January 2006

Organize “U”
A Crash Course in Bringing Order to Chaos at Home

By Karen Irwin

Sometimes I refer to myself as “Chief of Operations” for a small firm in Tacoma Washington, instead of what I really am: busy mom (is there any other kind?) to four active kids. The question I get asked repeatedly as “Chief of Operations” is, “Mom, have you seen my blank?” Usually the missing item pertains to something urgent like a book report due the next day or a piece of sports equipment needed for a game that starts in 20 minutes.

Even my husband has been known to ask, “Where is the blank?” or “Did one of the kids take my blank?”

Sometimes I close my eyes at night and I can still hear the questions. It is like a Hitchcock film. My family’s faces come in and out focus demanding to know whether I have seen their “swim cap,” “science project,” or “electrical tape.”

“I don’t know!” I want to scream back. My usual answers are something like, “Check under the couch!” or “Have you looked in the van?”

A friend suggested I give a professional personal organizer a call. She said a professional would take a clinical look at how my house was run and give me a fresh perspective. Normally I would laugh off the suggestion of calling a personal anyone, thinking that was the sort of thing only rich people did, or that a professional would only tell me things I already knew. I do, after all, have quite a collection of dust-collecting how-to books on organization.

As it happened, the morning my friend made the suggestion was one of those Keystone Cops kinds of mornings. I remembered the U-turn I made back into my neighborhood to fetch a forgotten clarinet and the missing gym shoe my son never found. I decided to take her advice and give professional organizer Maggie Gardner a call.

Having a professional organizer come to your house is a bit like going to the doctor. You have to remove all inhibitions and tell her what ails you. When Gardner first came to my home, we sat down and I told her all my dirty little secrets. I told her about the missing homework assignments and library books. I told her about the laundry room where I sometimes have to cut a path to the washer. I opened the garage door and showed her a garage that was supposed to be roomy enough to fit a couple of cars but instead looked like a Toys “R” Us sidewalk sale after a tornado.

I showed Gardner all the areas of my house that I work hard at hiding, even from my closest friends. She reassured me that this was what a typical family’s house looks like, and then she said something amazing – “This is not a problem.”

She said my organizational woes could be fixed just by implementing systems. She asked questions like, “What is the first thing your family does when they walk in the door?” She asked if we had a place to hang backpacks and a basket for unopened mail. She had me walk her through a typical day in my family’s life, and said organization was mainly a matter of learning how best to use each room.

At that moment, I enrolled in Maggie Gardner’s “Organize U.”

We started my lessons in the laundry room. Gardner said organizing a small room would let me sample success quickly and help me learn the basics for organizing any space.

Lesson #1 Designate the Space
Gardner looked around my laundry room and saw the sports equipment, art supplies and pet food. She asked how I wanted the room to function. I told her I wanted it to function solely as a laundry room, but that other things had a way of creeping in there. She said since I had decided the room’s function would only be to provide an efficient and clean place to do laundry, I needed to clear everything else out.

Lesson #2 Picture Success
Once the laundry room was cleared out, Gardner asked me to close my eyes and picture what my laundry room would need to function at its best. I imagined that it would need an adequate supply of detergent, softener and stain treatments. I saw that it would need hangers and a place to hang things. I also saw that it would need storage, so supplies could be replenished before they ran out.

Lesson #3 Analyze Your System for Breakdowns
Gardner asked about my current laundry system. System? It was more like the dirty laundry gets put on the laundry room floor until it makes its way to the washer. Gardner got more specific and asked how we collected laundry. “How many hampers?” I had two hampers, one in each bathroom. She suggested I get each of my four kids his or her own small basket, preferably in different colors. A small basket would allow even my 5-year-old to bring his wash to the laundry room. “Once washed, laundry could be returned to each child’s basket to be folded and put away,” she said. I gasped in disbelief.

Lesson #4 Make a List
I made a list of things that the laundry room needed to function at optimum capacity. These items could be picked up at any discount store. In addition to the separate baskets for laundry collection, Gardner recommended a three-tiered shelf to house three baskets – one for lights, one for darks and one for special care items. No more sorting on the floor. I just happened to have an open-ended bookshelf in the garage that worked nicely. Gardner says it is common for a personal organizer to show clients how to make the most of what they already own. I also found a bar with hooks hiding in the garage, and it was easy to install in the laundry room.

Lesson #5 Implement a New System
There are six parts to a successful laundry system: collect, sort, wash, dry, fold and put away. To make the new laundry system work, Gardner suggested that I sit down with my family and lay down the new plan of action. I explained to my children the reasoning behind the color-coded baskets. I told them that they were each responsible for collecting laundry daily, bringing it down to laundry room and returning it to their bedrooms. I told them I would still manage the middle steps on my own for now. (Rome wasn’t built in a day.)

Lesson #6 Reduce Your Volumes
Gardner suggested my children and I go through their closets and drawers and “edit.” She said to look for things that no longer fit or are no longer worn. This step helps to eliminate the overstuffed drawers and allows the children to see once again what they own. Gardner suggested I set up a donation box as I went through the drawers and talk to my kids about how the stuff they no longer need might benefit others. The task was tedious, but looking at the neatly folded clothes, we all agreed that it was well worth the time.

Lesson#7 Enjoy Your Home
Gardner reminded me that a home is sacred space. Sure it is where all the mundane things happen, but it is also the place where we as a family recharge and reconnect. Getting rid of clutter cuts down on the chaos.

Before I called Gardner, I think my motivation for order lay hidden under those piles of laundry. Years of feeling overwhelmed had taken their toll. It was like being caught in an endless spin cycle. I needed some perspective. I realize putting the laundry room in order is just one step on the journey to having an organized house, but when I think about how my laundry room used to look compared to the way it looks now I am excited to move on.

Since then, we have brought order to the garage by placing items we are keeping in labeled boxes on shelves and making several trips to the donation center. I have moved on to the kids’ rooms and our closet (my husband still had “parachute” pants from the 1980s).

Personal organizers cost $40 - $75 an hour. Gardner recommends a four-hour session for each room or area that needs to be reorganized. It seems a bit pricey for the average family, but if your family is getting buried in the clutter and you are feeling over extended, a professional organizer will give you a non-judgmental assessment of your house and lots of “why didn’t I think of that?” advice.

Gardner showed me that getting organized is not about willpower and self-discipline. It is about taking a step back and looking at how your family functions, and then creating new habits. As “Chief of Operations,” my job just got a little easier.

Next course at “Organize U”: the kitchen!

Writer and mother Karen Irwin’s center of operations is in University Place.

©2006
Northwest Parent Media
All rights reserved

Web design by Intentional Publishing & Design