Why Getting Started Matters - Progress, Not Perfection
So often, when people think about organizing, they imagine a perfectly styled room-everything labeled, color-coded, and magazine-ready. But real life doesn’t usually work that way. And honestly? It doesn’t need to.
One of our recent projects was a powerful reminder that getting started and making progress-not creating perfection-is what truly changes how a space feels and functions.
Our client is a single mom to two energetic young boys. She’s deeply engaged in their lives, endlessly creative, and full of artistic ideas. Crafting and creating are part of who she is. But just over a year ago, her life changed when she experienced a traumatic brain injury from a car accident.
Because of that injury, decision-making can be intensely exhausting. In any given organizing session, she can only realistically make thoughtful choices for about 15–30 minutes before her brain needs a break. And the room we were tackling? It had reached a point where even getting started felt overwhelming.
So we did what we do best-we got creative.
The Big Sort - like with like then bin, label, and stack
Instead of asking her to make dozens of decisions at once, our team focused on clearing the visual and calming down the space first. We quickly grouped like with like, tossed obvious trash, and thoughtfully binned and labeled everything else. The goal wasn’t to finish every detail-it was to make the space usable, navigable, and manageable again.
By the end of the session, the room was clear of chaos. Everything had a temporary “home,” and-most importantly-the client could now work through the space one bin at a time, whenever she felt up for it. No pressure. No marathon decision-making. Just paced, forward motion.
As an added bonus, the room also doubles as a guest space. With the clutter cleared and surfaces open, we were able to create a cozy, clean place for a visiting friend to stay comfortably (which happened to be that weekend)!
Is the room perfectly organized? Not necessarily.
There’s room for future improvements:
• A cabinet dedicated to crafts
• Closet support or an additional dresser
• Hanging artwork and personal decor to make it even warmer and more inspiring
But here’s the thing-perfectly finishing this room was not the goal. The goal was to get started and make it better, easier to make progress in the room, and lessen the overall overwhelm.
We achieved this! When we stepped back, our client let out a deep sigh of relief and said,
“I can now navigate this space so much more easily. Thank you.”
That’s the magic of getting started.
When we release the pressure to “finish or finalize everything,” we create space for momentum, confidence, and ease. Sometimes the bravest step isn’t completing the project-it’s simply clearing a path forward.