Put plainly, my children’s sanity is synonymous to my own sanity. I am sure many parents can relate to this feeling of personal well-being, being so heavily tied to the well-being of your offspring. My youngest son and I recently went through the process of cleaning out and organizing his four inch school binder. What a task. Sitting at our dining room table, papers strewn everywhere, we balled up scraps and threw them across the room in an act of playful productivity. We got rid of unnecessary papers, organized papers that he still needed with new dividers, and went through over 200 paper reinforcements. When he came home the following day from school he was ecstatic, exclaiming how much lighter he felt as a result of having the binder be so organized. On top of that, he said he felt much more productive in school as he was able to easily find everything he needed, and had a specific place to put all of his schoolwork. He was efficient and productive – All the result of his newly implemented system. Now I know this sounds like a cheesy advertisement for binder organizing, but it is not. Rather, this is a story of how such a simple organizing task can bring so much happiness and productivity to my son…and consequently, to me. I equated my son’s decluttering experience to the feeling I get when I clean out the refrigerator. The cleansing of crumpled paper with bent edges and torn holes, old assignments, scraps stuffed into the binder’s pockets, and cracked plastic dividers, similar to ridding the fridge of old condiments, sticky shelves, dead lightbulbs and rotten fruits and veggies. When I clear out the fridge I feel a sense of accomplishment, as well as clarity, knowing how simple prepping and cooking will be as a result. With this, I can empathize with and connect to my son. Though our organizing projects may be different, the resulting feeling is shared.
