Get over it.

I said it, I meant it, get over it! Words have dictionary meanings, and we all have contrived meanings that we each adopt based on our personal experiences. No one else is responsible for your interpretations nor is anyone responsible for convincing you to change your mind.

organization /ˌôrɡənəˈzāSH(ə)n/ /ˌɔrɡənəˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/ 2 The action of organizing something 2.1 The structure or arrangement of related or connected items.

Oxford English Dictionary- https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/organization

People today tend to lead with their amygdala. Stating the color of the sky seems to open a discussion about a series of traumatic experiences surrounding the words “sky,” “blue,” and all of the people in their past who have never properly acknowledged their pain. Meanwhile, some of us, just want to enjoy the sky and the pretty colors.

The word organization seems to be like that sky. No doubt we all have experiences surrounding clutter, cleanliness, chores, etc. Perhaps someone treated your disorganization like it is/ was a character flaw. We are bombarded with opinions about what constitutes being organized. Your baggage, though, isn’t my baggage, and unless I’ve ever stood over you judging your habitat, your pain is not my responsibility.

This is my blog; these words

are what I’m responsible for.

People tend to think of organized people as authoritarian and rigid. They don’t recognize that putting someone into a category based on their own past experiences is rigid.

I saw someone say that people with a certain diagnosis couldn’t keep a calendar and wouldn’t like journals with lines and would not write in them consistently. I replied, I have that diagnosis and sometimes I follow the lines and sometime I ignore the lines. The lines are a guide, not a rule; for me. Lines don’t inhibit my creativity.

Despite my ADHD, I keep a calendar just fine. I also write to help others do the same.

Right now, I have shoes in a vegetable storage box, I have pens in a votive holder, and I have electrical cords in a soap dish. That’s how *I* organize.

People tend to be closed to new ways of thinking. In attempts to understand themselves, many fall into globalizing their personal experiences; leaving no room for the idea that they can have one very relatable circumstance with others while simultaneously having very different experiences as to the origin of that circumstance and events surrounding the circumstance.

There is beauty in being open to differences

among people we have commonalities;

that idea is being lost.

I write short anecdotes that are but a paragraph or page from the very long book that is my life. This can be said for anyone who shares pieces of their experiences for public consumption. I rip out a page called “Closet Organization,” page called “Cute Storage Ideas,” a page called “Cleaning [this or that]…” I even give a small background on myself and my experience. These small pieces of myself do not form a whole person. The way people interact on the internet and on tv leads to a false sense of familiarity to others. You don’t know me, what I think, or how I might react to any given situation; to assume so would be hubris and presumptuous.

Don’t create a narrative about

who I am based on

your experiences

What I can do, all I can do, is share some insights that may help some people; people willing to read my words and synthesize them into something useful to them. My target audience is people who don’t say I can’t or people who may have said I can’t in the past but are willing to try instead of seeing a word like “organization” and shut down. If you would like my help with organization, feel free to contact me; melanie@exhaustedmomm.com. My services are not free, of course, but my rates are reasonable.

I don’t need to know how

your baggage informs your use

of the information I present.

That’s personal.

If you were to ask me my definition, I’d tell you- organization to me means simply being able to find what I want when I want in. I also like to make things pretty.

You are welcome to take ideas that inspire you and make them work for you. If you like something I make and you’d like to buy something from me, that’s awesome.

Do you need help with organization and you’re looking for someone who understands there’s no right or wrong answer?

Contact Melanie about teleconferenced design and organization consultations.