3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys to Getting Your Closet Ready for Fall

 

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I love fall. And, as with any change of season, the arrival of fall means rearranging my closet to make it easier to get to the clothes that fit the new season.

This did not used to be something I like as much as I like fall but, once I reconfigured everything to suit my styles, the whole process became a lot easier.

Here are three keys to creating a set-up that doesn't make you dread the change of seasons, whether your closet is big, small or somewhere in between.

Aim for access. If you can't reach it, you can't wear it. While it's fine (and often necessary) to tuck out-of-season and rarely worn items in the back of your closet, if it's in season and in rotation, keep it where you can get to it. 

Think out of the box -- or off the rack. Just because a builder configured your closet a certain way, that doesn't mean you have to live with that configuration forever, particularly if it doesn't work for you. Shelf too high? Lower it -- or take it down. Not the world's best hanger-upper? Put a shelving or drawer unit below the hanging pole and fold your clothes instead. Need some room for dresses and other long items? Choose a shelving (or drawer) unit that leaves room for hanging clothes on either side. All of this can be accomplished with basic portable items you can buy at Target or Wal-Mart so that if you don't like the new plan, you can go back to the old one or, if you love it, you can hire a professional to upgrade it and make it permanent.

Go for style -- and not just in clothes. If you honor your styles with the organizers you choose, you'll be more likely to use them. Bins, drawers, and other storage containers can be lidded or unlidded, clear, opaque or color-coded. And, there's no reason a closet can't be pretty--even on the inside. 

At its core, a closet is just a big cube, waiting for you to configure it in a way that works for you. While it's important to keep your habits and styles in mind as you organize, it's perhaps most important to remember that you're the boss of the cube. You can -- and should -- set it up any way you like because, once you do, it's so much easier to stay organized.

And to get dressed.

OBS FAQs: Why are the Style Names so Silly?

If you've ever heard me speak, you've probably heard the story of how an office relocation led to first an organizational resolution, then an organizational epiphany. At the time, I was working in an elementary school with students ranging in age from seven to twelve. When I decided to share my strategies with them, simple, straightforward names just made sense.

But "cram and jam"? "I know I put it somewhere"? 

Okay, so they're straightforward with a twist.  Their inherent silliness makes it hard to take ourselves -- or our organization situation -- too seriously.

So often, those of us who organize in non-traditional ways and/or struggle with getting and staying organized take it personally. It's hard not to when our self-talk is routinely negative and serious -- self-talk that we might very well have picked up from the other people along the way. 

What a mess! I'll never get this. What's wrong with me? Why can everyone else do this? How hard is it to put papers in a folder?

When this is the case, we're less likely to get organized. Negative self-talk isn't motivating, it's demoralizing. Frustrated and disgusted, we give up, assuming we can't do any better, and further cementing our belief that there's something wrong with us. Or, perhaps we assume that we were absent on the day God was gifting people with organizational skills, and we simply need to accept that we'll never get any better.

Never is such an ugly word.

Even though getting and staying organized requires a seriousness of purpose, it doesn't have to be all serious all the time. Dubbing our default styles with names that clearly identify the action but leave room for a little levity can make an onerous task less insurmountable. And being able to laugh despite missteps and amid piles is far, far better for us than beating ourselves up. 

To be honest, when I took organizing by STYLE out of the elementary school and into adult settings, I was afraid the names wouldn't fly. I couldn't have been more wrong. Dogged by years of belief that they were hopeless, the adults who arrived at my presentations were relieved by the levity and delighted to find that they had company -- others who could wear the same labels they were donning themselves. 

While there are lots of practical tool that are a key part of the organizing arsenal, there are intangibles as well. Faith in ourselves. Optimism. Persistence.

And a sense of humor.

Sure, we can get angry about the piles, frustrated by the collections, and overwhelmed by the busy schedules and seasons the leave us feeling as though we'll never get ahead of things.

Or, we can slap on our personal and organizational style monikers like one of those sticky "Hello! My name is..." badges (mine says I need to see it/drop and run) and brainstorm our way out of the clutter. 

The labels are silly but they're also a call to action. The realization that I need to see things and that,
when things get busy, I default to dropping and running, puts me on the path to finding the organizational tools I need. Wearing that silly name badge (literally or figuratively) is the first step to accepting who I am and how I operate. Even better, it gives me a road map for getting to organizational success.

Name it. Accept it. Use it.

And don't forget to smile.

6 Surefire Ways to Trigger Mom's Nag Reflex: The Clutter Edition

 

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My house is not perfect. There are definitely spots where clutter collects but, alternatively, there are spaces that I keep clear. Staying organized takes work and, as a result, I don't have a lot of patience when someone else messes up what I've cleaned up.

Like so many other parents, I’m finding that a fringe benefit of the pandemic has been having my young adult child move back home while she tries to determine the next steps in her life. I really do love having her around, but the house she has returned to is not the same house she left. When she left for college, I was still used to having a “child“ at home and my house reflected that. However, slowly but surely, the absence of one person in a small house led to the obliteration of clutter in places where it had routinely lived. Add to that my finalizing a book on organization midway through her college journey and my house is a lot less cluttered than it used to be.

I have to say that my daughter is not a slob. In fact, she’s very particular about how her room looks. Consequently, from time to time, she'll do a deep cleaning of her room and decide to get rid of things. These things invariably end up in the public spaces of the house.

This does not go over well.

As I said, I'm really glad she's here. I don't want to nag her or pester her or make her feel as though she can't relax in her own home. But, at the same time, I find my house to be more relaxing with less clutter. 

The more I thought about this, the more I realized that I do let some things go, but there are certain spots where clutter bothers me. I'm sure to nag if she:

1. Leaves things laying around in the living room.
2. Leaves food sitting out -- anywhere.
3. Puts things down down in a spot that has just been cleared.
4. Fails to clean up after herself in a public space of the house.
5. Leaves things sitting on furniture meant for sitting.
6. Doesn't use a coaster.

Okay, that last one isn't really clutter-related but it does relate to the fact that, at this point in my life, I would like to have nice things. As a fully grown adult, I'm entitled to have nice things and heaven help anybody who gets in my way once I acquire the perfect table for the perfect spot.

In a strange way, making this list made me feel better. I'm not a nag or a fussbudget (most of the time anyway). I just like things that are organized to stay that way.

Still, the thought has crossed my mind (and my lips once or twice) that I can’t wait till she gets her own apartment so that I can come over and mess everything up. 

Just me?

I'm pretty sure I won’t actually be doing that as I typically have enough maturity and self-restraint to make better choices, but the frustration is real. I'm also sure I will miss her enormously when she finds the apartment she's been dreaming of.

But her stuff on my sofa? That I won't miss.

3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys for Organizing Your Workspace

I am lucky enough to have dedicated office space at my house. Admittedly, it's a small room that never seems to have enough storage space, but I at least have the luxury of having a workspace to call my own. It's cluttered sometimes, but it's mine.

Over time, it has gone through numerous transformations and it's finally close to the way I want it. (Like me, it's a work in progress). While there are limitations to what I can do in tight quarters, I've managed to create a space that works for me (most days) by addressing a few key considerations.

Decide about your desk. When it comes to your desktop, are you a minimalist or are you inspired by trinkets and family photos? Although I've been a proud member of the clean desk club for over a year now (save for a few slip-ups), I like having trinkets, family photos and frequently used items close at hand, though I make sure to keep them on the perimeter of the desk so I have work space. Decide how you work best and design your desktop accordingly.

Think about how you think. Using STYLE-friendly tools is a start, but it's more than that. Do you need a whiteboard for drawing out ideas and making lists? A bookshelf to keep your favorite reads within reach? Or, are you perfectly content with a laptop and a folding table? While I'd love to have a full-sized whiteboard, there's really no good place to put it, so I ordered some peel-and-stick (removable) write on/wipe off circles (in coral) instead. They not only fit the space, but they add a pop of color as well. Consider the tools you need to fuel both your productivity and your creativity.

Separate the past from the present. No, I don't mean those photos of your pre-COVID cruise. Instead, I'm thinking about those files and folders and binders you haven't opened in six months that are still taking up prime real estate. If your office is spacious, and the files are neatly corralled, this might not be an issue. But if you, like me, are working in a small space, it might be beneficial to keep archived materials (the stuff we put in file cabinets) somewhere else, so you have plenty of room for what you're working on now. Make sure to keep it well-organized and/or labeled so you can access it quickly if you need to.

As for whether to use file folders, file boxes, accordion folders or traditional tools like binders, that decision is between you and your styles. But keep in mind that the first step to an organized workspace is making sure it fits the person who'll be working there. 

A Penchant for Planners

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 I recently bought a new planner. I didn't need a new planner. I have plenty of planners. 

Yes, planners. Plural.

But it was pretty. And undated so, theoretically, it will outlast my current planners.

Did I mention it's pretty?

Shallow as that sounds, I really don't judge a planner by (just) its cover. In the end, while pretty was a key factor, the interior layout sealed the deal. Each page has room for my daily schedule, three daily priorities, and a to-do list. There's also room at the bottom to note food and water intake for the day, should I so desire.

I don't. I keep track of that on my phone.

My hope was that having my schedule, priorities and lists bound into a book, I'd reduce the ubiquitous flurry of papers that litters my desk, and I would (almost) never need to dig to find my to-do list. 

So far, so good. I still jot down notes on random pieces of paper from time to time, but I'm developing the habit of adding those items to the list in the book, usually the same day. In addition, I'm learning to keep the book close at hand in the evenings, when to-do list items pop into my head.

After purchasing the planner, I discovered that the pages are perforated, making it easy to pull out an unfinished list and tuck it into the next day's page, rather than re-writing it. I haven't yet done that, but it's nice to know it's an option. 

Truth be told, no matter how useful it is, this planner was a splurge. I saw it, I liked it and, although I didn't buy it right away, I bought it in spite of the fact that I didn't need it.

Am I sorry? Not a bit. It has much more room than the pages I was previously using for my week-at-a-glance cheat sheets (but the flip side of that is that it also takes up more room than those single sheets). As it turns out, that's an unexpected bonus. I rarely fill every line in the to-do list section of the daily pages, and my daily schedule isn't usually lengthy enough to fill that section either. The resulting white space is calming, reassuring me, in a way, that although my day was busy, it wasn't overwhelming.

Not on paper anyway.

Organizing is a practical process. If the tools we use aren't up to the task, we need to replace them. But, from time to time, we all need a tool that's pretty and practical because that combination can make organizing not only fun, but a habit as well.