Contain Your Enthusiasm
Last week Netflix released a new home organizing show, Get Organized with The Home Edit, and I couldn’t not watch a show about home organizing…So here’s my take so far (a few episodes in).
What’s the deal…
The Home Edit stars two friends, Joanna and Clea, who run a home organizing business in Nashville with a team of interns. Their method is four steps: edit, categorize, contain, maintain. In each episode, they organize spaces for a celebrity and an “everyday” person or family. They have a vibe near the perky AF end of the perky/chill spectrum. You’ll love it or you’ll throw up in your mouth a little bit. Or both. Lots of hugs, squealing and use of the term “game changer.”
What I love…
The massive dose of happy happy joy joy works on some level. People have complicated feelings about their spaces, but it’s simple. You like blue? Great, we’ll put all of your blue clothes together. Yaaaayyy! You have certain items that you need for work in your closet? Let’s put them all together so it’s easier to get ready in the morning. Cue the tears and peals of laughter. Organizing is often a matter of loosening up stuck energy, and they nail that part with their hugs, banter and simple method.
Sometimes people just want organizer fairies to show up and organize their garage, in the same way that I want a cook fairy to show up and fill my fridge with prepared meals vs. teaching me how to cook. (Cooking sparks joy only occasionally for me, which is inconvenient when you need to eat every day.) For the people in the home who are often the fairies of all of the things (moms carrying more than a fair share of the emotional and domestic labor), it’s nice to get some support, to just come back and see that someone has taken care of some s*** for you.
Their style is visually appealing and fun. Though I’ll probably never have a wall of color coded candy jars, I love the rainbow look. It’s part organizing, part design, and they reconfigure spaces and add beautiful touches (new curtains etc.) that leave people feeling like their space has been transformed. That kind of home joy feels good right about now.
Moments where I paused (and cringed a little)…
The edit part of their method is downplayed, at least for the t.v. version. People are sent on their way after a conversation with the ladies, back to their “busy lives” outside the home (recorded pre-pandemic). The ladies get to work in the space. Interns arrive loaded down with bags from The Container Store. This makes you wonder, isn’t there some value to the person editing a bit first vs. buying a plastic box to store something they might not want still or even know that they have? It’s hard to know how much of this part happened off camera, but…It comes off as part commercial for The Container Store.
Judgy vibes…One of the ladies seems to be more judgy than the other one, which is part of their routine. She chides one mom for the state of her kitchen, and I’m just not here for that. People who let organizers into their homes are brave and are asking for support. As an organizer, you put on your poker face, listen and help. Rolling your eyes over how many mugs they have? No one needs that.
I usually fast forwarded through the celebrity parts of the show. The ladies lose their s*** over how excited they are to organize for celebrities. Look, it’s not going to change lives. They can afford this whenever they need it. You can imagine the teams of people they have hired to make all areas of their lives run smoothly. At least Rachel Zoe’s closet is a sort of museum and that’s her profession. It’s not the first time she has had the ladies come to help her. It won’t be the last. I would have jumped at the invitation to try on her fluffy coats too. I would have been excited. Am I being a bit judgy here? Perhaps…
My take? Organizing is not about perfection; it’s about evolution. We are all changing all the time, whether we acknowledge it or not, and sometimes our spaces keep pace with that evolution. When spaces become overwhelming, it’s often because there are parts of ourselves that we need to let evolve or there are parts that get lost in the shuffle of everyday life. There are boundaries we need to keep with ourselves and others. We need to be gentle with ourselves while we take action. Sometimes we are just tired and need some fairies in our lives. The gentle, introspective part is turned way down on this show, and the appearances part is turned way up. You can watch it while scrolling and pick up useful tips.