By Hannah S.Are there really only two kinds of people in the world: those who love to organize and those who don’t? Are you the kind of person who loves to visit the Container Store and has a professional label maker? Or are you one that feels stifled in a room full of neatly packed bins and boxes and prefers to “wing it?” Well, no matter where you fall on the organization spectrum, the book The Organized Heart: A Woman's Guide to Conquering Chaos by Staci Eastin is for you.
This book is different than the many others I have read about being organized. There is nothing about charts, timers, purging, or file folders in this book, and yet I think it has probably been much more effective than others in helping me get to the root of chaos in my life.
I will have to admit, I am one of those crazy women that loves to organize. I cleaned out my freezer the other day and found great joy in looking at the organization of the vegetables and popsicles. But my system is not always implemented, and two weeks from now I will open my freezer and have to dodge the falling ice cream container. Do I need a better system - or maybe a bigger freezer - or maybe I could blame the kids? Even though I love to read about organization, why do I often find myself literally “under the pile?” Why does my family not feel loved when I am on a cleaning kick? Do I value organization more than relationships? These are all questions that I began to ask myself as I read this book.
The Organized Heart begins as Staci Eastin reminds us of how a lack of organization affects our lives. She writes:
Disorganization steals your joy. It causes you to go through your life frazzled and stressed. It causes friction with your husband and makes you snap at your children. It makes you perform your ministry tasks grudgingly. It prevents you
from developing friendships, because you’re always rushing from one task to the
next. You don’t feel like you are doing anything well, let alone to the glory of
God.
Eastin states her purpose as
My goal is not necessarily for you to have a cleaner home or a more manageable schedule – although I certainly hope that is the case. Rather, my hope for this book is that it will help you serve God and your family more effectively, more fruitfully, and with greater peace and joy.
Isn’t this our hearts' desire? Shouldn’t this be the goal for being organized? So what is stopping us? As I read this book, I began to realize that my issue of organization has more to do with a lack of proper motivation than a lack of knowledge. It is an issue of my heart.
Eastin identifies four idols that hinder us from our heart’s desire to serve our family well. They are leisure, busyness, perfectionism, and possessions. Eastin takes each of these items and discusses the particular pitfalls that they cause. As you read, you will begin to see your own tendencies in these areas and realize how they affect your home and those around you. You will see idols in your own heart that are causing chaos in your home. This book has been a great reminder to me that the answer for the disorganization in my life is not more storage bins or a new cleaning system, but it is examining the motivations in my heart and confessing sin. I am confident as I “spring clean” my own heart that my home and family will benefit as well.
