9 Things I Learned About Organizing in 2024
2024 was a transformative year for me to say the least! We sold the condo I'd lived in for 19 years on the DC line and moved 35 miles away to Annapolis, MD. Now that it's been over two months since move day, some of the trauma memories are fading. Yes, the move was tough even for me. I've helped countless people prepare and recover from moves, and even downsized and moved a 250,000 sq. ft. office building. I'm good at this. A lot was done obsessively right. Still, moving from 1000 to 1850 sq ft nearly broke me multiple times. We also renovated the kitchen and more, compounding the stress. Lessons were learned though.
I share with you the lessons learned during my move and during my year with clients. This marks the 13th consecutive year of my annual "things I learned" year-end list. As always, I was about to skip it this year as an act of self care. But in the dwindling hours of the year, I found determination to reflect for both you and me.
1. When on a deadline like a move, "There is no later."
As soon as our offer was accepted on the house in July, I found myself saying to Nic, "There is no later." We were to sell the condo in September and move in October. Our first goals were around staging our condo, involving bringing a ton of stuff to my mom's basement 20 miles away. This meant that we would need to prep for the movers in two places. We were to pack everything ourselves and that process started ASAP. Humbled by the clown car that was our organized condo, the packing didn't seem to make a dent until the final month. Every evening and weekend was an opportunity to try though. Whether it was painting a bedroom in July, taking truckloads to my mom's, scrubbing shower grout, or replacing closet doorknobs, I repeated, "There is no later!"
Our move date was October 15. Some might see three months as a long runway, but professional experience told me it wasn't. If we thought of something that had to be done, I needed it to be done within hours or days, bypassing a to-do list. MUCH landed on a to-do list, but even better if it didn't. This cost me some sanity. My attention span was in shreds for months. I stopped working out, ate poorly, and slept fitfully. Postmortem though, we had few regrets. I shudder to think how the move would have gone down without "There is no later!" as our motto.
WARNING: If you are particularly ADHD and/or you are not on a dire deadline, "There is no later" can be crazy-making, destroying what precious attention span you have. Use sparingly and proceed with caution. Put these four words behind glass and break in case of emergency.
2. Decluttering has an instant effect on self care.
Even though we live(d) fairly minimally, some light perma-clutter crept into our old condo. In my bedroom, I always had some things set aside for consignment. Some art was stored behind things. The plant in the corner wasn't the healthiest. These were little pockets of life. Maybe "clutter" is too strong a word. When selling a home, it helps to declutter and stage it to the point of "How does anyone live here?" (They don't!)
We did get it to that stage though. The day my bedroom was photographer-ready, I rolled out my yoga mat for the first time in months and did yoga! It was almost like I had no choice. It was as if my beautiful bedroom I was about to say "goodbye" to said, "Here, take a break." These became the words I want my new home to always say to me.
3. Organizing your past frees your present.
My most poignant example of this took place this year with a client who was diagnosed late in life with ADHD. Perhaps my longest single project with a clear "start" and "finish" in 2024 was helping her organize over 60 years of handwritten correspondence. This was a change of scenery from organizing her professional history and research. An adventurous life and career took her around the world. The hundreds of letters proved that she picked up many dear friends along the way. It was touching to sort letters from dozens of friendships that started in the 60s and continue through today.
Throughout the process, she shared her hesitation about spending her time and resources on this great personal project when other professional and administrative projects were looming. She even said that one day she might start tossing the meticulously organized letters, proving that the therapeutic nature of the process was the real product.
When we were finished this fall she said, "This gives my life such cohesion and coherence." She added in the waning hours of 2024, "Organizing my environment, and my office, has been a wonderful, and necessary, improvement to quality of life!"
4. My hands are smarter than my brain.
I uttered these words as I was working with a virtual clien as we were looking at her office floor for probably the 10th time. There had been other paper-related projects in the house, but today was the day we were finally starting on the office. I wanted so badly to beam myself across the country to her home so that I could use my hands, instead of my guiding words, to make sense of the piles. Anyone who works with their hands knows that they have a mind of their own. I'm probably more skilled with my words than my hands, hence the ability to work with people long-distance, but I still itch to explore spaces in person when I can't.
This was the first time I had put into words the power of doing over talking. If you are stuck with your organizing project, just start touching your things. Stop planning and start doing, even if you have no idea what to do. You might be amazed at how your hands are smarter than your brain.
5. Sometimes the key to getting organized is more alone time.
During an Organize & Flow session, the woman I was coaching said, "I think I'm more productive when my husband is gone." As the words came out of her mouth, I could tell that she:
Had never realized that before.
Felt guilty for saying it.
Collectively, I could feel that this rang true for dozens of people listening in. It's certainly true for me. Earlier this year my husband had a terrible case of Covid and was in bed for 5 days. During that time, I moved mountains. When he finally emerged, I too emerged as someone who had just caught up on her entire life. The inbox was down, a newsletter was written, digital photos were organized, and the nether regions of my computer were purged.
She and I went on to talk about how to find more alone time to organize her office. She wanted to be careful to not hurt her husband's feelings. I suggested two ways to talk about this with him:
Quantify the need with specifics. She was going to try, "I'm 3X more productive when I have the house, floor, or room to myself."
Make it about you, not him with a conversation with the tone of" I'm just realizing that I get more done when I'm alone." and "I feel more focused when I have physical space to myself."
Some people need to talk out what they are processing in their space. Sharing your feelings when letting go or reworking a space can be essential, but not always. If you are someone who moves mountains when you are alone, own it! The loved ones who are lovingly in the way will hopefully be happy for you when they see the space open up in their absence.
6. Novelty is a primary need of people with ADHD.
"One of my super powers is always creating new ways to do things." An online coaching client shared this as part of our ongoing conversation about ADHD friendly organizing solutions. We've been working together for over three years. This year her observations about living and working with ADHD were clearer than ever. She learned that tasks are easier for her to do if they are "new, unique, or urgent." As with many other clients, she needs to keep things novel if they are to have any staying power. This creates a moving target; as soon as something feels routine, its sticking power might be fading.
Her realization helped me to validate other clients' need for novelty. Take for example the photo below. This is a client for whom I created a custom weekly calendar book. When we started this a couple years ago, we decided to draw every week in a different color to keep it fresh.
Just because something starts to feel stale, it doesn't mean it's not working! All too often, working systems are abandoned when they just need a tweak. Sometimes a new reward, pen color, desk chair, or label is all that is needed to revive a solution. If a routine or organizing system used to work but no longer does, ask yourself, "How can I make this novel?" If you are ADHD, you might share my client's superpower and have more than a few quick answers.
7. Pauses are underrated organizing tools.
"Look at me pausing to put something away!" my client exclaimed to me as I was sitting on her office floor and she was in front of her hall closet. It was right of her to exclaim this, as it was more than noteworthy. She has a tendency to drop onto the floor everything in her hands at any distraction. For example, the phone rings and all of her presorted papers fall out of her lap as she jumps up. It's a knee jerk reaction that has historically resulted in a living room and bedroom covered in paper and more...
Continue reading My clients have been loving this word for the full post. The theme of pausing popped up a few times this year with multiple clients.
8. I'm able to truly help people in just 10 minutes.
Speaking of pausing, after a three-year pause on posting videos to my YouTube channel, I started again! Filming videos takes a shocking amount of time. Editing, posting, creating thumbnails, etc. to ensure they are seen, takes even more time - even with some outsourcing. I got back in the game though and was so widely welcomed after my absence. My new format idea was to create lessons around the thousands of photos I've taken during client sessions. It worked! The three videos I posted received 70,000 views this year, reaching a whole new audience.
Watch my most popular video of the year: Don't strive for an empty desk! 4 client examples from a Professional Office Organizer.
My move resulted in another pause in creating videos. I promise it won't be a three-year one!
9. Organizing until your dying day is a great success.
This year was the first time a client of mine passed away. He was in his early 90s. We'd been working together on the paper in his home, monthly, since 2022. I saw him a little over a month before he died. He lived independently in a senior community, where he moved after his wife died years ago. He attended one of my virtual talks during Covid and we were in touch for a couple of years before he hired me. Like with clients of all ages, he aspired to be free of his paper. He and I sorted his financial docs, medical information, estate planning, memorabilia and most of all - his reading! Oh, the to-read piles were abundant! He was always learning about the world around him. Information to read was found in the garage, living room, bedroom, and office. I was always touched when I found my newsletters printed, sitting on his desk. One day he asked me to print out my before/after photos of his office so he could mail them to his sister. He was so proud of the work we did, and was so happy when I used his examples in my posts. We took these pictures on the day we felt the office was "done." We knew "done" was fleeting though, so he kept me on the schedule to ensure that the "after" shot was always just one session away.
He chose to improve his space and his self right up until the ultimate end. He knew he was a work in progress, and progress he made even as his health was slowly failing. He never felt weary or defeated. Instead, he was joyful with each shred box we filled. Maybe you don't aspire to be working with an organizer when you're 90, but if you are, know that it is a bold act of self-improvement. He'd be thrilled for you to see our before/after photos from earlier this year:
If you have organizing goals you need help reaching in 2025, let's work together. Click here to learn how.
Michelle and I work in-person in Metro DC and Annapolis, MD.
I also work with online coaching clients worldwide and travel nationwide.
“Things I learned about organizing” posts archive:
2024 was a transformative year for me, both personally and professionally! We sold our DC condo of 19 years and moved to Annapolis, MD. The process, including downsizing, moving, and renovating, was intense—even for a professional like me. But it also taught me some valuable lessons, which I’m excited to share with you.