In every family there are honorary distinctions that are handed down by those who know us best…family chef, tech guru, the peacemaker.  These are the family members we turn to when the need arises.

In my family I have been bestowed with the honorary doctor’s degree, silly shenanigans and the organizer.  However I think it is important to distinguish that I can organize well, but I don’t always practice it.  I’m like the plumber who does an awesome job but has leaky faucets at home.  In a pinch I can access a space and have a photographic outline in my head of how I can make everything fit.  I am the one who gets the ooohhhs and ahhhhs as the family watches me pour a pot of soup into the perfect picked container.   It is actually quite funny watching them stand around to see if I have done it once again.  Their confidence is so high that rarely does the dishwasher get started without a once-over from me to see if I can squeeze a few extra pieces in.   I hate wasted space.

You may be able to already foresee the issues that this can create in real life.  Although suitcases may still sit at the rear of the car as everyone watches to see the miracle occur, I recognize that my skills are far more detrimental within my home.  You see…when you can find a space for everything, space itself becomes an issue.  Now I’m not living wall-to-wall or anything but the items I own don’t really have the space or the attention they deserve.  The skill my family admires so much actually drains me of my peace.

This week’s boot camp, focusing on organization and lessons from Peter Walsh, has allowed me to have these conversations allowing me to realize what  I need and what is truly important in my life.  I seriously need a personal edit.  My goal this week is to find a way to remove items to allow air a chance to squeeze into my space.

Being known as the family organizer is great, but I don’t always want that to transfer the same way into my living space.   In order to breathe easier, my home can’t feel constricted.  It is time to let the energy and air flow through my home…and into my life.