I wrote this article, together with its evil twin (Top 5 Cons Of Marrying A Professional Organizer – link), as my tongue-in-cheek (albeit honest) attempt at explaining some of the more interesting pros and cons of living with a Professional Organizer. I begin with the top 5 reasons that I believe marrying a Professional Organizer is a good idea: consistency, neatness, efficient scheduling, improved social status, and stress reduction.

While I am not an extremely organized person, I feel that I have my piles sorted logically and I can (usually) direct you to where I store my extra roll of tape or box of paper clips. I do not, however, always use my time effectively and I certainly need help making my schedule a bit more efficient. But hiring a group of consultants and a life coach has never been within my budget, so I decided on a different solution… I married a Professional Organizer!

1.    Consistency

Take it from someone who has experienced more than his fair share of newly organized areas. When your space gets organized, there is a period of adjustment that can be a bit awkward. But this period soon passes. Sure you may not know exactly where to find your scissors at first. But fret not, the next time you need them they will be right where they are supposed to be.

This is due to the fact that when a space gets organized, everything in that space gets assigned a home. So you can imagine that living with a Professional Organizer means that I never have to worry about where something is located. I simply go to its “home” and voila, there it is! Of course, this only holds true until the next RE-organization, at which time the process begins again. (see #1 on Top 5 Cons Of Marrying A Professional Organizer – link).

2.    Neatness

So half of your stuff just got “organized” right out the front door? That’s too bad. But you have to admit, the place is really neat now! No old newspaper on the floor, no pizza boxes or empty beer cans from Sunday’s football game in the kitchen, and no filthy socks or underwear strewn about the house. What a feeling! Finally having a living environment in which you can feel comfortable.

I must say, during all of my years of being single, I never slept as soundly face-first on a carpet as I do now. No more worrying about how much dirt I am inhaling or what that stain two inches away from my face is from. Having an organizer in-house means that the place gets picked up and stays picked up. And everything having a home means that nothing is left abandoned in the middle of the rooms. A pleasant side effect is that when I see that vast expanse of clean carpet, I am on vigilant vacuum patrol looking for any debris. But again, this all comes at a cost (see #2 on Top 5 Cons Of Marrying A Professional Organizer – link).

3.    Efficient Scheduling

I can tell you what I am doing three weeks from this Friday at 2pm. Is it because I am an organized businessman with a firm handle on my appointments and to-do lists? Not even close! My in-home organizer has arranged a “Life Management Center” complete with color-coded calendars and folders for storing important documents. This is where the incoming bills are filed, where our children’s school papers are stored, where each family member’s schedule is recorded, and where notes to one another are created. It is a one-stop information center for the whole family.

With the more efficient scheduling, we do more as a family and get to see more places and do more things as a couple. We each know what we have scheduled for the upcoming weeks and where we have “free time” (quotes are intentional… see #3 on Top 5 Cons Of Marrying A Professional Organizer – link).

4.    Improved Social Status

A neater house means more opportunities to entertain. Honestly, who wants to attend a party at a cluttered home? More parties mean more chances to meet new friends and create better networking connections. If you find your “good friends” list is a little short, nothing will boost those numbers quicker than hosting a few parties in your newly organized home. For instance, having a game night or a costume party can be a fun way to entertain (side note: save the Toga party until you know everyone a little better). Once you have a few events under your belt, the kudos start coming in and your “good friends” list takes off. Up the social ladder you go!

Now is the time for me to point out, however, that as your “good friends” list expands, the necessary “people I can stand for about six seconds” list begins to grow as well (see #4 on Top 5 Cons Of Marrying A Professional Organizer – link).

5.    Stress Reduction

One of the most important benefits of organizing your space is reduced stress. If you have ever been late for an appointment because you have searched fruitlessly to find an important document lost in a sea of paperwork on your desk, then you may already be aware of the stress that clutter can cause. Simply having a more efficient system for keeping track of appointments and paperwork (like the Life Management Center) can help minimize stress-influenced conditions such as depression, ulcers, and heart disease. Likewise, a cluttered environment is difficult to dust and clean. Prolonged exposure to dirty and dusty living conditions can cause allergies to flare up or lead to diseases like chronic bronchitis. Both cases suggest that organizing and cleaning your environment can help make you a healthier (and happier) person.

Since I live with a Professional Organizer, you must think I am the healthiest and happiest person in the world. Read #5 on my Top 5 Cons Of Marrying A Professional Organizer [link] and you will understand why this isn’t entirely true. However, in all honesty, the organization and efficiency in our house is a blessing. I can confidently say that I would not go back to my bachelor ways again for the world!

Special thanks to my spouse Grace Brooke (http://www.gracebrooke.com) for being such a good sport (even though she didn’t know I was writing this article until it was too late anyway). I love you, honey.

Try

{ 11 comments }