Some time ago, My Divine Concierge worked with a client who spent a lot of time picking our brains. One of the questions asked was whether organization had more to do with the big picture or the little details. Perhaps you’ve wondered the same thing. Well, it turns out organization is not an either/or proposition. It requires the ability to both see the big picture and put all the little details in order.
We have learned over the years that a lot of our clients want to be organized but simply don’t know how to do it. They can be taught in some cases; in other cases, the client just may not have a brain wired for organization. It’s fine either way. We are all strong in certain areas and weak in others. It’s part of being human.
As for the big picture versus the little details, both have their proper role in organization. This is true whether you’re organizing your home, your office, a moving project, a garage sale, or even a community event. Keep reading for a more detailed explanation.
Organization and the Big Picture
Being able to see the big picture is an important part of organization in that it gives you a vision of what you want things to look like once your actual project is complete. For example, take the case of helping an older couple just beginning the process of downsizing. We have to have a good idea of the kind of space they are moving to and what that space will afford in terms of their furniture and personal possessions. We have to have a good idea of what the new space will look like when we walk out the door at the end of the move. Without that big picture, it is nearly impossible for us to plan what we are going to do.
The same holds true for virtually every kind of organizational project. If you intend to have a garage sale, for instance, you have to have a big picture understanding of how you want that sale to go from start to finish. In a hoarding situation, you want to be able to picture what the home will look like once it’s cleared and cleaned. Hopefully, you are picking up on a trend here. Before we can actually get to the little details, we need to understand the big picture.
Organization and the Little Details
Professional organizers like us thrive on little details. In fact, being able to put all those details in place is typically what professional organizers excel at. So here’s what we do: we first develop a big picture strategy, then we map out all the little details that will make it possible to implement that strategy.
Let’s use our downsizing example for purposes of illustration. We have a client planning to downsize from a large, three-bedroom suburban home into a smaller two-bedroom condo that is roughly 25% smaller. We are provided with the layout of the condo so that we know exactly what will fit in the space. Now we can start putting all the details together.
We can arrange furniture on paper. We can custom design storage solutions based on closet space, garage or attic space, etc. We can help the client begin thinking about what personal possessions are going to be kept as opposed to those that will be sold, donated or discarded. And while all of this is going on, we can arrange for the moving truck and any help that might be needed to complete the move.
At the end of the day, organization requires the ability to see the big picture and handle the little details as well. It is a skill that not everyone possesses but everyone needs access to. My Divine Concierge exists, in part, to provide the required organizational skills some of our clients lack.