Fear the Purge? Permission to NOT Let Go.
Many people resist/refuse/struggle against getting organized. A recent client experience helped us to identify one of the common sources of this resistance.
The fear of being forced or shamed into letting go of possessions if they agree to “get organized” stops many people from approaching an organizing project. Many fear that organizing means agreeing to let go of wanted (or needed) possessions.
In our work, the focus of organizing is on bringing light to and reclaiming space that is shrouded in indecision, unknown and guilt.
Before you think of tackling an area, it helps to give yourself permission to keep everything and just focus on sorting and reorganizing existing items. Because if it’s in a pile, in a muddle, or hidden away, you don’t see the individual items and can’t really appreciate what you have, how much you have, and how to get to it if you wanted it.
We recently had a victory with a resistant client. They tackled a storage shed only after being reassured that nothing had to be discarded. Nothing significant was disposed of, but the client gained clarity of what they owned and were able to store items so they could find what they needed.
Key Steps:
Pick a manageable/discrete space (a closet, a drawer or a desktop, for example)
Affirm the goal to refresh a dormant area of your home
Give yourself at least an hour
Empty or clear off the space by transferring items to a large enough table or generous floor area
Sort as you go by type of item – use labels if necessary
Once you’ve sorted you can consciously decide where the items you want to hold onto should live
We want to reassure you that sorting and relocating items alone can refresh a space, even with zero purging. Giving yourself permission not to discard can unlock motivation to organize. Organizing doesn’t have to be about making hard decisions about what to eliminate.
