3 Key Concepts for the Drop and Run Organizational Style

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Drop and run organizers are often busy, busy, busy. Running from one task to another, they tell themselves they'll put something away later, when they have more time, but, before they know it, piles are encroaching.

Everywhere. 

As always, the key is to work with the style in question to make it as easy to put something away as it is to put it down.

• When it comes to organizing, those with the drop and run organizational style benefit from open storage. Lids and multi-step systems are unnecessary barriers to putting things where they belong. Aim to make it just as easy to drop things where they belong before running to the next thing as it is to drop them where they don't belong by choosing containers that make this possible. This simple choice not only improves the look of a space, but also makes staying organized (almost) effortless.

• When it comes to list-making, drop and run organizers benefit from "dropping" an idea onto a list before running to the next thing on the schedule. Creating lists on a medium that travels with you, whether it's your phone or a pad of paper tucked into a bag, makes it more likely that you'll remember appointments and other to-dos, and, more important, you'll know where to find them.

• As for goal-setting, the drop and run organizer is likely to need something to help him or her stay focused. Used to operating out of piles, the drop and run organizer is in danger of starting down one path only to be lured onto another by tempting materials nearby. Setting daily goals via a to-do list and keeping long-term goals close by can help keep distraction under control.

If you're a drop and run organizer, what key ideas do you swear by? Share in the comments below. 

For more ideas on the drop and run organizational style, check out my original post here. 

For printable information sheets 
about containers and the styles, 

click on the CHARTS tab at the top of this page.

What my Mother Taught Me About Organizing

This is, perhaps, my most favorite organizational tool.
Just wish I'd ordered one in this print.
www.mythirtyone.com/L2Hess

There always seem to be a few places in my house for which I'm struggling to find the right container/storage. Accustomed to taking my styles (I need to see it/drop and run) into consideration, I have a reasonable idea of what will work and what won't but, when I factor in the aesthetics, sometimes it gets complicated.

When we're desperate to bring order to a trouble spot, it's tempting to hop on the new-and-improved-solutions bandwagon. If we're not careful, we can be drawn into the promise of instant organization and end up spending money on something that looks good and works for someone else, but is not a match for our styles.

My mom always described herself as frugal. A recent foray into her closet revealed a well-developed knowledge of what worked for her both organizationally and budget-wise. With the exception of a few pairs of shoes neatly stored on a rack on the floor of her closet, all of her shoes were in labeled (in just enough detail) shoe boxes. Why bother with store-bought fancy (or even clear) boxes when the boxes that came with the shoes worked just as well? Gift boxes were trimmed down to the size that matched whatever she wanted to store in them, and used to subdivide shelf and drawer space. The occasional dollar store plastic organizer was also in evidence for this purpose but, most often, Mom simply made what she needed out of whatever was on hand.

And it worked.

She was very particular about the storage that was visible, however. Recycled boxes might work in out-of-sight places, but, in the living spaces, there was a place for everything and everything was in its place. She chose pieces carefully, considering style, function and aesthetics and everything came together in tidy rooms that reflected her tastes.

Although I aspire to that same level of tidiness, I'm still a work-in-progress, seeking the perfect tools for my I need to see it/drop and run styles. Often, I have a better idea of what won't work than what will, and I find myself seeking solutions that don't seem to exist. While part of me yearns for a home as uncluttered as my parents' home, I'm more inspired by my mom's closet than her living room because her practical, visual approach to that space fits both my personal and organizational styles. And, like my mom, I'm not shy about where I find my solutions.

The next time you're searching for the perfect solution, keep in mind that, depending on where you're using it, how it works might be more important than how it looks. Dollar stores, dollar bins and clearance racks are often organizational gold mines and, if you get your new container home and it doesn't work, you haven't wasted much money.

Every workable solution, whether recycled, repurposed or custom-made takes us one step closer to winning the organization wars.

Location by Style

freepik.com

Yesterday, I wrote about location on vacation. Today, I am attending a family funeral, so I'm taking a break from my style-by-style posts (3 Key Concepts) posts and sharing a previous post on location and the styles. 3 Key Concepts will return next week.

My mom was a big believer in the old adage, "a place for everything, and everything in its place." I don't know about you, but I've always found that phrase (attributed to Benjamin Franklin, by the way) intimidating. Nothing like a little perfectionism to make us feel bad about an almost clean space. Maybe Benjamin Franklin was a minimalist (he did travel a lot). Or a Type A organizer.

But I digress.

For our purposes, let's eliminate the perfectionism inherent in the second half of the philosophy and focus on the first part: A place for everything. This is the part we can make happen when we tackle the Y in STYLE ("Yes, it has a home!") and apply our styles to our systems. 

What does that look like? As always, it depends on your styles.

I love stuff people are good at putting things together, sometimes in unconventional ways, which is a key concept behind choosing good homes for their things. Often collectors, folks with this style already understand the importance of storing similar items together, and may come up with creative combinations that make storage fun. 

I need to see it people are good at putting things where they can see them, and therefore, find them. Building systems on visual cues (like labels and color coding) can help folks with this style to make the transition from putting things down to putting them away so that they worry less about another adage: out of sight, out of mind. 

I love to be busy people are good at categorizing. Keeping track of the supplies for their many activities gives them lots of practice at deciding which groups of items should go where. Running from one activity to the next has usually convinced them of the importance of this concept, which allows them to grab and go.

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Cram and jam people are good at simplifying; if it's all in one spot, it's easy to find. Learning to separate their belongings into containers by category allows them to expand their storage and protect their belongings.

Drop and run. people are good at backtracking to find things. Retracing their steps (which they do often) may lead them to determine locations that make sense, based on where they naturally drop things, allowing them to build a system based on their natural habits. 

I know I put it somewhere people are good at putting things away, making them great at finding homes for things. Learning to make those homes logical, rather than haphazard, is the key to their location success.

Every once in a while, we need to be reminded that even if our homes don't embody the "a place for everything, and everything in its place" philosophy, we're moving in the right direction. Finding consistent, logical homes for our things is possible when we remember to view our styles as strengths, and plan our systems accordingly.

Do Your Styles Take a Vacation When You Do?

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When you go on vacation, where do you put your stuff? Do you unpack or live out of a suitcase? Do all of your organizational plans go out the window, or are you better organized when you're away than you are at home? Do you drop and run? Cram and jam? Put things in a "safe" place?

I've written often about the importance of finding the right location for things. In fact, I'm such a firm believer in this that I try to put this into practice even when I'm on vacation. This is made much easier when we visit the same place each year (the same condo complex at the beach, the same hotel when we visit my daughter), but it works wherever you go.

I'm not suggesting that you have to move in when you're only away for the weekend -- simply finding the drop spot that works for important items (cell phone and keys, for example) and using it every time avoids those last-minute panicked moments when you're in a hurry to get to your next destination.

Packing patterns can help, too, even when it's as basic as using the compartments in a suitcase to store the same items every time. When we're going away for more than a day trip, I use the same bag for the same things each time so I know where to look.

Ironically, as I write this, I have yet to find two things I packed when we left the beach. One was a new purchase, so it had no assigned home. The other (my Fitbit charger) got tossed into an available spot that made sense when we left (an I know I put it somewhere habit I don't usually fall prey to); I have yet to determine what that space was. I'm sure it will turn up, but, had I put it in its assigned spot, I'd have found it (and used it to rescue my poor, uncharged Fitbit) by now.

Location, location, location.

Happy Independence Day!

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3 Key Concepts for the Cram and Jam Organizational Style

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

No one can accuse the cram and jam organizer of wasting space. Whether it's a desk, a drawer or a backpack, chances are it will be full-to-bursting before the cram and jammer feels the need to expand into a new space.

The one advantage to this type of organizational plan is that everything tends to be in one place, which limits the number of places that the cram and jam organizer needs to go in search of missing items.

As always, the key is to work with the style in question to make it as easy to put something away as it is to put it down, or, in this case, stuff it into an available space.

• When it comes to organizing, those with the cram and jam organizational style benefit from flexible, medium-sized storage. If the container is too small, things will get smashed, wrinkled or otherwise ruined; too big and things will get lost. Using fabric bins without lids can allow the cram and jammer to stuff to his or her heart's content without overloading drawers to the breaking point. A nightly dumping of whatever was carried each day (backpack, purse, tote bag) into a bin or other container affords the cram and jammer the opportunity to return what's necessary to the bag from whence it came and toss or store the rest. 

• When it comes to list-making, try replacing scratch paper with notepads. That way, when one page is full (even by cram and jam standards), a fresh one stands at the ready. This consistent availability of a new writing surface might help curtail the need to fill up every last square inch on a single sheet of paper.

• As for goal-setting, the cram and jam organizer might not have to make specific adaptations unless the tendency to overstuff spaces also extends to a need to overfill  time. If this is the case, and you or your favorite cram and jam organizer tends to cram each hour with tasks, leaving each day jam-packed, try creating a time grid. Divide each usable hour (no more than eight usable hours each day so there's room for task overflow, if necessary) into no more than four increments with one task each. For every three grids in a row that are filled, leave the next one blank as a buffer against overscheduling. Use a bold marker to draw a heavy black line at the end of each day. Only urgent and important tasks can cross the line and extend beyond the eight hour day. Everything else will need to wait.

If you're a cram and jam organizer, what key ideas do you swear by? Share in the comments below. 

For more ideas on the cram and jam organizational style, check out my original post here. 

For printable information sheets 
about containers and the styles, 

click on the CHARTS tab at the top of this page.

Unpack, Prepack, Pack: The I Hate to Pack Packing Method

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This has been a summer of short trips. Last week, I returned home from a visit to my parents just two days before we were leaving for the beach.

Unpack? Seriously?

Nope.

Instead, here's what it looked like/the plan.

Wednesday evening: Return home. Dump bag in bedroom. Open it only to remove the things that needed to be washed and the toiletries I'd need in the next 24 hours. Then, leave the bag alone until bedtime when I needed to retrieve medication.

Thursday morning: Ignore bag. Begin washing clothes that I want for the next trip. While getting dressed, take out stacks of clothes likely to be worn or packed. Choose one pair of shorts, leave the remainder on the bed to put in the suitcase. Also lay out other things I want to wash and/or pack as I come across them. Don't put them in the suitcase now, or they'll get more wrinkled.

Thursday afternoon and evening: As laundry is finished, leave clothes I want to pack neatly folded in the laundry basket. Retrieve packing list from the bin where I keep travel items like my toiletries kit (still in the suitcase from the last trip), extra travel toiletries and bags to pack shoes in (repurposed drawstring bags that originally held sheet sets). Time permitting, start packing linens (as they come out of the washer and any kitchen items/food we want to bring along. Refill containers in toiletries bag as needed.

Friday: Serious packing. Take stock of everything that's been laid out, is sitting in a laundry basket, or still in the suitcase. Fill in the gaps. Fit as much as possible into the already partially packed suitcase and determine how big a bag I need for the rest of the stuff.

My Type A organized friends are shaking their heads, but, you know what? This works. It fits my I need to see it personal style, keeps the clothes I love in rotation until the bitter end when they must go in the suitcase and most important....

It makes me hate packing less. That gets my vacation off to a happier start, which has a payoff all its own.

What packing plans fit your styles? Your family's? Don't be surprised if each family member has a style all his/her own (my husband starts packing a week ahead of time) and, if you can, honor those styles.

After all, who doesn't want vacation mentality to set in as soon as possible?

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