Home Organization Lessons from Pig Pen:
3 Reasons We Love Our Mess

Charles Shultz created a character named Pig Pen, and we can learn a few things about home organization from him. You may remember, he’s Charlie Brown’s friend who always has a dust cloud around him that swirls even when he’s still. The other kids love him anyway and only say “EWWWW” when he’s giving them something and sharing the dust. But who doesn’t love Pig Pen?

We may love Pig Pen because we all have some of him hiding within our homes. Our best home organization efforts are thwarted when we have our own little invisible (or not so invisible) dust cloud. Granted, it’s not as extreme as Pig Pen’s (or it may be!) By admitting our inner Pig Pens, we have to dig a little deeper and figure out why we keep him around. Here are three that cover many of us.

1) It’s Tough!
The truth is, PigPen never takes time to clean. He’d rather hang out with his friends. For us, it’s tough to let go and clear out. It’s time consuming and painful to consider what things to keep, toss, give, or store away. Sometimes it’s emotional work, other times, it’s just tedious. If overwhelm is already a factor, pushing through can be very difficult. It's easier to love our mess than address it.

2) I Don’t Care!
Maybe like Pig Pen, there is a small part that truly doesn’t care about home organization where everything is neat and in order. For whatever reason, until we care that we don’t have enough space, have clothes all over, or can’t walk in the garage, we won’t be motivated to change.

3) I Don’t Know How!
We never saw Pig Pen’s home. Although we don’t know his family situation, maybe he never knew that he needed a shower, or he didn’t know how to clean up and stay that way. Sometimes moms don’t know how to clear, organize or sift through the mess in closets, kitchens or cupboards. They don’t know what they may need one day and what is taking up space.

When we face our Pig Pen hiding in the bedroom closet, we can begin to address home organization issues head on. As we begin to care about the shape things are in, and make time to learn and actually de-clutter, we begin a fresh new stage of caring for our families. Don’t worry about Pig Pen. He’ll take the hint and go play outside where we can love him in his own element.
©2011 The Mom Whisperer

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