I remember watching a disorganized individual finally "see the light" of organization after his ministry paid professional organizers to help everyone on staff. They overhauled his office, discussed scheduling, and explained the principles of an organized life to him, and he suddenly "got it". Oh, he remained delightfully spontaneous and laid-back, and his office continued to have a top-layer of free-spirited clutter about it, but beneath the clutter a structure began to form. He was startled to realize that the structures he had always assumed would limit and bind him could actually be freeing.
Over and over this man exclaimed his new-found mantra, "Organization creates freedom!" If organization isn't creating freedom, it isn't doing its job. This man discovered that he could live and serve in his spontaneous style even better when he wasn't wasting time scrambling for lost items or rescheduling missed appointments.
I think the organizational planner who "trained" in solid habits was effective because she tailored her organizational methods to the client instead of trying to fit the client into a one-size-fits all method. She provided different suggestions to the super-organized "Type-A" individuals on staff than she did to more the scattered, free-spirited types.
Organization does create freedom! If instead of freeing it binds, chokes and gags, then it needs altering. The answer isn't to avoid all structure entirely, but rather to tweak it until you have that custom fit.
Domestic Chaos Tamer and Homeschool Mom of Five, Dell writes about home, heart and hearth.
