I don’t know anyone who wakes up in the morning, opens the curtains, and greets the day with a hearty “Gee, I really hope I have more stress today.” We all desire stress-free lives; in fact, multi-million dollar companies are founded and sustained on just that premise. But who has time for less stress?

A lot of people view the organizing process as something they know they need to do, or should do, but cannot make time in their busy busy lives for it. They see it as overly time-consuming, or perhaps overly expensive. And when one’s life is ruled by time and money (or the lack thereof), setting aside any amount of either thing seems overwhelming and stress-producing. And in a way, they are right.

Organizing IS time-consuming, and can be a bit of a financial sacrifice, if you team up with expert and compassionate people. There are days when clients get half-way through the process, look around at the “mess” made of their office or living space, and feel stressed out, or worry they just made things worse. But that is all short-term thinking.

And what is called for, in the organizing world, and in life itself, is long-term thinking. Think of a pregnant woman who waits nine long months, and only when she is exhausted, sick, and probably has the worst backache known to man does she then get to spend X amount of hours in intense pain. If she only focused on the nine months (and the intensity of actual childbirth), she probably would never plan on having kids. Ever. But she knows that after the labor and delivery, comes the sweet wonder of a newborn baby to call her own, and the life-changing effect it will have on her forever.

Working with an organizer can be a bit like pregnancy and childbirth. Painful, exhausting, and stressful, sometimes touching off personal issues previously unknown or unrecognized by the client. But in the end, comes the sweet wonder of preparedness, control, and less stress (this is where the analogy of being a parent breaks down a bit, as anyone who has a kid or seen a kid, knows that along with the sweet wonder comes its own special brand of stress… but let’s not dwell on that right now).

So take a deep breath, consider spending the rest of your life in your current circumstance of disorganization and stress, and then consider the alternative: living a simpler life, with less stress, and more time perhaps to enjoy your own children or the child within you.