Confessions of a Professional Organizer: My 2 Year Not-so-Organized Life Living Out of a Suitcase

One of the most common things I hear as soon as someone learns I’m a professional organizer is, “Wow, YOU must be so organized all the time. Lucky you!”

Well, I’m willing to make a confession … This is absolutely untrue!

Here’s my story

For the past 2 plus years I’ve been commuting between Atlanta (home base) and Denver (my husband’s “temporary” place of work).  Before we knew it, a situation we thought would last 6 months max turned into 2 years.

What started out as an exciting adventure eventually turned into an exhausting cycle of packing/unpacking, closing down/opening back up a home, and precious days spent in airports.

And here’s what happened

The more tired I became, the more disorganized I let things get. Habits and routines I used to live by got pushed further and further off. “I’ll deal with that when I get to Atlanta” turned into “oops, I’ll deal with that when I get to Denver.” Eventually, I wasn’t even unpacking my suitcase.

In short: Life plans changed – quickly! In turn, my normal routine changed and before I knew it, I wasn’t quite so “organized” any more.

What I’m trying to share here is that life happens. Schedules change. Sometimes (hopefully, most of the time) in good ways. Sometimes in exhausting ways.

Sound familiar? I’m sure it’s happened to you too. And boy can I empathize with you if it has!

Fast forward – we’re now back in Atlanta. Full time. Feet on the ground. In one spot. Oh happy day. This alone feels great. But what feels even better is gifting myself time to slow down and embrace old habits and routines I used to live by. And let me tell you – my entire life is improving each day as I settle back into what I know works.

Here are the habits and routines I’m returning to

• Solid, consistent morning and evening routines – Doing the same thing, in the same order before starting and ending my day creates a sense of calm and order for the entire day.
• No multitasking – I’m saving tons of time and stress doing a single task well before moving on to the next. Trust me on this one.
• Writing things down – returning to my Bullet Journal and keeping a master “brain dump” list to get things out of my head is huge!
• Everything in its place – I feel authentic again by practicing what I preach: slowing down to return everything to its “home” is a game changer.
• Daily handling of mail and receipts – No more backlog of paper, bills and bookkeeping.

What habits keep your life flowing calmly and smoothly? Leave a reply – I’m always interested in hearing what works for others.

If you’d like to add a few new habits and routines to your day – grab a copy of my 10 Daily Habits of a Professional Organizer. We can work on these habits together and life will get better (or at least more organized). I promise!

Happy Organizing,