In a later blog, we will discuss the concepts of Wabi-Sabi and Kintsugi: Wabi-Sabi, the belief that there is beauty in things that are imperfect, impermanent and incomplete, as well as Kintsugi, the act of seeing beauty in imperfections. Both concepts apply to perfectionism.

Mention being a perfectionist and it suggests both positive images – a perfectly organized closet or manicured lawn – and negative images – a controlling parent or workaholic spouse. The truth is perfectionism can be healthy or unhealthy depending on how extreme you let it become and how it controls your life.

Learning to be okay with your home organization.

There is no such thing as a perfectly organized home.

With decluttering and organizing, there is no such thing as perfectionism. No such thing as a perfectly decluttered and organized home. It’s always a work in progress. We just hope that as we help you declutter and organize, it is much less work than before we got started.

There are a lot of people who post Instagram organizing photos that make their home look like no one lives in it. I’ll admit it; some people accuse me of the same thing because I don’t keep a lot of excess. But there is one big difference between Instagram photos and living a life of perfection. In life, there is no such thing as perfection. Especially when it comes to organizing.

As one of our early Instagram posts points out (which, by the way, got a lot of input from our followers), decluttering and organizing companies tend to post unrealistic pictures of a refrigerator packed almost full of just three items: large San Pellegrino water bottles, juice boxes for the kids, and cans of some type of diet soda. Everything lines up perfectly and it looks like no one in the family ever eats from the refrigerator. Everything stays neat and tidy. Like forever. Except, this has nothing to do with reality.

Be realistic about your organization.

In reality, kids dig through the front of the refrigerator to get to the back, things spill, a jar with a loose lid gets knocked over and pickles go everywhere, something drops behind other things and wilts or becomes moldy. So moldy, no one ever wants to reach back in there to throw it away.

Everyone has these problems. No one, and I repeat no one, has a perfect refrigerator, or pantry, or closet or anything else. We, at The Uncluttered Life®, just try to help you get and keep things organized so that life is easier, not harder. Making things easier is the objective of organizing, and if anyone tells you anything else, they’re not telling you the truth.

The purpose of an organized home.

An organized home allows you to experience more peace and less frustration. An organized home can help you spend less, not more, at the grocery store; you know what you have in your cupboard and what you can make for dinner by purchasing only a few ingredients to complete your meal. No double purchases. No excess.

Very, very few have Khloe Kardashian’s pantry. If you really look at the photos in People Magazine, there are many duplicate items, which keep things looking neat and tidy. And the cookies! According to the article, “These strategically stacked cookie jars are still in her pantry and are precisely organized, jarred and labeled for each type of cookie, as is the rest of the food in her pantry.” Who’s eating those cookies? I don’t think it’s Khloe.

Let me repeat, no one lives like this! Khloe Kardashian’s pantry makeover is for a photoshoot. Restocking and maintaining that pantry would take a team of people working daily. Unless, of course, no one eats anything from it. In our opinion, it’s way too perfect! Please, keep your expectations real.

Keep it realistic. Organization is not picture-perfect.

If you feel the need to have more organization in your home, email us. We’d love to get you on track and teach you tips and tricks to stay there. And, from there, for you to live a less-cluttered, less-stressful life. We will show you how to maintain what we’ve done, so that you can keep your home clean and organized. This does not mean picture-perfect, but realistic for you and the people with whom you share your space.