A small miracle took place today. My husband, who still manages to surprise me after almost 15 years, asked me to help him organize his closet.

I’ve been dreaming of this day for so long (no judging, yes I really have dreamed of this) and I set forth with the vigor of a Viking warrior – ready to conquer and control. 

And the results are pretty impressive I think.  Even more exciting and more important really, is that my husband was the one who took the initiative. Because we all know it never works when you try and force someone to do something they don’t want to do: kids eating broccoli, cats getting a bath, me cleaning the shower…….you get the point.

My husband’s organization (or lack thereof) has never been a problem before. But we recently downsized our living space and our shared closet has become quite a point of contention – as well as those fishing backpacks that are still looking for a home, but I digress. So in the end, does it look pretty? Maybe not. Sure, there is a giant box of records in the bottom of the closet, but given that it is one of the few safe spaces from prying hands, it makes sense to leave it there. Maybe it doesn’t look picture perfect – but it sure looks better and it works.

Because organization has to work. If it doesn’t make sense to the person using the space then you wasted lots of time and effort in pursuit of a beautiful photo.

And, bonus – it didn’t cost a thing! All the organizational materials we needed, we already had – they just needed to regain their purpose.

So I don’t intend to use this forum to show you beautiful photos of impeccably organized closets, or kitchens, or bathrooms, but to show you real ones, because organizing looks different for everyone and you can only be organized when things work for you. 

At the end of the day we took over 5 bags of donations to Goodwill (goodbye ALF shirt), created a usable closet space, and didn’t decide to end our marriage. So I’m gonna call that a win for today and treat myself to a well-deserved glass of wine!  

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