Pro organizers as capitalism therapists

Plus 3 ideas you can try immediately

This New Yorker book review contained a keen observation I’ve been mulling over for months:

Professional organizers as therapists of capitalism.

Put another way, yes, professional organizers are here to help people manage their belongings but also to “work through their feelings around their stuff and the labor it demands of them.” This is a quote from the anthropologist author Carrie M. Lane.

I think of it like this: good organizers help you face the consequences of capitalism and help you chart a new path forward.

It’s true that we roll up our sleeves and help you dig yourself out if you’ve ended up under a literal pile. But to really effectively organize, it’s generally necessary to change your relationship with Stuff. To do this, some people need to excavate painful memories, face difficult truths about relationships, question the amount of time they dedicate to stuff management, evaluate closely held values, revisit climate change fears, and more. It’s not a simple job.

(And frank…