was a cluttered mess.

Looking back at everything that’s just been considered, professional organizing is a luxury. It’s a gateway to so much more than pretty bins and baskets from The Container Store. 

It’s a way to start living your best life. It makes your life easier, gives you peace of mind and a sense of relief from the simplicity of it all. 

It opens a way to start doing all of the things that truly make you happy. 

In the world we live in today, that is a luxury.