Monday, March 8, 2010

I am one of you... I promise

I was introduced to a new couple at our church a few weeks ago, as we began chatting about all of the normal get to know you questions something interesting happened.

It started with the husband asking, "So what do you do?" An innocent enough question, to which I responded, "I own my own professional organization company that helps moms and families get more organized." An honest and innocent answer.

The interesting part came in the wife's quick response by saying, "Well so much for ever inviting you over for dinner." If her tone had contained even a tint of humor it might not have stung as badly; however, she was quite sincere in here comment. So I got to thinking... does the term Professional Organizer really put people off? I may enjoy filing and color coding and, yes, my label maker may be my favorite household item... but in reality I am not all that different from you.
Need more convincing??? Here are 5 facts about me that should convince you:

1. I hate laundry.... no that is not true... I LOOTHE laundry!!! (Yes, I have a system to make sure that it gets done daily... but that does not mean that I like it.)

2. I have dirty dishes in my sink right now. Yes, as we speak there are dirty dishes in my sink and not because the dishwasher is full or running... just because I have not loaded them yet. (Yes, I will load them before I go to bed... but still... they are there now and I am ignoring them.)

3. I had a not one but two fights with my daughter this weekend over the current state of her bedroom. She is four and exerting her independence... and it is LOVELY. (Can you feel the sarcasm dripping off of those capitol letters?)  You will get to hear more about this ongoing battle in weeks to come.... look forward to that...

4. My spices are not alphabetized. (Why is this one of the most common assumptions that people ask me?) 

5. My garage is a mess... but that is my husband's fault and a battle that I gave up to save my marriage. (though I must say... he did sweep it today, bonus points for him.) Read our story here in this old post.

I share this with you for a few very important reasons... I want you to know that I am a mom too. I am battling a crazy schedule with busy kids too. I have housework that I avoid too. But it is also for these reasons that I am such a huge believer in being an organized mom... it is because we live crazy lives in crammed homes... that is essential to be more organized if we are not we get overwhelmed and stressed out.

I do not strive for perfection in my home so how could I ever ask it of a client??? I only seek to find solutions that are practical and family friendly my home is full of such ideas and I hope to help fill yours with them as well. The mission statement of our company is to save moms time, money, and energy by helping them get organized and find real world solutions to combat clutter and chaos...

So if you are a new visitor to our SOS Organize blog and feel like you too are waving the white flag of surrender in your home... I invite you to do three things today as the first steps to changing your life:
1. Become a follower of our blog and check back daily to read the REAL LIFE and PRACTICAL solutions that we will share with you.

2. Check out the website for our company Simple Organized Sanity to see how we can help you get organized no matter where you live!

3. Leave me a comment and let me know what your biggest real world struggle is as a mom... who knows your struggle may addressed in a future post with some ideas and solutions.

I am looking forward to reading your comments and continuing to interact with our current and future readers not as a professional speaking to clients, but as a fellow mom who shares your struggles and your frustrations... because after all -- I am one of you... I promise!!!!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Awww...one of the first things I thought when reading this blog was, "Wow! This lady is awesome!" I can't relate to be organized, but that's why I'm here :) I can totally relate to kids and messy husbands with their own construction business. So, you're welcome to my house for dinner anytime ;)

I don't think I could narrow down my biggest struggle. Eeek!!! I'm gonna get it together. I promise!

Jada

MS. Simplicity said...

So true! I am professional organizer as well, and say all the time that I am a work in progress. My garage too is a mess, I blame my husband and three boys for that. I tell my clients to keep three areas of their home clean, and the rest is nothing to stress about. 1. entry to the home. 2. kitchen and 3. guest bathroom. Those are the areas most of our guests will visit, so I hope the gal from your church is reading this and now feels better about having you over!

To Simplified and Joyful Living,
MS. Simplicity

Christie Love said...

Jada, I am glad that you are here! :) And thanks for the open dinner invite. :)

Melissa, The expectation of perfection never ceases to amaze me... I don't expect it of clients... but you are right, much like at my house high traffic areas need to be in order. Thanks for the comment!

Liz Jenkins said...

I get one of two responses when I tell people I am a professional organizer - the first is the one you got. The other is, "I need you". To which I say, "Everybody does" with a wink. I don't get why people think we are not only perfect but critical. I don't really "look". It's my profession and who I am but it's not what I'm all about. And I'm not perfect either.

Christie Love said...

I am with you Liz... those are the most common responses. I also get the one where they say, "Oh my mom needs you" or "My sister could really use your help". :) I always tell people that I use real world vision unless you ask me to put on my organizing goggles and see the possibilities in a space. I do not walk around with the goggles on all the time