Tired of Biting Off More Than You Can Chew While Organizing? The Importance of Knowing When to Stop
Have you ever bit off more than you could chew when it came to an organizing project?
When I decided to move, I made the decision to get rid of any clothes that didn’t fit my body right now. My weight sometimes fluctuates…especially over the last couple of years.
I oscillate between wanting to “get back into” my skinny clothes and wanting to make peace with my body exactly as it is.
I have 10 large boxes of clothing that I can’t fit into, but I don’t want to get rid of them in case I need them again. (I know, I know…this goes totally against the “organizer code of conduct”)
But in spite of having all these clothes, the truth is that I never have anything to wear because I don’t have a full wardrobe for any size. I just have pieces that “get me through”.
I’ve never really embraced my body at any weight. I’m always “in transition.”
I thought this move would be a great time to dive in and pare down. I would force myself to make peace with my body by getting rid of anything I couldn’t fit into…What could go wrong? 🤣
So, I did what I have told clients to do. I pulled out all the boxes, categorized the clothes, and started to go through them. A few hours later I was in a full-on panic.
If I got rid of these clothes, what would I wear when my body started to change? Moving is stressful, and my body gains weight when I’m stressed. I know I’m going to lose weight once I get to my new place and can finally relax.
These clothes weren’t great but they were better than parading around in my birthday suit. 🥳
And replacing clothing is expensive. Plus, most of my smaller sizes had been tailored to my body…it’s almost impossible for me to find things off the rack that fit me well. And, the quality of clothing has been going down these past few years.
What I thought would be a quick day-long project turned into a freeze-fest. 🌪️
I sat in my room, surrounded by clothes. Overwhelmed. Ashamed. Stressed out. I couldn’t do it.
As an organizer, I know I should be able to, but it just felt too hard…too stressful.
So, I didn’t. I stopped my project 4 hours in. I didn’t make any more decisions or try to “keep going”. I handled the things I had already made decisions on. I donated the clothes that I was able to release. I boxed up the ones I was keeping.
And then I got back to prepping for the move.
Sometimes there are projects we want to tackle. We may even start them. But that doesn’t mean it’s the right time to work on them. And that’s ok.
If you find yourself a few hours into a project going into a full-on panic attack, STOP.
This is a sign to be gentle to yourself, not punish yourself.
Give yourself permission to walk away from a project if it requires more time, energy, $, or space than you are able to give it.
That’s not you failing, that’s you loving yourself and giving yourself what you need.
Instead, switch to a smaller project. Something that you feel like you can complete. Or something that’s interesting to you.
You’ll get back to your original project again sometime. But it doesn’t have to be now.
Trust that your body and mind are giving you guidance to help you do what works best for you right now. You don’t have to get everything done all at once.
Sometimes it’s just not the right time. And that’s ok.
Is there something that you need to stop working on for a while? Comment below and share what you’re ready to pause until it feels like a better time.
