My problem with organizational shows is all the generalizations. I thoroughly enjoy watching people go from a cluttered existence to having a gorgeous, well-organized home/space. BUT...

If your only experience and education about organizing/sorting/purging/redecorating etc came from these shows, you would be misinformed and probably frustrated with your efforts to recreate this experience in your home.

• Most of the people on these shows will not keep their spaces uncluttered. This happens when the disorganized person is nominated for the privilege or is bullied into it. If you are not ready to get organized, then you will not stay organized.

• These shows usually take 30 minutes to an hour. Sometimes they show you that it might take a couple of days, but these shows have designed these spaces before taping. They have a team of organizers. In real life it's usually just you and whatever family you can solicit help from. Real-life organizing takes time and should not start with a big project. Do not torture yourself by adding redecorating to the stress of uncluttering. The bonus of organizing your rooms is that once they are organized, it inspires you to decorate the space to make it visually pleasing and motivate you to keep it clean. Organize then decorate.

• These shows have budgets and can afford to buy or build fabulous systems to house the homeowners' possessions. These expensive organizing tools are not necessary. They are only to provide something nice to look at on TV. And a lot of these systems will not fit or work in your home. Decide what your needs are after sorting and purging, then buy or find systems that will work for your specific situation.

• I love the inspiration and ideas that these shows give for purging, but not all of us collect the same items and definitely not for the same reasons. I find that most people turn to self-help books or professional organizers to give them ideas or encouragement for their particular problems.

I now have an organizational group and would love to hear from them, as well as anyone else, what specific areas you would want me to address. If you have a particular reason for holding on to some possession and would like advice on how to change your way of thinking so that you can let some clutter go, I would love to help. If you need advice on a particular area where you need help organizing (closet, pantry, papers, books etc), I would love to share your question and any answers I might find so that we can all help each other.

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