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Get Organized: Why the Japanese method of tidying up doesn’t work here

Marla Ottenstein
Get Organized
Marla Ottenstein

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a little girl who thought she was perfect and who thought everyone else in the world should be perfect too.

This little girl, with her perfectly coiffed hair, grew up in a little house, much like all the other little houses on the street, where the rooms were divided by rice paper screens, the floors were covered with straw mats, and the thought of adorning the walls with anything other than a window was nothing shy of sacrilege.

Rooms and belongings are generally more minimal in Japan.

All alone at night, with nothing more to do than to think about how she would rearrange the stars in a perfectly straight line, the little girl would open her little closet, where her little school dresses and little shoes were all lined up in a neat little row, to admire her perfect little world before unrolling her bed to go to sleep and dream of a world where people would shun possessions and live in a perfect world.

Honey, you’re not in Kansas anymore, or should I say, “Girllll, wake up, smell the cherry blossoms.” What works in the land of Zen will not work in a world filled with people who not only cherish their possessions and imperfections, but who also have an irrepressible need to acquire more and more things just because they can.

As we all know, perfection is in the eye of the beholder, and this perfect girl (if she does say so herself) has come up with a gimmick that puts Gypsy Rose Lee to shame. Write a book, hire a top-notch publicist, coin a few catchphrases and spread the gospel of tidiness (not necessarily organization, but “tidiness”) to anyone who will listen to her translator.

Oh, did I forget to mention the perfect little girl no longer works one-on-one with clients, claims an entire house can be de-cluttered in less than three hours and is not a member of the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals because … well, because …

According to this perfect little girl, if you follow her six rules, in the order she decrees, you’ll never need to declutter again. Trust me when I say that even I, a self-proclaimed minimalist who proudly boasts to having only three accessories in her living room, still need to sort through and declutter my office, kitchen and closets twice a year.

Following are the “six steps” to tidying up the Japanese way, along with the truth about getting organized:

1. Commit yourself to tidying up: It’s one thing to be committed, it’s another thing altogether to have the capacity (emotional and physical) to actually get the job done. And don’t forget, being tidy doesn’t necessarily mean you’re organized.

2. Imagine your ideal lifestyle: Ask most people what their ideal lifestyle is and they’ll answer, “To live like the Kardashians,” which translates into owning lots of stuff.

We Americans love our stuff, so keeping tidy and organized doesn't necessarily come naturally.

3. Finish discarding first: And then what? To truly get — and stay — organized, you need a plan and you need to know how to facilitate that plan. This is where working with a professional organizer comes into the picture.

4. Tidy by category, not by location: A-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y not! Getting organized is a process, and part of the process is to organize one shelf, cabinet, closet or room at a time, which, if done correctly, should result in creating an organized home or office.

5. Follow the correct order (listed above): When it comes to getting organized, there is no such thing as a “correct” order. The solution depends solely upon the individual client’s needs.

6. Ask yourself; does it spark joy? Getting organized is not as easy as the Japanese “spark-joy-or-kiss-your-old-underpants-goodbye” method would have you believe. It’s human nature to hold onto things because of their sentimental value. An experienced professional organizer understands this and is able to help you “let go” in a compassionate manner.

Finally, remember, nobody’s perfect, not even those people who sell millions of books with their one-size-fits-all approach.

Naples’ Premier Professional Organizer Marla Ottenstein offers expert residential and corporate professional organizing services. Licensed & Insured. Member: National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals (NAPO). Her column appears on the first Friday of each month. For more information: ProfessionalOrganizerFlorida.com or on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ProfessionalOrganizerFlorida. Send questions about how to get and stay organized, to be addressed in future columns.