Organization, For the Way We Live Today
Organize for today.
Raise your hand if you organized something, anything during the last few years? Us too. We should say organized, reorganized and organized some more. Now imagine you’re celebrated organizing expert Rachel Rosenthal, and you can imagine it’s been a busy few years (one of us personally has a storage unit so beautiful we want to live in it, thanks to Rosenthal’s handiwork). One of the many things we love about Rachel? She pays attention to the connection between the physical and the mental meaning of our possessions and organizational systems. We wanted to know what she’s learned from the past few years, and what will serve us well as we look ahead.
Back up your back-ups.
As much as Rachel loves order, life happens. That’s why she reminds us as a foundational strategy to have a plan B—and C,D and E. Being flexible in a rapidly changing world is important to avoid disappointment. Planning and preparation are still critical, but we also need to know where to turn next if things don’t go the way we think they will.
Organize forward.
During a recent closet design consultation, Rachel’s clients were discovered to be reserving a large swath of primo real-estate for suits and other formal office attire. When challenged as to the usefulness of this approach, the clients conceded: Not only had they not been wearing said clothing while working from home during the pandemic, they actually didn’t expect that reality to change all that much going forward. With that realization, Rachel was able to develop a design that matches the moment. She would urge all of us to organize our belongings and life for today—not our past.
Systems still matter.
At least part of the stress we feel when routines are disrupted is that we don’t have a good view of what is getting ignored as we pay attention to the crisis at hand. Having an organized calendar and inventory of various to-dos will allow you to easily survey what can be set aside or canceled in order to free up your mental space and respond to your situation.
Stay stocked (but not stockpiled).
Of course shortages cause panic, but a little forethought on the front end can save you on the back end. Having masks and tests and some basic medicines on hand still seems a safer bet for the foreseeable future. A question we’ve been asking at the beginning of a new season is “Come next season, what are we going to wish we had?” This simple prompt has avoided many a shortage-induced panic buy in order to stay stocked for current conditions.
Shore up your IRL social network.
As a mother to twins—and having gotten COVID in its early days—Rachel gets the importance of knowing who your peeps are. She was blown away as neighbors and friends dropped off food and supplies and it got her thinking, “Can I be that person for someone else?” This is a good time to have explicit conversations with emergency contacts (be it friends or family) about scenarios where you may need help. It’s also a good time to introduce yourself to neighbors and make the effort to engage.
