I Just Discovered the “Done Not Perfect” Organizing Philosophy, and It’s Been a Game-Changer

It can be easy when organizing to get caught up in chasing perfection: perfectly labeled containers and neat stacks of books — but this isn’t in most cases the reality of organizing a home. It’s messy, it’s imperfect, and it’s a work in progress.

I recently discovered a simple philosophy that’s helped me overcome this need for perfection. As I chatted with Ben Soreff, partner and professional organizer at House to Home Organizing, about all things decluttering, he brought up an idea that stuck with me: “done not perfect.” It’s a simple but game-changing philosophy, and he definitely worded it best when he described it as “perfect is the enemy of done.”

“When I first started out as a professional organizer my mentor explained that perfect is the enemy of done,” Soreff says. “Sorting, creating categories, and deciding where items should live based on frequency of use all take time. It’s OK to not rush out and buy attractive storage solutions right away or ever if you won’t use them. What’s most important in organizing is the review: going through your possessions and beginning the job.”

“Organized” and “perfect” don’t have to be one and the same. For instance, if your living room needs a new bookshelf and in the meantime you create a neat pile of books in the corner of the room ready to put on the shelf when it arrives, you have still made steady progress. Your books are organized, perhaps not in the exact perfect place you wish for them to live, but taking this step in your organizing project now is more effective than waiting to start the task later when a shelf arrives. 

It’s also far more efficient than ordering a shelf in advance before you know how many books you own, how many you wish to keep, and where you wish for your shelf to go, as the shelf you end up wanting to store your books on might not actually best serve your needs after you review your items.

Soreff also shares that with organizing, it’s all about time and manual labor, so it’ll get “worse” before it gets better. 

A few months ago I moved into my first “adult” home, and initially I was quite harsh on myself about not having the space exactly how I hoped for it to be. But now when I think about the idea of “done not perfect,” I acknowledge how far the organization of my space has already come instead of putting myself down because it isn’t a perfect home yet. Particularly when I’m tired from a busy day, this really helps to ease my mind.

My closet, for instance, definitely isn’t perfect. It’s a small space, and my bulky knits take up a lot of room. But they’ll live in there until I clean out the home’s under-bed storage. The organizing at least for now, though, is done and functional, and I know where all my sweaters are!