Professional organizer helps clients love better

The work of a professional organizer may seem superficial, associated with drawer containers and label makers, but it has spiritual implications, said Sarah Cronin, owner of Simply Inspired Home Organizing. The 40-year-old mother of four, a member of Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville, brings many talents to each client’s home — and a ready serving of compassion.

Q) What makes the new year a good time to get organized?

A) Fresh starts feel so good. We’ve trudged through the last month and a half of holiday stress and busy-ness. We’re ready.

Q) Do you get an uptick in business this time of year?

A) Definitely.

Q) Why does organization matter?

A) When people are frustrated, it’s because there’s a disconnect between their current reality and what they’re hoping for. Organization is a tool to help bridge that gap. It’s often a mindset shift, too — tweaking expectations and using an organizational process to meet in the middle between reality and hopes.

Q) Does organizing stuff relate to organizing one’s life?

A) Our things either help us do what we want to do — getting out the door, cooking a meal — or get in the way. Having some basis where things live helps reduce that friction in our everyday tasks. If the drawer of your kitchen utensils keeps jamming because the potato masher doesn’t fit, and every time you’re trying to cook, you’re cursing that drawer, that’s not a peaceful meal.

Q) Do you see parallels to the spiritual life?

A) It boils down to simplicity. For our spiritual life, if we’re distracted by all these bells and whistles demanding our attention, it distracts from our essence and who we are. It’s the same with organizing: We want to remove the excess, the clutter.

Q) Deciding what to purge isn’t easy.

A) Starting with what I call an “inspired goal” helps. What are you hoping for this space to achieve? Does this help us meet that goal? Another helpful question is: Do I have something else I use instead? Kitchen gadgets are the worst for this! We don’t need 10 single-purpose tools when we have one multi-purpose tool. Everyone has their own comfort level with the amount of stuff around them. I’ve never met a couple who’s like, “Oh yes, we totally agree on all these things.” A lot of times people want to make huge changes: “My goal is to get rid of 80 percent of this stuff.” Holy smokes, that’s emotionally exhausting! I would rather load up two grocery bags a month.

Q) What helps people part with stuff?

A) Taking care of your mindset. Are you coming from a scarcity mindset? Are you worried you won’t have enough to clothe your children? And then realizing it’s a privilege — you have more than enough! — and flipping that switch to pass some along to those who can use them.

When we were in the middle of having kids and not sure if we’d have another, I knew that if I were to get rid of these and then need them again, I could put up a post on Facebook and have 10 friends drop off a bag of boys 2T clothing. Ask yourself: If I needed this, would I be able to get it easily? Most of the time, the answer is yes.

Q) A person can be buried under children’s clothing!

A) Keeping all the maybe stuff is a problem. My girls liked leggings. They were not going to wear jeans or those thick corduroys. That was not going to happen!

We have friends who will still bring us clothes for my girls. I say, “Yes, I’ll take it, but with the understanding that I’ll pass on whatever we don’t need.” I might just keep two things. Maybe I don’t even show my girls.

Q) Ditch the “maybe stuff.” Embrace your life today. This is it!

A) Exactly! You don’t want to open your closet and see pants that don’t fit. This is tricky for moms. Those pants have been maybes for five years now. It’s probably time to let them go. I can buy new ones if I get to that size again. It’s reconciling: I don’t have to be a certain size to be worthy — and yup, I don’t need these things right now. They can go somewhere else.

Many people have been guilted or shamed about their clutter and they have a voice in their head, so I work hard to be a positive, supportive voice that gets to counteract all that should. We blame ourselves.

There are a lot of things that look pretty but don’t have any practical function. Can you slide it in and out easily? Will it work on a daily basis? Most people think the clutter results because they’re a failure, and it’s like, “Oh no — this is a horrible drawer!”

Q) You’re often asked how long it takes to get everything in a house organized.

A) It’s constant. You have to keep shifting your attention to whatever is the current need. We just need to be good enough to meet our needs for this season. Perfection is not the goal. It’s to love our people better.

Q) Does this work make you think about prioritizing what’s good for your soul?

A) Absolutely — both in terms of my own faith and in terms of the connections a family has, their relationships and the harmony. It’s important for me to love my husband and to not get annoyed with him for socks on the floor. It’s a process of letting some things go and communicating what’s important to each other so our relationship isn’t mucked down by a mess. Same with my kids: If I’m constantly nagging them, that’s not the mom I want to be. It’s about protecting and fostering relationships, because our stuff has so much potential for arguments or resentment. We often get sucked into it.

One mom said to me, “I think I do 90 percent of the yelling at our kids in the entryway.” So, we spent time tweaking the entryway and removing the decorative thing and putting in a functional piece. She later told me, “Oh my gosh, I haven’t yelled at my kids in two weeks!”

Q) When I hear about all these storage units being filled, I imagine what our great grandparents would think. It’s a strange modern problem. Do you help some clients tackle unopened Amazon boxes?

A) Yes and things they meant to return and didn’t. The amount of physical and mental energy that can suck up — you feel so guilty about what you meant to do and didn’t, and every time you look at that, you think, “Oh my gosh, I feel so bad about the $80 I wasted!”

Q) What do you love about being Catholic?

A) The opportunities for redemption — reconciliation, acknowledging that there is an inherent lack of perfection in who we are. The fact that we have such a concrete way to receive forgiveness and move on is very powerful. It affirms what we need as humans — grace and forgiveness, eliminating the shame, reframing that.

Q) So you are a Catholic organizer!

A) I think so.