Week II:
Without bogging down in psycho babble there are three basic organizing styles; those whom are ‘visual’ (like to see everything at a glance), those whom I call’ minimal’ (a place for everything and those places are not apparent, and of course those whom are a blend of the first two.
Interestingly enough, most everyone is a blend to one degree or another.
Let me give you examples of each ‘style’:
Visual:
This person is a quilter; who completes one project at a time.
In pulling together the next quilt they need to pick the fabrics for it.
This person’s fabrics are color coded and stored on shelves in a tall bookcase for easy visual selection.
Same goes for the thread, wall mounted racks, color coded.
All tools of the trade are hung on pegboards for easy access.
Completed quilts are on a constantly changing display.
Completed quilt patterns are framed and hung on the wall along with a snap shot of the project.
Minimal:
This person is a scrapbook enthusiast.
They are not perfect as they have multiple projects going at any one time.
In keeping up with each project, this person keeps them in individual two gallon Hefty zip-lock bags labeled and hung on skirt hangars.
The projects are stored in the closet behind a closed door.
Like-wise are all the assorted supplies necessary to creating a scrapbook.
All surfaces in this space are clear of anything unnecessary; leaving only a task lamp, large monitor, and key board.
Blend:
This person has many interests and multiple projects in different mediums.
They are also not perfect and individual projects can sit idle for long periods of time.
Projects are kept in a variety of storage mediums. Fabric projects are stored in plastic bins w/lids, each in its own pillowcase. Knitting and crocheting are stored in various sizes of zip-lock bags, also in bins. The bins labeled and are stored in a closet
Related notions, needles, and or hooks are stored out of sight in individual containers in separate drawers.
These are examples of ‘minimal’ organizing.
For the visual, this person utilizes a very large project board to keep track of the current projects. Colored pencils sit out in clear vases. The inventory of fabric has been reduced to swatch cards (3x5 cards) with a swatch of fabric a-fixed and its fiber content, and available yardage noted, all held together on a large binder ring. This is hung off the project board.
Patterns are filed by type in clear boxes on a bookshelf. Likewise all reference books are shelved in the open.
OK to recap, here are the three major types; it is very simple to identify the rudimentary systems for each:
Visual – needs to see what they have, seem to operate in clutter.
Minimal – wants everything put away, clean surfaces.
Blend – obviously are a combination of both of the above.
We have reached the point where you have a decision to make;
clean the room to the point where it is easy to navigate or,
Organize in the middle of the mess.
My advice is to clean to where the room is easy to get around in and make choose on area/item to deal with at a time.
Some equipment/system(s) is/are universal to all three types and any kind of organization project. This is information is all available in books, on-line, and has been on television for many years...
You need receptacles; at least three: keep, toss, and donate. In the decision process for “keeping/tossing/donating” time limits are always necessary (as in, if you haven’t used an item in a month, six months, a year, etc.) to move the process along; give yourself one and stick to it. Don’t forget lots of trash bags! The deal here is to organize and organizing universally involves purging.
OK, pick a spot (for this part I am going with the room theme) as the example.
If you are:
Visual
You need to decide what type of display and storage you have, what you might be able to get rid of, and/or what you may need to add.
Start with what you use the most and make sure it gets the best storage “real estate”.
Working from there, sort through each area and items by group and lose what you have not used according to your pre-set time limit.
Minimal
You need to decide how much storage you can live with and perhaps without.
To accomplish this you need to reduce your on-hand supplies by eliminating what you have not used in your pre-determined amount of time. (Catching on to the theme here?)
Next, make sure you really need the all storage you have.
Blend
To add storage or eliminate, this is a question you cannot answer until you complete the whole sorting process.
Take the time to decide if the items you have out already are what you want to keep out, if not, sort, eliminate and decide where you will store these items.
Next, repeat the process for all items in your space.
Keep in mind that those who are considered a “Blend” do so in different degrees (50/50, 60/40) and the ratio changes from time to time.
Gathering your weapons
Some of this was covered in the “keep/toss/donate” above. Obviously, you will find having a vacuum or broom and dustpan at hand very helpful. Dust cloths, trash bags and any cleaning items for your particular area. Many of you have small children and we all have busy, busy lives, try dealing with only one area/item at a time and work at it until it is completed. In sticking to this plan you are tackling your area one manageable step at a time and not creating more chaos. Be kind to yourself, if it takes you hours or days to complete one area/item so be it. You are working toward cleaning and organizing for yourself so won’t have to tackle the same thing six months down the road. Change takes time.
Home storage solutions blog (http://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com) is currently doing a 52- week challenge for the whole house starting with the kitchen. She has done an excellent job in breaking down tasks and giving advice on how to deal with it. (No; I am not being compensated for plugging the blog(s))
*Home Sanctuary is another blog to check out, she is guiding you toward creating a whole house cleaning system that is unique to you!
http://www.homesanctuary.com/rachelanne/2012/01/household-organization-setting-up-a-system-that-works.html
Good luck this week, if you get stuck let me know!
Michelle
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