Organization: I NEED it

“It’s characteristic of Virgos to be the most analytical and organized members of the zodiac. Their perfection-oriented worldview makes them extremely efficient and diligent workers.”

Ann Roberts – Virgo Characteristics

Hi. Welcome to my life. I am a Virgo, a person who is type-A, and an ISTJ-T on the Myers-Briggs personality indicator. If these things don’t mean anything to you, let me summarize: I am a hard-working, uptight, stubborn, impatient, aggressive, logical, organized perfectionist. Phew! That’s a mouthful. And perhaps not the best picture of me – haha – but, I will own all of those labels.

And while those labels are important to me – they make me, ME – the one I want to focus on currently, is the organized perfectionist.

Organization makes me happy. My desk at work is organized, my clothing drawers are organized, my clothes hanging in my closet (and my husband’s for that matter) are hung according to type, and all of “my” book shelves have a system (mine at home, both of my children’s, and all my shelves at school). I make lists, and I follow those lists until I can put a check mark next to every element on the paper.

What isn’t organized of mine, is my house overall. I happen to live with a husband and 2 tiny people, and trying to keep up after the 3 of them, is exhausting. I noticed that my mental health was constantly in decline when I went around in circles, picking up everything they put down. I aspire to live in a house that looks like a magazine cover, but the realist in me has come to realize, that it’s never going to happen. At least not in this present moment. But the demanding, frustrated human that I am, had to figure out a way to create order out of chaos. And how to do it within a workable amount of time – because I simply, never stop).

Part of what is needed to live a happy life, is to know what it is that makes you happy. What it is that you need to be able to function, day-to-day and week-to-week. Sometimes those things are obvious, and sometimes they are not; but I really believe that mental health, and even self-care, starts with being able to create small habits, and to work within those habits [that are most important to you], recreating them as often as possible.

Simply put: do what you need to be happy.

I tried the whole, “let go of your perfectionism and let your kids and husband help” route, but that.did.not.work. My “just give it to me and let me do it” attitude, took over. I mean, I want it done right, and right means, MY WAY (and done well).

So, on to option 2 – be the logical, organized perfectionist, living with 3 other messy humans – and control what you can. So, that is what I do.

I keep the bookshelves, clothes closets, and bureaus neat. I fold my towels in thirds, just the way my mom taught me. And I keep my desk at work in working order (there is a standing rule that no one is allowed to touch my desk, or anything on it, but me). And amongst the chaos of everything else, I relish in the time that I get to stand and look at the neatness of those few places, and what that neatness offers me. Because I am a realist – I know that this is just the way my life has to be right now, and the part of me that looks to the future, knows I will be sad one day when my house is too neat.

In a few concluding sentences – do what you need to be happy. And work on the small habits that you can control, that play directly into your contentment. Those small habits – small constants – offer you a rare moment of sanity, and are just that important.