Maximalism and Organization

 I was flipping through a magazine yesterday when I came across a layout of a table set in a cacophony of colors and patterns — an example of maximalism, according to the piece.

I’d never heard of maximalism. After a few minutes of pondering, I went to my favorite search engine, where I discovered the maximalism is indeed a design style, exemplified by the idea that more is more. More colors, more patterns, more quality and quantity, according to one site.

As you might have concluded by my use of the word “cacophony” in the first paragraph, this style does not appeal to me, but that’s immaterial. There are lots of styles that don’t appeal to me; that doesn’t mean that they should be banished from anywhere except my own home. But another question quickly arose in my mind.

Does maximalism have a place in organizing?

Since decluttering and downsizing are both key parts of keeping our stuff under control, it would seem that the answer would be no. “Let it go” is, after all, one of the key elements of STYLE, which would seem to indicate that more would not be more when it comes to organizing. When we have too much stuff for our space, minimizing what we have would seem to be called for. And once we have gotten that quantity under control, we need to store all of those things.

And that’s where maximalism might just come into play. While the function of a container is arguably its most important attribute, the look of the container plays a role as well. We’re more likely to use -- and perhaps even more motivated to use -- things we find attractive. Colors, textures and patterns can add a lot to a space and can also serve as visual reminders for what goes where.

Recently, I bought a new tote bag. I didn’t need it but this particular item (which, not coincidentally, matches my favorite planner) kept calling out to me and so, when it went on sale, I splurged. Every single day when I pick up this bag and take it to work, it makes me happy. Part of the reason for that is that it distributes the collection of miscellany that I carry back-and-forth to work quite nicely, making it easy for me to haul what I need to from place to place. 

But honestly? One of the biggest reasons that I like it is because it’s pretty -- a black tote bag with white polka dots that adds a lovely pop of pattern to solid outfits. 

Do I change my tote bag, swapping it out each day to find one that matches my outfit? I do not. On its own, this tote bag works well for me on both an organizational level and an aesthetic one. Consequently, some days, I'm a walking example of maximalism as my tote bag bounces on my hip alongside a patterned sweater, jacket, or pair of pants. 

Hmm. So much for my personal ban on maximalism.

When we struggle to get organized or stay organized, we need tools in our arsenal that make the task fun. And if that means choosing a wide variety of non-matching containers, each of which we love for not just its function but its beauty, then it seems silly to quibble over whether or not things match. And, if we also happen to have a style that is visually driven (I need to see it), and/or benefits from using distinctive or unique organizers (I know I put it somewhere), crossing "it matches" off our list of attributes might even be an advantage.

While I lean more toward minimalism than maximalism, and you won’t find me espousing the joys of bringing as much stuff as possible into my home or setting up a row of containers that don’t at least complement each other in terms of style or pattern, I definitely see the potential value of maximalism, particularly with it comes to choosing storage systems. I have two caveats, though: there can't be so many containers that we can’t remember where things go, and the look of the container shouldn’t outweigh its function.

Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder. And Organizing by STYLE is built on the idea that each beholder should be true to his or her styles.

4 Things to Consider Doing This Fall

 I have always loved this time of year -- the time when we return to classrooms and learning and all things back-to-school. For one thing, back-to-school coincides with fall, which is my favorite season (even if my allergies protest). Second, it's a great excuse to freshen up our supplies of notebooks, writing implements, and all things stationery. 

But, perhaps best of all, the start of a new school year feels like a fresh start. We talk about spring cleaning but, personally, I feel more motivated to get my house in order in the fall. Here are a few of my favorite fall organizing tasks, inspired in no small part by the spend-free week I wrote about a few weeks ago.

• Switch the closet from summer to fall. Living in Central Pennsylvania, I find that this happens gradually because summer temperatures often persist well into the start of the school year. But, since I work in education, it also happens organically as I pull out clothes to wear to work, only to discover they no longer work. I often don't recognize that items that are too big, too small, too tired, or too blah are taking up space in my closet until I pull them out to wear to work and immediately discard them. Making the donation box the next stop for those pieces I threw on the bed in frustration before leaving the house helps to ensure that my closet is up-to-date. Or, at the very least, it means I won't keep reaching for the same sub-par items because they'll no longer be there. 

• Try something new. As a big fan of the one in/one out rule, I saw an opportunity in all of those discarded clothes. I've been subscribing to a clothing box for seven years (my present to myself when my daughter started college and I needed a little empty nesting pick-me-up) but, lately, the boxes have looked more like the donation pile than wardrobe staples. So, I decided to try another service. I loved the first box (which I got to try with a $20 credit) and I could put a few new pieces into my closet guilt-free because I'd made room for them with all those clothes that went from closet to me to bed to donation box. If you're not into clothing, you can try something else -- a new hobby, a new class, a new hair style (or color), a new organizer...the possibilities are limited by only your imagination and your budget.

• Unsubscribe. While you're weeding the closet, why not weed out your email inbox? When I did my spend-free week (actually closer to two), I don't know why I was so surprised that most of the incoming junk mail was an obstacle to modest spending (via an invitation to spend or donate money), but it was an eye-opener. I never want to miss a coupon or a sale but, if I don't need something, not buying it is cheaper than any sale. And, if I need it, I know where the store (or website) is. Meanwhile, all of those emails are simply temptations that wear us down. The first one is easy enough to delete, but the more of them we see, the more likely it is that we'll click (and buy). If I unsubscribe, I don't see them, making me less likely to buy things I don't need.

• Buy a little peace. As a rule, I don't set up notifications for apps. My phone dings, buzzes, and plays songs often enough as it is. But a long time ago, in the interest of being conscientious, I set up notifications for my work mail. They're visual, not auditory (they pop up on my Home Screen or Lock Screen), which makes them less distracting, but do you know what would make them even less distracting? Not having them at all. So, in late August, I bit the bullet. I turned the notifications off, and I don't miss them at all. Now, I check email on my own terms and, because I'm not distracted by newsletters, announcements, and junk mail, I do it less frequently and more efficiently.

In his book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel Pink talks about opportunities for fresh starts. For me, I think the back-to-school fresh start is the best one of all.

What will you do to organize your space, your life, or yourself this fall?

The Gift of Time

 Today's post is a crossover post, building on the one I posted on The Porch Swing Chronicles earlier today.

This morning, the unexpected happened. I came downstairs to check my computer before work only to discover that a power outage on campus had delayed the start of classes until at least 10 a.m. While I didn't yet know if that would affect my 11a.m., I still had a decision to make. 

And emails from three students already awaiting that decision.

My choice? I gave us all the day off. Sort of. I gave them an assignment, and I dug into my virtual pile of things to be graded.

The plan? Work all morning and write all afternoon. 

That was almost three hours ago. As I write this, I’m halfway through my plan. Actually I’m sitting in line at the Starbucks drive-through, awaiting my turn to pick up my BOGO Thurs-yay drinks. 

A day off and double the caffeine.

From here, I’ll go home, finish grading a set of quizzes, post this blog, and dig into the writing that has consistently gotten drop-kicked to the bottom of my to do list. 

If someone gave you an unexpected day off, how would you spend it? Would you organize a cluttered space? Tackle a long-neglected task? Truly take the day for yourself?

The gift of time is a beautiful thing -- one we often wish for and rarely receive. Yet, in our desire to be responsible, we sometimes use up that gift, rather than savoring it for the wonder that it is. And, when we do savor it, we sometimes feel guilty for “wasting” time or “not being productive,” forgetting that taking care of ourselves is perhaps the most productive thing we can do.

The gift of time is one of the loveliest things we can receive. Personally, I plan to make the most of every minute.

Let it Go?

This post from pandemic days reminded me that, sometimes, hanging on to things "just because" can be a good thing. 

True Confession #26: Sometimes, it pays to be a packrat.

On Monday night, (day 41 of self-imposed exile, for those of you keeping score at home), I pulled the lid off my signature scent (a fancy way of saying my only bottle of perfume) and the nozzle came off with it. Securely wedged inside the lid, it wouldn't budge, leaving me with a nearly full bottle and no way to spray it. It was late, so I went to bed, saddened at the thought of wasting all of that perfume.

The next morning, I got up and took another look. Nope -- no miracles. Still inextricably wedged inside. I twisted the little strip of gold that remained at the top of the perfume bottle and the spray mechanism came loose.

Okay, good. I wouldn't have to waste the perfume. But where was I going to pour it? My mom used to have one of those vanity trays with the glass bottles for various fragrances, but those were long gone.

Wait.

I pulled open the top drawer of my dresser and there it was.

The old bottle.

There was only whisper of liquid left, but the most important part remained. I quickly pulled off the lid (gently this time), unscrewed the spray mechanism and, I'm embarrassed to say, got ready to pour.

Yeah, there was an easier way. I swapped the mechanisms and returned the old bottle to the drawer, exceedingly happy about a very simple thing.

When I saved that bottle, I had no really good reason. A faint aroma still lingered, so I tucked it in my dresser drawer as a sort of glass sachet.

Yeah. No good reason to keep it and pretty much every professional organizer on the planet would tell me to toss it. But I kept it because I wanted to and now I'm really glad I did.

Sometimes, we save things for a good reason. Other times, we just want to. We can't keep everything we've ever owned but, despite the fact that something borrowed should always be returned, something old doesn't always need to end up in the trash. (When it comes to something blue, I'll let you decide).

Has an all-but-empty perfume bottle led me to contradict Let it Go! (The L in STYLE)? Quite the opposite, actually. Let it Go! has always been about letting go of things on your own terms. If something has meaning or use and you have room for it, keep it. If its time has passed or it's not worth the space it will take up, perhaps it is time for it to exit your home, whether via donation, yard sale or -- dare I say it? -- the trash.

Now that I think of it, I'm not sure why I tucked that old bottle back in the drawer. Habit, I guess. Perhaps it's time to go back upstairs and apply my own rules. Its usefulness has passed (it consists of a non-working mechanism atop an all-but-empty bottle of perfume) and, if no further fragrance lingers, there's really no reason to keep it. And getting rid of something old makes way for something new or, perhaps even better, yields clear space.

But that's another post.

The More Things Change....

 One of the things I like best about organizing by STYLE is its flexibility. Don't like binders? Try an accordion folder. Not a fan of the file cabinet? Use individual standing files. Have a tendency to cram and jam or put things in a "safe place"? Choose storage that supports what you do naturally -- flexible and/or see-through containers -- instead of "shoulding" yourself into using a traditional tool that frustrates you.

Another benefit of the flexibility of this method is that it automatically lends itself to change. No matter how perfect the system, it needs to be dynamic in order to meet changing demands, uses and time constraints.

Case in point: my school stuff. Each semester, I have things to sort, store and carry back and forth. Old faithful tools -- my planner, which doubles as a lesson plan book, my pencil case loaded with writing implements and office supplies, my pocket folder that houses reference materials for each class -- form the foundation. From there, I add tweaks and tools to fill any gaps that arise.

A few semesters ago, I added a clipboard to my arsenal of supplies. It came in handy during the first few weeks of class, providing a place to house rosters and seating charts as I learned my students' names, and then I set it aside. This semester, the clipboard has earned its keep, playing a role in my attendance-taking, thanks to a new online system. In addition, I added a single sheet of paper to my clipboard, one that summarizes my schedule and appointments for the week. It's amazing what a big difference that small change has made in bridging the gap between my school schedule and my home schedule. One piece of paper has combined my to-do lists, and appointments for two parts of my life, uniting two separate pieces of the same puzzle.

Finding a tool that works is wonderful. Finding one that will grow with the demands and changes of daily life is even better. While it's tempting to wish for a permanent solution to our organizational needs, finding ways to adapt and adjust not only refines our systems, but our overall organizational skills as well. And, since a stagnant life would be a boring life, we might just have to adjust to the one true rule of organization.

It's a process.

Ooh, Look! It's on Sale!

 

Last week, I bought a Kate Spade tote bag. It perfectly matches my planner (among other items I already own) and, while it had been on sale for about a month, the additional 40% off code in my inbox sealed the deal, the need/want line blurring into oblivion as I reached for my credit card.

Like so many other people, I replaced in-person shopping with online shopping during the pandemic. While the need to do this for health reasons has passed, the convenience remains. Consequently, I’m still buying stuff. Rarely does one receipt go over the top, but do I really need everything I buy?

 

I decided to try a little experiment. For the remainder of August (about a week), I would purchase only necessary things.

 

Great! So…what are necessary things?

 

Food. I’ll purchase only food. 

 

Great! Does that include eating out, or just groceries? And what about that daily Starbucks?

 

Hmm…okay. Starbucks is in. Eating out is okay if it’s unplanned and done with someone else so there’s a social element involved. But no fair making new plans that involve spending, at least until September.

 

More questions arose. Household items? Home improvement projects? Donations? 

 

But the biggest challenge presented itself when I innocently dug into my inbox on Saturday morning.

 

Books. 

 

OK. That’s easy enough. My TBR pile is quite tall. I recently renewed my library card. There’s no need to buy any more books, no matter how good the price. Delete unopened.

 

Ouch.

 

But the book emails were just the tip of the iceberg. When had everything in my inbox become a solicitation? No wonder my online shopping habit was flourishing. Everywhere I looked there was a sale. 

 

And I didn’t even leave need to leave my house.

 

Suddenly, I realized that I hadn’t arrived at this destination alone. I had been “helped” along the way by a burgeoning group of retailers who came to my door, so to speak, on a daily basis. 

 

This was bigger than a weak moment. This was subliminal coercion. And, as a result, I wasn’t just buying more stuff than I needed, I was also contributing to a growing accumulation of stuff. 

 

It was time. Taking a week (or maybe more) off from superfluous spending would be the reset I needed to sharpen the habit of thinking before I reached for my credit card. 

 

But not only is never buying anything fun again unsustainable, it also does nothing to reduce my current inventory, so to speak. Consequently, I need to use a powerful organizing tool already in my arsenal: one in, one out. If a new tote bag is coming, something old is going. Only then will I be able to keep the incoming and outgoing stuff in balance.

 

Yes. I have a plan.

 

As I was typing this, a new solicitation landed in my inbox. Amazon caught me looking and decided to nudge me to pull out my plastic. Clearly, I need to pull some of the weeds in my inbox out by the roots and set a new criteria for thinning email. If it's trying to sell me something (especially something I don’t need), it might be time to unsubscribe.

 

From there, it was a short jaunt to considering how and when I engage in my online shopping excursions. How many evenings do I spend clearing out my inbox in front of the television?  I think I’m using my time well, slotting a less essential task into a down time of day, but it’s down time for a reason. I'm tired. My defenses are low. My feet might hurt, making those pretty shoes the perfect solution to all my woes, and one I deserve at that.

 

Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but you see where I’m going with this. 

 

I bought my tote bag on Thursday evening. By Saturday, having chalked up just one day of not buying stuff I didn’t need, I’d begun to realize that the problem was much more complex than a lack of self-control.

 

But it’s not insurmountable. And, from an organizational perspective, it’s a great place to start. Being thoughtful about our spending habits keeps us from filling our homes with things we then need to organize. And, by placing our mindfulness alongside our wallets, we might even be able to enjoy those fun purchases (when we choose to make them) because they happen less frequently.

 

It’s going to be an interesting week.

 

A Little Ownership Goes a Long Way

 

 As we once again fall into fall and try to keep the home-school communication running smoothly, it seemed like a good time to re-share this post.

True Confession #24: I like to do things my way. Everyone who knows me, along with anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis is laughing at the understatement that is that sentence.

I'm not inflexible. I just know what I like.

But this post isn't about me. It's about your kids.

As we all spend lots of -- ahem -- quality time together, melding home and school and every possession, plaything, or educational material into one big, overwhelming, previously organized space, we may be struggling to keep it -- I mean things -- together. And we all know what we like.

And it's probably not happening.

Believe it or not, kids have organizing styles too. Sometimes they match ours, sometimes they don't. But a surefire way to keep your kids from organizing their stuff is to disregard their styles and do it yourself (a.k.a. according to your styles) because it's easier. It might be easier (and faster) but, rather than teaching them how to organize, it's teaching them that if they leave things disorganized for long enough, someone else will come along behind them and organize it for them.

Sometimes, after the organizing angel has worked her magic (although at my house, the angel is more likely to moonlight as a dad), the children in question have the nerve -- no, the gall! -- to complain about how it was done.

Can you believe that?

What looks like a serious case of entitlement is often a difference in styles. I'm not promising you that if you ask your children what their styles are that they will magically fall in line and put away every last possession, plaything, and educational material without being asked. But I am suggesting that you ask them what might work for them.

Maybe even give them this very scientific quiz I made up.

She might be too young to figure out how to
organize on her own, but her big sister
probably isn't. (Photo: Kasman via Pixabay)

Teaching our kids to organize most often begins with modeling the strategies that come naturally to us. Some of our kids will adopt those same strategies and develop organizing systems that look like ours and, when it comes time to clean up at the end of the day, they will do so to our satisfaction.

Others will not but, when we offer them alternatives, they might develop their own strategies and systems. They might even like the responsibility of caring for their own things when they can do it their way. Even better, it's possible that they've learned a thing or two from all those things that didn't work. With a little encouragement and a lot of flexibility, we can help them develop a life skill while they're still living at home where we can appreciate it.

Adults don't have the market cornered on wanting to do things our way. Honoring your child's styles can, in the end, make both of you happy.

After all, everyone loves a little ownership.