I’m going to talk to you about a very unsexy topic: continuous care (aka prevention and maintenance). Wait, don’t go! The thing is, most people run around “putting out fires” and buying new things to solve their problems (or the symptoms of their problems). They remain in a mediocre zone where they can keep on top of life just enough to function and not miss appointments, but where it constantly feels like a pile is about to fall over. If not explored more deeply, it seems like minor success, but it’s a trap. 

I recall the first time being hired by someone who had previously hired a professional organizer. This surprised me: Her office floor was strewn with papers, her desk surface invisible, furniture was only poking out vaguely from the blanket of things. But there was one pristine area- her filing cabinet. The folders that the previous organizer set up were still intact, untouched, with labels written in perfect handwriting. For the papers she needed to keep but rarely had to access, this was a great solution. It kept them safe and available. But she was a poet and not one to do filing. And there were no systems, no mechanisms to keep a flow of draft poems from off the floor. No prevention strategies. No maintenance strategies. Chaos hit fast and then was the guilt-ridden norm.

Continuous care requires efficient and effective systems. It requires habits. If you have these pieces in place, the discipline you need to employ is minimal. Speaking of minimal, this is where minimalism comes in. It’s the simplest and most effective baseline approach for these systems and habits. It ensures that they are stripped down to what’s most important. It’s honest and focused. Less stuff is easier to manage in any system. A system can become complex, so you need to keep an eye on simplicity.

All of this is why my focus as a professional organizer has been to do two things: (1) set up personalized, tailored systems for clients so it will be easier for them to maintain; and (2) spend the “talking time” during organizing sessions to teach prevention and maintenance skills. Things get a bit emotional, blockages get unstuck, and then clarity allows targeted systems to be built.

It’s also why I’m focusing more on a holistic approach with Minimalist Lifestyle Coaching. I’ve increasingly seen that people need to talk through their issues in detail to gain clarity (which makes downsizing easier) and develop preventative methods in parallel to ensure that the problem doesn’t worsen. Some of their challenges may be beyond “stuff”: uncertainly about how to handle financial issues, navigate life administration tasks, or address their calendar and to do list strategically. These may not seem like the typical organizing problems at first, but they’re all related.

It’s easier to temporarily get organized. It’s harder but more long lasting, fulfilling, and worthwhile to create mindset change and adopt a minimalist approach (even if you never “become a minimalist”). Mindset change (you guessed it) is focused on the mind, not the stuff. All of your disorganized stuff stems from that same type of disorganization in your brain. Tackling them in tandem is paramount to progress.

Prevention, maintenance, habits, and systems are the silver bullet. But this approach lacks the wow factor and before-and-after photo instant gratification. It feels like a secret that everyone sort of knows but chooses to forget. It’s the same way we know that we’d feel better the whole day if we take a few painful minutes to wake up and get going, instead of giving into an hour of restless, guilty moments in bed. A pinch of pain now for a full life of freedom. The equation is easy in the abstract but less so in the moment. We so quickly get distracted by the pinch or our excuses.

That’s why it’s best to start the mindset change process in deep honest conversation with yourself. The solutions to your problems are there, and they are a true and meaningful way to care for yourself. The continuous care process begins with exploring your problems and your priorities, and being honest about what you really want. You can’t truly take care of yourself until you do.