Whenever I give a talk, one of the first questions I always ask the group assembled is: who here considers themselves organized?

Usually one or two timid hands go about half-way up; the owners of those hands not quite believing they really are all that organized.

When I ask who feels like they’re losing the battle, the remaining 98% of hands shoot up.

In fact, we recently did a nationwide survey and found that the vast majority of women agree with the statement I am not organized enough.

Just think about that for a second: your neighbor or friend who you believe is supremely organized is just as likely to believe she’s not organized enough as the woman you know who is, well, struggling a little bit with the concept. How is that possible?

I personally blame org porn.

The airbrushed images of perfectly pristine living spaces trick us into thinking that being “organized” means having to have rooms with no toys about, linen closets with everything folded meticulously, all beds made with nary a wrinkle, desks free of paper, and so on.

In a nutshell, they present “organized” as a perfectly beautiful, perfectly static, end-sate.

The one thing you don’t see in those images: life, which by the way, is always moving!

I personally think it’s high time everyone in that majority stopped feeling guilty for having a less than perfectly together room/closet/desk/nursery/schedule/life.

I believe that getting organized is an ongoing fact of life; it’s a process.

Sometimes things go smoothly and all gets put away.

Sometimes you simply have other priorities.

That’s healthy. When you’re pressed for time, there’s no need to waste energy worrying about those toys all over the living room floor, the dishes lingering in the rack by the sink, or the unmade bed.

The mess doesn’t mean you’re not organized.

It simply means you’re organized enough to know it’s not a priority for you today.

How about you? Do you buy my argument or do you think it’s a big cop-out?