Organizing by STYLE

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When it comes to organizing, tricks, tools and even promising tools 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 recently, I began blogging about it as well. Last month, I began featuring posts about organization every Wednesday on my blog, The Porch Swing Chronicles, and on Saturdays, I've shared articles, books or websites having to do with organization.

After about two months of this, I decided these posts deserved a home of their own -- it just seemed more organized that way. Here, you'll find reprints of my Wednesday and Saturday Porch Swing Chronicle posts and perhaps some other posts relevant to the topic as well. Some of the posts will be practical, some will be chatty and some will be quick reads, but all of them will contribute to the organization conversation.

Those who know me well find it mildly amusing (or may even be rolling on the floor laughing) by now at the thought of my posting helpful information about organization. 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.