Your Organizing Style

One of the most common FAQ’s in my business “Is there one right way to organize?”
Often, there is a critical undertone to this question. It feels like they’re saying, “I’ve tried to be organized but it still hasn’t happened”.
Or, “I feel badly because I read one book and tried what they suggested and it didn’t work”.

My answer is always “There is no one way to be organized. The way to be successful in organizing is to find out what your style is”.

How do you find your style? Ask yourself some questions.

What are your habits?
When you walk in the front door each evening, where do you put your keys? Mail?
If you have a lovely table for your purse, keys and mail but it doesn’t get used because it isn’t in your “coming home” path it is time to move it or retire that table for another use and put something in your path that fits in the space.

Are you a “need to see it” person or a “out of sight to be able to function” person?
Do you feel everything needs to look pretty? and then feel like a failure when you see piles around your desk? Please don’t.

If this is how your study should look for you to accomplish what you need, then it is what it should look like.

One last thing. No matter what your style might be, everyone needs to spend some time figuring out a home for each thing that is important to you. If you send a lot of gifts around the holidays and you save boxes throughout the year, then, instead of cramming boxes into the corners of your bookshelves, closets and under your desk, I suggest you have one storage box you keep in the garage. This way you will know how much you have and when you can stop saving.

The ultimate goal of having an organized home and life, in my opinion, is that what is physically around you is what helps you accomplish whatever it is you want in life.
So what does an organized home look like? A thousand different ways.

So, if occasionally having to step around a pile of papers truly is in keeping with your perfect life, well, I won’t argue with you.

But, if you look around and don’t recognize who you have become, well, I can help with that!

Emily Vander Tuin at Ripple Effect Organizing

rippleeffectorganizing.com