It all began nearly 20 years ago, when I sat down in a college art class, and it's nearly as vivid today as it was back then.  "Draw dots", the teacher said.  Easy enough...um...not so much.  The dots were to be traced from holes punched out of the rigid plastic tops of notebooks, using a specific unforgiving ink pen, which was prone to creating smears and off shot lines.  These had to be perfect dots, free of any imperfection. My parents had come down to visit me and take me out to dinner that night, but I got myself so stressed out in a frazzled ball of nerves that I don't even remember if I went out with them. 

In the end, I mastered the "dot" and was given praise by the teacher.  Then there was Interior Design School, but that opens up a whole other can of worms...so we'll just gloss over that.  I think many people can consider a Professional Organizer to be a perfectionist, due to the many flawless "afters" in magazines and TV shows.  Alas, we are just everyday people, struggling with a few piles here and there ourselves. I am gradually reaching the level of imperfection that suits me. 

Finally, by replaying this story to you, I am shockingly surprised at my love of circles and dots in design!   

3 Tips for Making Organizational Progress without Perfection!   

1) Don't Compare Yourself to Others - You might be envious of that neighbor or friend who's house looks "perfect", but do you really want to be in a home that doesn't look lived in?  A few piles here and there are perfectly fine, as long as your not hiding away anything important like bills.  Besides, who knows?  They may have a closet that they throw everything into when they have guests.  Nobody is perfect! 

 2) Use What you Have - You may have lots of bins, baskets, boxes, etc., available to you right in your home, that are not in use.  Don't feel the need to reinvent the wheel and buy matching sets of bins, especially in areas that are behind closed doors.  You can make them seem more of a match by tying around strips of fabric that pull in all of the colors, or use washi tape around it.  You could even cover the fronts with contact paper or removable wallpaper (yes, that is a thing)!  You could also tag them with matching decorative chalkboard labels.

3) Think Outside the Box-  Be Creative! Hop on Pinterest and glean simple ideas for organizing the areas all around your home with people who have similar dilemmas as you.  There are so many great ideas out there.  Feel free to check some of mine out here and follow me!