The Final Letter in STYLE: Easy Upkeep

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Easy upkeep. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? While maintaining any kind of system requires effort, organizing by STYLE is less exhausting because you're doing what comes naturally. Things are where they belong because the homes you've assigned them make sense to you. Containers work because you've chosen them according to what works for you.

Next week, we'll look back and do a little summarizing and troubleshooting. This week, I'd like to share the three principles of Easy Upkeep.

• Honor your styles. You've admitted them. You've come to terms with them (or made progress in that direction anyway). You've developed a sense of humor about them. If there's something about them that embarrasses you, you have the freedom to adjust. That said, it's easier to adjust your system than your styles.

• Honor your systems. Your systems consist of the homes you've established for your things and the containers (from the smallest subdivision of a drawer to the largest room in your house) you've selected to house them. If you've honored your styles as much as possible in the space you have, the resulting systems should flow naturally from what you normally do. 

• Honor your choices...but remember that not everyone's choices are the same. The whole concept of organizing by STYLE is built around the idea that when it comes to organizing, one size does not fit all. You may love using a certain type of container or storage system, but that doesn't mean that everyone else in your house will appreciate it (let alone use it) as well. If your house is like my house, numerous styles prevail...and collide.

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When in doubt, go back to your styles. If your predominant personal style is I like to be busy, a plan that revolves around dedicating more time to organizing is unlikely to be a workable long-term solution. If your preferred organizational style is cram and jam, color-coding the hangers in your closet is likely to be a waste of time and money because while you might hang everything up once, it's unlikely to happen again.

What have you put into place that you're proud of? What still needs work? Share your thoughts in the comments below.