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Chapter 4

S: Start with Successes

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.

ROMANS 12:6

In part I, we identified and described personal and organizational styles and how they fit together, and took a brief look at some of the basic strategies that work for each of them. In part II, we’ll take a look at a different kind of STYLE: the process we’ll use to take ourselves from where we are to where we want to be.

Each chapter in part II will focus on one letter of the STYLE acronym:

Start with successes

Take small steps

Yes, it has a home!

Let it go

Easy upkeep

In addition to being part of a process, each step stands alone and is a strategy we can return to as we troubleshoot problem areas or systems that aren’t quite working. Keep in mind that these steps should work for you, not the other way around. They are prompts, not hard-and-fast rules, meant to remind you of your organizational goals.

Ready to dig in? Let’s move from theory to practice. Grab your Style Sheets from chapter 3 and choose a starting point. It can be as small as a closet or as big as a bedroom. It can be the space you’re proudest of, or it can be the space most in need of improvement.

At my house, if I wanted to start with a place that’s in good shape, I’d go stand in my living room. If I wanted a challenge, I’d stand in the doorway of my too-small, not-enough-storage home office or beside my dining room table, which tends to be a magnet for all things paper. Regardless of which space I choose, I will find organizational successes and, most likely, organizational challenges.

And that’s the purpose of this task.

So, there you are, standing in (or outside of) the space you’ve chosen. Glance down at your Style Sheets and remind yourself of the best part of your primary style. Then, take in the space as impartially as possible. What organizational successes can you find?

Let’s use my office as an example because it contains both successes and challenges. Under the counter, I have labeled decorative boxes containing information for the classes I teach. The boxes match, which makes them look nice, but also makes the labels essential so I can tell what’s inside. My personal style is I need to see it, which means that unlabeled matching boxes would be an organizational nightmare. The labels, which are handwritten on 1 1/2” × 2” sticky notes (sticky enough to stay put, easy enough to remove if I change my mind), allow me to see at a glance what’s inside each box. In addition, those labels nudge me to put course material for only one particular topic inside each box. Looking closely, I see that I got lazy and stuck some papers on top of one of the boxes instead of inside of it, a piece of information we’ll come back to later. For now, what’s important is that the matched boxes, usually a no-no for someone like me with an I need to see it personal style, work because they are labeled, because their pattern is distinct and attractive (a key element to containers for many of the styles), and because I have limited the contents of each box to one very specific type of material. These boxes are one of my successes.

Above the counter, I have two cabinets (kitchen cabinets selected specifically for this space, even though it’s not a kitchen). When I open the doors, I can see everything they hold. Nothing is tossed in haphazardly or in random piles. Bins that hold supplies are labeled. With one glance, I can see everything inside the cupboards. These cabinets, too, are a success.

If I were to evaluate the room completely, I could find more successes, as well as numerous things that are not working so well at the moment (like those papers I stuck on top of the boxes instead of inside them). But, for this initial assessment, we are setting the challenges aside — we’ll deal with those in a bit.

Take a moment to look at the space you’ve chosen as impartially as possible, paying special attention to areas, no matter how small, that are organized. Then, answer these three questions:

• Where are my successes?

• What makes them successes?

• How do they connect with my styles?

Go ahead. I’ll wait right here.

•••

What did your assessment reveal? Can you find any patterns? A particular system, container, or routine that keeps part of this space in order?

Your successes are the foundation of your organizational system. If something is working here, chances are you can make that same something (or something like it) work in other areas of your house as well. It doesn’t matter if the tools you’re using aren’t designed to work in other spaces; the only design rules that matter are the ones that contribute to a system that works for you. My home office has a kitchen countertop and kitchen cabinets because that was what worked with the space and for my styles. And those boxes I pressed into service for course materials? Pressboard gift boxes purchased at half price after Christmas. Not what they were made to do either. But they work, and they look nice. Win-win.

Since Organizing by STYLE is nothing if not practical, we’re going to take a moment to look at the flip side too. But before I set you loose to look at what’s not working, I’m setting some parameters about the answers you’re allowed to give to the “why it’s not working” question. You may not answer that question with “because I’m lazy/stupid/hopelessly disorganized” or any similar response. In addition to being personally hurtful (and wrong), those answers are organizational dead ends. They say that you’re flawed and that’s the end of the story.

Well, we’re all flawed. But that’s not the end of the story.

If you can analyze why part of a system isn’t working, you can eliminate every other system that operates the same way from your arsenal of organizing tools. That streamlines your choices, helping you to focus on what might work instead.

Let’s go back to my boxes full of course materials, zooming in on the one on the top right in particular, where I stacked the papers on top instead of putting them inside. I know exactly why I did that. The short/nonacceptable answer: because I’m lazy.

See how useful that wasn’t?

Let’s dig a little deeper. “Lazy” is code for “the system is too complicated for me to use it consistently.” I just said I loved my boxes (and I do!) because they’re eye-catching and easy to use. After all, what’s so hard about lifting a lid and sticking papers inside?

Inside this particular box are not one but two pocket folders (anathema to many styles, including my primary organizational style, which is drop and run). Since I couldn’t just drop and run, I took a shortcut, saving the work for later, when I’d have time to file them properly.

So, now that I know why the system broke down, what do I do? Here are three possibilities:

• I can keep my system as is because it works most of the time.

• I can replace the pocket folders with something more style-friendly.

• I can add another box to the system so I can eliminate the need for the folders inside.

Since I really like the system from both an organizational and a visual perspective, I don’t want to overhaul the whole thing. If I had room for another box, I’d go with that option; this problem arose because I have one box that no longer has room to grow. But since I’m pressed for space, that’s not an option. Perhaps, in this case, my full-to-capacity box is an indication that it’s time to weed out its contents.

Once I’ve done this, I still have another choice to consider: replace the color-coded pocket folders (one for each class) with colored file folders, no pockets. Previous experience tells me that this will work just fine. But what if it doesn’t? Easy. I troubleshoot again.

How often do you need to troubleshoot? Until you find the solution that works for you.

Okay, your turn. Take a moment and look at the space again. As you jot down the things that don’t work for you, remember that recriminations are not helpful, but observations are. Also, keep in mind that “tidy” and “organized” are not the same things. A clear desktop may be tidy, but the desk itself is organized only if the drawers aren’t stuffed haphazardly with things that would otherwise be on top of the desk. As you troubleshoot, consider the following:

• What’s not working? How can you tell?

• Why isn’t it working? (Remember to identify what’s wrong with the system.)

• Is the problem a style mismatch?

Go ahead. I’ll wait right here.

•••

What did your assessment reveal? Can you find any patterns? A particular system, container, or routine that’s standing between you and an organized space?

Now for the bonus question: Can you replace something that’s not working with something that is?

Yes you can. Locate your organizational style in the second set of Style Sheets that begin on the next page. Use your observations to fill in the missing sections (yes, you can write in this book!) and circle or highlight the suggestions that ring true for you. Then do the same with your personal styles.