Thursday Then & Now: Location by Style

Now: It's always fun for me to go back and look at old posts to see what has changed. In most cases, my taste might have changed a bit (a favorite tool then has been replaced by something I like better, for example), but my advice has not. 

As we contemplate spring (and perhaps spring cleaning), it seems like a good time to re-visit this 2016 post about finding the right homes for our things, in accordance with our styles. Often, our styles have been organizational obstacles for so long that we forget that every style has a flip side -- our own unique way of looking at things that, when honored, leads us to systems that work because they make sense to us.

Then:

Those with an I love stuff personal style are good at putting things together, sometimes in unconventional ways. Often collectors, folks with this style already understand the importance of storing similar items together, but may also come up with creative combinations that make storage fun. 

Those with an I need to see it personal style 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 out of sight meaning out of mind.

Those with an I love to be busy personal style 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, and often includes designating separate containers for each activity, a system that allows them to grab and go.

 

Those with a cram and jam organizational style 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.

Those with a drop and run organizational style 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. 

Those with an I know I put it somewhere organizational style 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.

Then AND Now: 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.