Saturday Special: Making Work Less Work

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Whether you work from home or out of the home, it's easier to be efficient when you're organized. Or, so I hear. Right now, I'm in the middle of numerous projects, and if things go on this way much longer....let's just say I'm looking forward to having time to implement these tips from Rice University.

Admittedly, some of them are a little Type A, but many of them are good, especially if you can find a way to style-ize them.

Personally, I'm in favor of anything that makes work easier.

Enjoy your weekend.

But I NEED it!

addicted2decorating.com via
42 Craft Projects That are Easy to Make & Sell

It wasn't until I started last week's blog that I realized my third R isn't a Let it Go! strategy at all, but rather an escape route -- and one to be used with caution. While both Recycling and Reselling result in getting things out of our house, Repurposing actually makes it less likely that we'll get rid of the item in question.

That's not always bad. If repurposing a beloved (or simply useful) item gives it new life or helps it earn its keep, then hanging on to it is actually a good thing.....as long as we follow a few simple guidelines.

• Repurposing implies purpose. It's right there in the name. Is the item in question being used, or is it merely taking up space? One or two decorative items that add personality to a space, or a collection that's housed in an aesthetically pleasing way is one thing. A pile-up of "I know I'll use this someday" is quite other.
• For items in limbo, designate a purpose. In our DIY, Pinterest-fueled society, it doesn't take much searching to come up with new uses for everything from empty soda bottles to old furniture. Here's where you have to be honest with yourself. Are you really going to do that project? If so, when? And where will the supplies "live" in the meantime?
• Be selective: You can't save it all, yet the reasons we have for keeping things vary according to both styles and personality. Sentimental people keep things because they make us smile when we look at them or bring back a special memory. The more practical among us save things that solve a storage problem or serve more than one purpose. Those who are frugal often keep a backlog of things they don't want to have to pay to replace. Whatever your reasons, you need to set a limit to how many of those things you can realistically hang on to.

Next week, we'll talk about some ways to make decisions about the things we can't quite get rid of. In the meantime, box up those things you need to hang onto by category (e.g., sentimental value, future projects, I think I'll use this someday, etc.). That will make things easier as we move forward (and no, I haven't changed my mind about "making" you dispose of beloved items).

Next week will also mark my last week posting on this topic in this location. As we move into the last letter of STYLE in June, and begin talking about Easy Upkeep, I'll be taking the discussion to my "Organizing By STYLE" blog, as a means of both archiving all these posts in one place and continuing the discussion. You can still find me here on Wednesdays, writing on a topic still to be determined. 

Want to hear about something specific? Leave me a comment below. I have some ideas for where I want to go from here, but am also open to suggestions.

Saturday Special on Monday: Professional Organizers

Yes, I know it's Monday....and I had this written and ready to go on FRIDAY....but I neglected to hit the magic button that would make it post while we were away on Saturday.

And so I bring you last week's Saturday Special...on Monday...with apologies.  Look for my regular Monday post tomorrow.

In the world of organizing, there are these wonderful creatures called professional organizers. They come to your house and consult with you about how to clear your clutter and live a more organized life. They offer classes and strategies and, I suspect, live in glass houses where there would only ever be a mess if someone threw a stone.

Needless to say (if you've been reading these posts), I'm not one of them. Throw a stone in my house and it's likely to end up on a pile of papers. But I'm working on it. And hey, my large rectangular spaces are looking good.

I took an online class on professional organizing once. It was interesting, but it made me squirm. Nowhere in it was there a word about following my style or my default habits. And as someone who's spent a great deal of her adult life trying to transform myself into a Type A organizer, I know the old tricks don't work for me.

But I know there are good eggs out there. Professional organizers like Julie Morgenstern and some of my HGTV favorites who don't have a leave-no-clutter standing rule at the expense of their clients' better judgment and favorite things. Organizers who send out newsletters and motivational emails and  sticky notepads with "Today I Will Do One Thing" imprinted on them. Organizers like my friend Cindy Bernstein at Aim 4 Order.

Okay, so Cindy and I have never met face-to-face, but we've chatted via email enough for me to know that if I were going to bite the bullet and hire a personal organizer, Cindy would be the first one I'd call. In the meantime, I subscribe to her e-newsletter and read all of her great ideas there and on Facebook. I especially like the fact that she suggests good homes for things I'm ready to say good-bye to...

...but more on the L of STYLE (Let it go!) next week.

Containers: Cutting to the Chase

Overwhelmed by the myriad containers available to organize your space? There are so many choices, both functional and beautiful, that it's easy to get lost in the aisles, trying to narrow the choices. Add responsible shopping (matching your styles and your budget) to the list, and it can be tempting to run screaming from the store, empty-handed.

The chart below summarizes what we've been talking about for two weeks: the preferred container qualities for each personal and organizational style. As you look over the chart, think about whether or not the recommendations match your personal preferences. Where can you find crossover? 

As an I need to see it/drop and run person, I can use containers that are clear, color-coded, labeled and/or unusual/unique because these container attributes match both of my styles. My container preference, however, will change depending on what I'm storing and where I'm storing it. In addition, two people who identify themselves as the same style will have different personal preferences. Clear drawers may be a perfect match for one I need to see it person, for example, but be a disaster for another because she can’t see what’s at the back of the drawer.  

	Clear	Lidded	All one color	Color-coded	Labeled	Unusual or Unique	Flexible (e.g. fabric)	Divided or sectioned	Open
I love stuff						YES		YES	YES
I love to be busy				YES	YES			YES
I need to see it	YES		NO!		YES	YES		YES
I know I  put it somewhere	YES	NO!	NO!	YES	YES	YES
Cram & jam	YES	NO!					YES		YES
Drop & run	YES			YES	YES	YES			YES

When you consider your styles, do you agree or disagree with these recommendations?

Amend the chart as necessary to reflect your personal choices.

What if you've identified yourself as one style, but you're drawn to containers listed in another category? As long as they aren’t containers, furnishings or systems that have proven unsuccessful in the past, give them a shot! There’s no harm in trying different things to get an idea of what works and what doesn’t. 

Remember that organizing by STYLE is all about making your system your own so that it will work for you not just temporarily, but in the long run as well. With that in mind, print the chart out and amend it as necessary to reflect your personal choices. Fill in the blank spaces, and even change noes to yeses -- if those answers will really work for you. I promised you at the very beginning of this journey that there was no one-size-fits-all solution. The more you personalize the chart, the more you'll refine what truly works for you. 

Once the chart reflects your personal preferences, tuck it into your wallet, your purse, your glove compartment or your reusable shopping bag so you have it with you when you go to the store. 

If you’re still in the sampling stage, there are many worthwhile containers to be had at dollar stores, grocery stores and on sale at variety stores. Just keep in mind that while clearance sales and yard sales can be great for finding that perfect, one-of-a-kind container, you may end up frustrated if you find the perfect tool and want to acquire more like it.

All of variations on plastic drawers in this week's post 

are from office depot.com

If you know just what you're looking for, more power to you! Feel free to buy those perfect containers in multiples if you know they're going to work for you (particularly if you already have some just like them that have been organization-tested). Just keep the receipt in case you over-buy or underestimate in terms of size or usefulness. (Not that I would know anything about that).

Next week's post will close our discussion of containers, as we focus on marrying the materials to the mission.

Paths to Success

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So, how are those successes coming? Two weeks ago, I shared the first concept behind the STYLE acronym: Start with Successes. Today, I’d like to talk about some strategies to help create those successes, all of which revolve around the next letter in the STYLE acronym: Take Small Steps. 

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Because getting organized and staying that way is a challenge for me, I love it when I find baby steps that contribute to the process. I've already shared one of my favorites -- Give it Five! -- which is just what it sounds like. To Give it Five! choose one area, and allocate five uninterrupted minutes to making progress in that space. If you get on a roll, and time permits, Give it Five! is easily expanded into a longer chunk of time, but even if all you have is five minutes, that can be enough. Five minutes of clutter busting can provide a small success that inspires you to repeat the process in an hour, a day or a week. Give it Five! won't get major clutter under immediate control, but it can create a small feeling of accomplishment, which makes the whole process less intimidating.

I found another one of my favorites in an article I shared this time last month. In "10 Organizing Tips That'll Change Your Life," Cass Colin suggests this simple strategy: put small clean-up tasks into practice. This is one of those things naturally organized people (the ones I like to call Type A Organizers) do automatically, and it's an easy one to adopt. Instead of waiting for things to pile up, take care of them one at a time, which brings me to another one of my favorites....

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Don't put it down, put it away! As a recovering drop and run organizer, I sometimes have difficulty with this strategy, but when I remember to follow it, I create a lot less clutter in the first place. The pairing of this strategy with Give it Five! can be particularly useful for many of us whose default styles make spotless surfaces simultaneously desirable and difficult.

Finally, when all else fails and I'm feeling overwhelmed by stuff, I resort to playing little games with myself. One of my favorites is "pick up one thing," a twist on put small clean-up tasks into practice. It's simple -- each time I walk past a particular cluttered surface (usually my dining room table), I have to pick up one thing and put it where it belongs. In another version of this little mind game, which I often "play" before I sit down to watch TV or check Facebook, I assign myself a number (say, 15) and I have to pick up and put away that many things (from any location in my house) before I can move on to the fun thing that was next on my list.

While I'm sure that all of my Type A Organizer friends are shaking their heads at how complicated I'm making this, I'm equally sure that all of my overwhelmed wanna be organized friends "get" it. None of these tricks will solve major organizational issues, but they will allow us to take baby steps toward creating the organized world we want to live in. In addition, putting a dent in an overwhelming task leads to not only progress, but a sense of power over the very stuff that threatens to win the battle. And confidence is an important weapon in the clutter wars.

And that, my friends, is how we defeat clutter -- or at least call it a draw.

Organizing By STYLE: Claiming Your STYLE

I have a confession to make. This is a rewrite. One night in early March, while trying to upload the original post to my newly created organization blog, I sent it hurtling into cyberspace. Nothing in my arsenal of tech tricks was sufficient to bring it back. A Google search supplied me with the opening line, but building a bridge from that line only gave me a headache.

I went to bed in a bad mood. I woke up cranky about having to re-create a post I wrote over a month ago. 

Until I decided that was silly. With apologies to those whose comments were lost along with the post, I'm moving forward and re-sharing the key content, if not the original post.

Thanks to Pinterest, I know that I referenced the book at left, one I flipped through during a recent visit to Barnes and Noble with my sister. I put the book back for two reasons: I didn't want its contents influencing my posts, however unintentionally and, even upon a quick flip, I could tell that this was a one-size-fits-all, "use this trick and your life will be more organized" kind of book.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Judging from the reviews on Amazon, Marie Kondo's book has proven useful to many people. Any book that improves life for anyone deserves kudos.

I just don't happen to believe that one size fits all when it comes to organization. And, for those who've struggled with organization for as long as they can remember, hailing one book as the one path to success only further damages their self-confidence if they find the path strewn with rocks and detours.

To me, the key to getting organized and staying that way lies in matching your system to your styles.
What styles, you may ask? Take the quiz below to see where you land, then check next Wednesday's post for more on the styles.

Personal and Organizational Styles Quiz

Mark each item below as true or false.

1. You participate in so many activities that you have something to do nearly every night.
2. The only way you remember to bring things with you is if you leave them out where you're likely to trip over them.
3. Your closets are filled with things you no longer use and/or clothes you no longer wear, but can’t get rid of. 
4. Your house looks neat, yet you have trouble finding what you need when you need it.
5. Your papers -- even the important ones -- are often wrinkled and/or torn.
6. The flat surfaces in your home tell the story of the activities you've done and the places you've been in the last few days.
7. When given a pocket folder or three-ring binder, you may tuck your papers inside, but you don't usually put them in the pockets or the rings. 
8. You can often find lost items by retracing your steps.
9. You often feel bored when you have unscheduled time.
10. You have more stuff than room to store it.
11. You usually put things away, but often forget where you put them.
12. You often forget things if you don't write them down.  
13. Your bookshelves house:

a. anything and everything, as long as it fits.

b. overlapping sets of “collections.”

c. books in various stages of completion, stacked so that the titles are visible.

d. sports gear, sheet music or art supplies, but no books. 

e. piles of items, with a telltale trail from the door to the bookcase.

All finished? Now let's compare your answers to the key below. Every "true" is a clue:

• Item #1 is true for I love to be busy.
• Item #2 is true for I need to see it.
• Item #3 is true for I love stuff.
• Item #4 is true for I know I put it somewhere.
• Item #5 is true for cram and jam.
• Item #6 is true for drop and run.
• Item #7 is true for cram and jam.
• Item #8 is true for drop and run.
• Item #9 is true for I love to be busy.
• Item #10 is true for I love stuff.
• Item # 11 is true for I need to see it and I know I put it somewhere.
• Item #12: I need to see it organizers are likely to do this.
• Item #13a: Cram and jam or I know I put it somewhere; 13b: I love stuff; 13c: I need to see it; 13d: I love to be busy; 13e: Drop and run

How'd you do? Do the quiz answers match your predictions and observations? For most people, clear patterns will emerge, and the answers will come as no surprise; what they've noticed about the way they organize matches their answers on the quiz.

Some people are “a little bit of this and a little bit of that.” At this point in the process, that's to be expected. Further observation, discussion and exploration will help you to determine predominant styles. And some people really are a mix of styles, but this can be a benefit.  An overlap can mean more strategies to work with! 


The most important thing to keep in mind right now is that there are no right or wrong answers on the quiz and that these styles are not personal or organizational flaws. Up to this point, the styles have been stumbling blocks. Moving forward, the goal will be to help you see your natural tendencies as assets rather than liabilities so you can use them as a blueprint for developing a workable, sustainable plan based on what comes naturally. 

For more on the personal styles, click here. For more on the organizational styles, click here.

Launching a New Wednesday Feature: Organizing by STYLE

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January is a month for organizing. Tricks, tools and even sales abound, but if you don't know how to organize in a way that works for you, it's easy to waste both time and money.

Contrary to popular belief (and the glut of organization books on the market), organizing is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. "Obvious" tools such as binders and file cabinets really don't work for everyone, and can even be a hindrance instead of a help. Unfortunately, if you're one of the people they don't work for, it's easy to jump to the conclusion that you are the problem.

But I disagree with that conclusion. I believe that everyone has the capacity to get organized and that the trick to success lies in finding a method and tools that match the way you think -- marrying your personal style and your organizational style to create a process that underlies the way you organize everything.

I've spent a lot of time in the last eight years reading, writing, teaching and speaking about organization, and I've decided it's time to bring that information to my blog. Beginning next week, my Wednesday posts will have an organizational focus, and on Saturdays, I'll share an article, book or website that has to do with organization. Like my Friday Freebies, the Saturday posts will be a quick read, but all of them will contribute to the organization conversation.

Those who know me well may be chuckling (or even rolling on the floor laughing) by now. After all, even I have joked that my credibility as someone who knows anything about organization would be completely shot if anybody walked into my house unannounced.

But, it's for just that reason that I am a credible source. Naturally organized, but incredibly busy (and

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therefore ostensibly messy), I know what it is to struggle with organization, even when you think you've found the answers. To put things in a safe place, only to never see them again. To be ridiculously over-organized in some areas, and woefully under-organized in others. To make a to do list only to leave it on the table, or have it get buried under (a pile of) "visual reminders."

So let's do this. Let's get organized together, even if our baby steps go both forward and backward.

Better yet, let's get organized with STYLE.