There are 5 personality and organization types. Find the one that fits you.
- Being organized isn’t about putting everything into a beautiful, new organization system— it’s about how well you’re able to maintain it.
And it’s your psyche that determines that. Find creative ways to organize your home by choosing a strategy that fits you. Which of the five personalities are you?
The Pile Maker | The Minimalist | The Designer | The Collector | The Speeding Train
The Pile Maker
- If you like everything out and visible, you’re likely a creative, right-brained sort, says Beth Randall, a professional organizer and speaker.
The piles on your desk make sense only to you (well, until they don’t), and you get energized and inspired by the visual stimulus of stuff.
Strategy: Keep your stuff in view and organized with open-face organizers that have a place for everything in plain sight.
Tips:
- Store your jewelry on a corkboard covered with fabric, using push pins to create a work of art, Randall suggests.
- Stash items in clear bins or cubbies that don’t cut off your view of the contents, like an over-the-door shoe organizer with clear sleeves.
- Take a moment every couple of weeks to look at your desk and countertops and purge or put away clutter.
- Rather than plopping your paperwork in one big pile on your desk, use paper organizers or shelf dividers that only allow about six or seven inches of clearance per shelf, recommends professional organizer Thalia Poulos. Then, use labels as your new visual trigger. This can work in entryways for mail, in kitchens for recipes, or anywhere papers start to pile up.
- Pegboards: Put ’em everywhere. Pegboards give you customizable, highly visual storage in the garage, office, closets, bedrooms, kitchens — pretty much anywhere. To accommodate your creative brain, space out your hooks enough so you’re not limited to one configuration where everything fits.
Related: What Does a Messy Home Say About You?Popular Reads
The Minimalist
- You like everything to have its place — and that place is out of sight. You find nothing more restorative than a tidy, minimalist space. But life happens, and you’ve been known to “stash and dash” and forget where you put things. And sometimes you pitch something you end up needing later on.
Strategy: You need behind-the-scenes systems that are convenient and efficient.
Tips:
- Go virtual: You can ditch all that paper. Use an app for your to-do and grocery lists, and use scanning software (or a simple snap of your phone!) to turn any paperwork into a digital file.
- Make it easy to quickly put stuff away with personalized classification systems, recommends Cena Block, a productivity expert and former professional organizer. From clothes to craft supplies, and from bins to drawers, group things the way your gut tells you to: by size, function, alphabet — whatever. The less thinking you have to do, the fewer “stash and dash” mishaps you’ll make.
- Organize your organization: Think drawer sorters, hanging file cabinets, closet systems, or even ice-cube trays for jewelry drawers.
- Have storage options where you need them that match the function of each space — like cubbies under the front stairs for shoes or rolling bins under your bed for sheets.
The Designer
- Sure, you want your stuff to be organized, but if it doesn’t please the senses, you’re not gonna use it. That sometimes leads to more Pinterest-browsing and project-dreaming than actual organizing.
Strategy: You need organization options that look good — but are super-functional, too.
Tips:
- Use woven baskets or wood boxes, rather than plastic bins, to organize items around the house.
- In the office, rely on color-coded file folders, Poulos says.
- Keep a beautiful notebook for jotting down your to-dos. An app simply won’t give you that tactile satisfaction you crave.
- Use color-coordinated hangers to group ensembles together in your closet, Poulos suggests.
- Include artwork among items you’re storing on shelves, or even on pegboards, to make even the most utilitarian spaces a delight to use.
- “Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.”