Summer Organizing
You may remember a commercial from the 60’s featuring a cold medicine whose tagline announced, “A summer cold is a different animal.”
That’s how I think of organizing in the summertime. The cooler months tend to involve back-to-school tasks and New Year’s planning, so the summer is really the best time to indulge yourself in moving things around at your own pace.
It’s always good, though, to have a framework and a goal and one I’ve found that fits with the summer mode is Organizing To Be Me. The major question to ask yourself here is, “When I’m not being someone’s wife, husband, mother, father, daughter, son, employee, boss, volunteer, pet owner, etc. (i.e. anyone who needs to answer to another) who am I?” And how is that person reflected in my surroundings?
One client of mine decided to tackle her clothes closet, not because she felt she “should” but because she didn’t know whose clothes were in there anymore. Did they belong to the person she was 10 years ago? Five years ago? Were they reflective of the tastes of her former husband? Last boyfriend? Former weight class? She didn’t want to judge the right or wrong of anything that didn’t fit or feel comfortable; she just wanted to be able to open up her closet and see herself, as she is today.
How about your bookshelves, CD racks and DVD drawers? Exercise equipment? Are your selections still worth the space they take up? And how about your kitchen cabinets? Do you still use and enjoy what you keep there?
One possible outcome is discovering items that represent ideas you’ve had but never acted on. I’ve been collecting information on writing memoirs for years, and by grouping my collection together I see that it’s coming time to stop collecting and start writing. The things we’re now drawn to can represent a new direction that we’re ready to take.
If you’re game, try to look at the individual files in your filing cabinet as energy-givers or energy-zappers. What are you hanging on to that doesn’t fit your needs or purposes today? Everybody goes through stages and phases and we’re not meant to hang onto everything we accumulate.
This way of looking at your stuff in the summer works especially well with kids. By August many children are beginning to slow down and show signs of boredom, and although they may not admit it their thoughts are turning to the new school year. This is a great opportunity to sit down with them and review their “collections”. If you do it in manageable chunks of time, it’s a fun way of getting to know who they are today, and teaching them how to make these kinds of decisions for themselves as they get older.
One of the best parts of summer organizing is that you really are organizing, but you’re doing it in a way that serves your spirit. You’re not beating yourself up with deadlines and have-to’s but rather you’re taking care of yourself and supporting your “growing edge” – the part of you that’s moving towards the next step in your life. You’re keeping pace with yourself as you develop.
I remember the summer a number of years ago when I realized that I was no longer wearing belts. I kept trying to force the belt rack hanger to fit better in my closet and the more I pushed it around, the more belts fell on the floor. Suddenly I heard myself asking, “Why the **** do I need all of these belts? I ended up giving away all but two. That felt so good, I can’t tell you.
Summertime is geared toward fun, and that’s what you’re aiming for.
And this process can also be good for the economy! You can share what you’ve outgrown with others who might have a need, and you can save $ by not spending on what no longer serves you. Just remember that the primary criterion here is ‘who you are today’. Whatever helps define, support, assist, relax, encourage, or inspire your present self are what should take center stage in your life.
You’re worth it – the investment of time and energy will return to you new ideas and positive feelings, not to mention a reduction of what you feel is restricting you.
Make this the summer you “find” yourself again.
