Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter

Know When to Hold ’em

My dad is an old-fashioned Wall Street guy. He believes in long-term investments and slow, incremental gains. When I inherited a few shares of stock after my grandmother died, he told me that his father had bought that stock in 1960, and he expected me to leave them to my children—mind you I had no children, or even thoughts of children at the time. My dad thinks in terms of generations, not fiscal quarters. I’ve been thinking about his approach lately, because it feels like in all matters right now, holding—and holding still—might be the right approach.

I want new pants, but while browsing on line, I start thinking, Why? If I’m only seeing a client or two a week, do I really need new pants? I also think I want to do some renovations on my apartment, but again, I pause: Sure, I’m working a bit, my husband’s job seems to be okay for the moment, but the future feels very uncertain. It seems better to hold off.

How does this apply to organizing? Often my clients’ clutter is the result of anxiety: the desire for a project, or that inner drive to do something, anything. I get it. I know. Doing nothing is the hardest thing of all, for me and for many of you. In self-help circles, it’s common to encourage people to “sit with the discomfort” rather than rush to try and fix or avoid whatever the problem is. This seems apropos right now.

While life these days is too “still” for my anxiety (even as the news comes faster and faster), the answer isn’t for me to renovate my apartment, or sell it and move to Toronto, the answer is for me to sit, to be, to not make any sudden moves.

Of course, there are ways to act, or projects you can do that don’t require making a purchase or commitment. I suggest vacuuming behind your dresser. Or volunteering to make get-out-the-vote phone calls.

When life is uncertain, it’s okay to be still. You have enough. You are enough. Just breathe. And maybe, just maybe, things will turn out alright.