Are boundaries the key to getting organized?
For a long time, boundaries were hard for me. I was terrified that if I set a boundary, I would be abandoned or not get my needs met. So, I said yes to too much. But then it would backfire on me, and I often felt resentful and exhausted.
It wasn’t until I started to learn how to set boundaries that I was able to reclaim some of my energy and show up in healthier ways. To be honest, I’m still a total work in progress when it comes to boundaries, but I’m grateful to be on the path now.
It’s strange to think about, but boundaries tie in pretty strongly to our clutter. The truth is that…
Organizing is nothing if not boundaries.
Nearly every step of getting organized is about setting, creating, and maintaining boundaries.
At its most basic, organizing is the process of saying “no” to things we don’t want to include in our lives. As we organize, we explore each item and decide if we want to release it from our lives and move it to trash, recycling, a donation center, another room, or someone else in our lives.
Each decision you make about releasing something from your home is the process of setting a boundary about what you aren’t willing to experience or allow in your life (both physically, as well as emotionally).
But organizing isn’t just about what we remove, or keep out of our lives, it’s also about what we say YES to and include in our lives.
Organizing is about saying “yes” to what we do want to include in our lives. This includes:
the homes we create for items we want to keep
the limits we set for how much of any particular item we need/want
the systems that allow us easy access to the items we’ve kept
Even the process of maintaining your systems is a boundary. It’s you continuing to reinforce the things you said “yes” to, as well as continuing to eliminate the things you’ve chosen to say “no” to.
Once you start to see organizing as boundary work, it can be a game-changer for your self-care as well as your organizing projects.
Organizing can give us control over simple, practical things in an out-of-control world. Practicing boundaries via organizing can do the same.
Viewing organizing as boundary work, allows us to practice setting boundaries in a safe space, as we strengthen the practice of honoring our own unique needs and preferences. Then when you need to set boundaries in the outside world, you’ve already had a lot of practice to call back on.
I would love to hear about your boundary journey. Comment below and let me know how you see boundaries and organizing intertwining in your life.
So grateful to have you here!
