She was my third client.
I’d just pulled everything from her hall closet, sorted it all into neat categories or organizing supplies, and was ready to create that satisfying before-and-after transformation we all know and love. I was following my usual process and asking what I thought were the right questions. I felt like we were making progress, not realizing I was going to gain a whole new perspective into why organizing systems fail.
Then I saw them: honeycomb drawer dividers still in packaging. An egg organizer that my client stopped using after a month. Acrylic containers with small compartments meant for batteries. A tower of bins with matching lids. Each item was purchased with the hope that it would finally solve the problem.
“None of these really worked for us,” she admitted, almost apologetically. She decided to let go of a few items but kept most. Decisions were made and now I was ready to move onto the next step, organize.
That’s when it hit me. Why am I getting ready to organize organizing supplies?
Here I was, about to create a system… for storing failed systems! The irony was almost too perfect. These weren’t just random purchases. They were evidence. Each abandoned solution telling the story of a real need that went unmet, a problem that stayed unsolved despite the best intentions and purchasing the “perfect” product. All clues into why her organizing systems were failing.
What I Asked Instead
I invited her back to the closet and tried something different. Instead of “Keep, toss, or donate?” I asked:
- What were you hoping these bins would solve?
- What was happening in your life when you bought these drawer dividers?
- How did you imagine your mornings would change with this egg organizer?
This time, her answers came out differently.
We weren’t talking about bins anymore. We were talking about her overwhelming mornings trying to get three kids out the door. About feeling like a failure when the systems she’d seen online fell apart within days. About the gap between the organized person she thought she should be and the creative, fun-loving woman she actually was.
Each solution that didn’t revealed something crucial about how her family actually lived versus how she thought they should live.
We did finish that closet. It was functional and looked beautiful. But more importantly, she walked away understanding why certain systems would never work for her family and what would.
What I Learned About Why Organizing Systems Fail
I realized my clients weren’t really asking me to “get organized.”
They were asking to feel at home in their own lives.
The piles of unused organizing supplies I was seeing in homes weren’t failures. They were information. Each abandoned bin and system was pointing toward what really needed to happen. I realized organizing isn’t the starting point, it’s actually the outcome. The real work begins with noticing patterns, not buying products.
That closet conversation was one of the moments that reshaped how I work and eventually became part of what inspired The Intentional Home D.R.E.A.M. Approach™. It starts with Desire (what you actually want to feel in your space and why) and Reason (what’s really been getting in your way). Because until you understand both the practical and emotional reasons why organizing systems fail, you’ll keep reaching for new containers to solve the same challenges.
What This Means for Your Home
Think about your own stash of organizing supplies. You know, they are often tucked in a corner the garage, shoved under the bed, cluttering up a closet somewhere. Each piece represents a moment when you believed this would be the thing that finally made you organized.
But here’s what I’ve learned after years of working with women across the country: You don’t need more bins. You need systems built for your actual life.
The mom in San Diego whose system for managing her kids’ clothes kept falling apart. She worked hard to stay organized and purchased closet organizers but didn’t have an easy way to rotate what her older daughter outgrew or store new pieces for her younger one. She needed systems that supported her effort, not ones that made her start over every season.
In the Caribbean, a business owner kept trying traditional organizing methods for her home office. None of them accounted for how busy her life actually was. She needed systems that could keep up with her shifting priorities, not complicate her life.
In Tennessee, a medical professional relied on a filing cabinet to manage her paperwork. Through our work she recognized that she was exhausting herself maintaining a system that didn’t match the way she naturally thinks.
When we stop forcing ourselves into organizing methods that don’t fit and start building from who we actually are, a lot changes. The systems become easier to maintain, the overwhelm eases, and the spaces begin to support life instead of competing with it.
What Your Home Is Trying to Tell You
Here’s what I know now that I didn’t know standing in that hall closet years ago: Your home is already telling you what it needs. Those failed systems aren’t failures, they’re actually data. They’re showing you why the organizing systems you trued failed: where your real life and habits are different from your ideal life, which patterns actually stick, and what problems you’re really trying to solve.
Every abandoned organizing solution is like a breadcrumb, a hint leading you toward what will actually work.
It Always Starts With Questions
If you’re sitting in a home that feels like it’s working against you despite your best efforts, despite all the containers and systems and starting agains, I want you to know: It’s not you. It’s the approach.
The way forward isn’t through more products or the “perfect” systems you see on Pinterest or social media. It’s through understanding:
- What do you want your home to feel like when you walk through the door?
- Which of your routines are truly non-negotiable, and which are you keeping up only because you think you should?
- What would “organized enough” look like for your real life?
These aren’t just nice questions to think about. They’re the foundation for creating spaces that actually support how you reset, focus, and find peace in daily life where maintaining your home feels manageable instead of stressful.
A Place to Begin
Walk to your stash of unused organizing supplies right now. Pick up one item. Hold it in your hands and ask:
- What problem was I trying to solve when I bought this?
- What was I hoping would change in my life?
- What does this tell me about what my home actually needs?
Your answers are the beginning of a different conversation, one that leads to lasting change instead of temporary fixes.
If You’re Ready for Something That Lasts
Through virtual coaching, I help women nationwide stop repeating the same organizing patterns that don’t last and create beautiful, supportive homes that support them in living well everyday. Using my D.R.E.A.M. approach™, we’ll uncover what’s really been getting in your way and build solutions that support your well-being and fit your actual routines, energy, and goals.
This isn’t about achieving perfection (although we will end up with beautiful AND functional spaces!). It’s about finally feeling at home in your own life.
Download my free guide: “Setting Up Your Home to Support Your Life” and discover how to choose one space that would make daily life easier—then transform it in a way that actually lasts.
Or if you’re ready to dive deeper, schedule your free discovery call and let’s talk about what your home really needs.
Here for your home journey,
