When we think about the month of February, most of us think of it as the Month of Love immediately. As soon as Christmas is over that the aisles are lined with hearts, flowers, chocolates and those sappy cards for your special someone. Seeing these changes made me put on my professional organizer thinking cap! When I started to research the month of February, and the true meaning behind it, the history of the month had no mention of it being the month of love!
“The Roman month Februarius was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar Roman calendar.”
On the outside, it appears that there is no connection between these two but as a Professional Organizer, I immediately saw the connection. And, I saw an additional connection between the month of love and professional organizers like myself.
Finding the Love Connection.
When I tell people that I am a Professional Organizer, it isn’t the most well-known professional so people often ask me lots of questions about what I do. I’ve actually had many people ask me if I just throw people’s stuff away. The answer is no!
The end result is an organized space based on the goals of the client, not me. I work with the client to sort through each and every item and the client gets to decide if they ‘keep’, ‘toss’, or ‘donate’. The end result can be extremely magical and people often feel as though their space has been cleansed or ‘purified’.
Hitting a bump in the road.
Just like in love and relationships, there will be bumps in the road.
As much as the end result is what we’re after when organizing a person’s home, going through personal belongings can be extremely emotional, stressful and taxing. It’s common to hit roadblocks as the client painstakingly makes a decision on an item. I usually give them time to decide but when they are really struggling, I will have them look and hold the item and ask themselves one simple question, “Do I absolutely love this?”
Sometimes they will say no, but it is followed with a reason. For example, ‘This was my Grandma’s tea set and my mom gave it to me when she passed away so what do I do with it’? Or, ‘I do love these pants, they were my favourite pants but I gained weight and I don’t fit into them anymore’.
These are all tough decisions but I truly believe that if we keep the things that we truly love, it should give you that feeling like no other! The feeling like when you are absolutely in love. If you truly did love your grandma’s tea set, then you wouldn’t have it in a box sitting in your crawl space. Or, if you put those pants on now and they don’t make you feel like you absolutely love them right now, then they are not the right pants for you.
Holding onto things that we don’t love, is not a reason to keep them. And holding onto things in hopes that our future self will love them eventually, is not a reason to keep them either.
When is the right time to let go?
Imagine if you gave that tea set to your best friend because you knew that she loved that brand and style! But, maybe she couldn’t afford one. Imagine if she used it each and every day and she was proud to have it on her table. Now that’s true love; letting go of the things that we don’t love, so someone else can experience true love.
This February, take a deeper look at the things in your home, office, and personal space. Spring is just around the corner and I am sure that we could all use a little purification.
Connect with a professional organizer.
Professional organizers like myself and the month of love have a lot in common. At the end of the day, it’s about holding on to what feels incredibly fantastic and letting go of the stuff that doesn’t. Simple as that! Reach out to me if you’re interested in learning more about my professional organization services and how they may help simplify and purify your life.
To read my previous article, 5 Tips for Kids Room Organization, visit my blog!