Which Style is Running the Show?

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I have a love-hate relationship with the process of organization. Because it's just that -- a process -- which means that at any given time, some things are working and some things aren't. It's both frustrating and inescapable. And while perfection is never a realistic goal, I've found that planning with my personal and organizational styles in mind leads to successes that keep me going when the clutter threatens to overtake me.

From my perch on the sofa in the family room, I can see papers that need filing, a bin that needs culling and a pile of my daughter's stuff that needs to find a home. These are all projects in need of time (at least), or perhaps an intervention.

But I can also see labeled bins that house what they're supposed to. A few steps away, the closet and drawers in my bathroom make getting ready in the morning a breeze, and one room over, the mail system in the kitchen is finally working; after twenty years (I wish I were kidding) of operating against my styles, I finally found a tool that works them instead of against them. How do I know it works? I use it, the surrounding area has remained neat and clutter-free, and if I fall off the organizational wagon, it takes only minutes to get things back in order.

As it turns out, the solution to my mail woes was
as simple as a decorative file bin. (This one
is from Thirty-One Gifts).

I'm an I need to see it/drop and run organizer, in that order. My personal style always trumps my organizational style. You'd think that when it comes to organizing, that my organizational style would lead the way, but that's not the case. My personal style consistently and insistently asserts itself, which means that any system that fails to take my I need to see it style into account has a snowball's chance in Miami of working for more than fifteen minutes. When I use both of my styles together, staying organized is just as easy as dropping and running, and leaves much less detritus in its wake.

I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm an organizational work-in-progress, and I probably always will be. The truth is, I like to tinker with my systems, tweaking and re-arranging until I get things just right. And once it works, upkeep really is easy, and that makes all the difference in the world.

How about you? What's your organization success story? And which leads the way -- your personal style or its organizational counterpart?