Organizing Rules Are Meant to Be Broken
Wouldn’t it be great if I could just spew a few organizing rules, you implement them, and from here until eternity your home is “perfectly” organized?
That’s the frustrating thing about organizing, though. It is NOT an exact science.
The other day, I was helping a client organize her kitchen cabinets. Our goals were to increase work flow, maximize cabinet space, and purge or relocate all the unnecessary or unrelated items we discovered. Things were going well until it came to the putting-it-all-back stage.
“Where does this need to go,” she kept asking me as we worked through the various items that would remain in her de-cluttered kitchen. Each time I offered her a few options, based on how often she used the item, where she used the item, and what she used the item for. For instance, most homeowners I work with rarely, if ever, use their bread machines. So I encourage them to either get rid of this appliance all together, or store it out of the way and not within their “prime real estate” kitchen space. My client last week, however, makes bread on a weekly basis. So to make things easy, we stored it in a base cabinet below the counter where she always plugs it in. Since she had previously been storing it in the hall closet among her family’s coats, shoes, and mittens, she loved the idea of now having it more accessible.
Next, we started putting back her extensive spice collection. “Oh, I know what to do here,” she said proudly. “These need to be alphabetized, right?” “Well,” I cringed. “Not necessarily.”
Now, others may disagree, but in my opinion, there is no written-in-stone rule that says collections like spice containers have to be alphabetized just because the items have names and labels. Of course, it is an option. But there are other ways to organize them, too. It all depends on how you think about them when it’s time to retrieve them and put them away. For instance, I categorize my spices according to how I use them: Spices I use almost daily are together at the front of my spice rack. All those I use for Mexican dishes are together, and those I use when I cook Italian food are grouped together. Baking spices are all stored together, too. And those rare, only-use-once-in-a-while spices are also grouped together and “living” in the back of my spice rack. When a recipe calls for cumin, I know to look in the Mexican group. If something needs a dash of pepper, I know it’s right up front with my frequently used spices.
As my client and I continued to assess where her remaining kitchen items should now be stored, I was gradually able to teach her that while the re-organization of her kitchen was solidly based on proven organizing theories and methodologies, ultimately the kitchen had to be functional according to the needs of her and her family. There isn’t one right answer or rule for how to organize because what works for one, may be completely unmanageable for another. It’s all about organizing YOUR space for YOUR needs, YOUR goals, and how YOU need to function, whether that means alphabetizing your spices or categorizing them.
In the end, we actually combined methods to organize her spices. She liked the idea of grouping the spices according to function, but within each group we placed the jars in alphabetical order. But now she knows to think of organizing in terms of what’s right for her, not by what rules she should be following.
So what organizing rules have YOU broken lately?
Simply yours,
Debbie
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This is an EXCELLENT post. It really would be nice if there was a right or wrong way to organize, but what it comes down to is function. Even decluttering is personal – what’s “junk” to one person might be a valuable keepsake and worth devoting space to, to someone else.
It’s funny, I’m a Weight Watchers leader as a part-time job, and weight loss works just like stuff-loss. Everyone has different priorities, and losing weight is not a miraculous set of hard and fast rules. It’s “what do I want most, and what I am willing, and not willing, to give up to get it?”
Sounds a lot like organizing to me!
Joan’s last blog post..April showers bring May flowers; March showers bring… hail!
Thanks, Joan! You hit the nail on the head with priorities, whether it’s stuff-loss or weight loss. And aside from establishing your priorities in the first place, only by sticking with them will you be able to actually maintain your organization, or smaller dress size for that matter.
Debbie Jordan Kravitz’s last blog post..Organizing Rules Are Meant to Be Broken
I agree totally – some people get so focused on the “rules” that they can’t see the forest for the trees. When I work in kids spaces, especially, I have to help people see that what they think is great is not necessarily what the child thinks is great. And many people get caught up in the way things need to LOOK over how they function. I’m all for aesthetics but if it doesn’t work, then it’s kind of useless. My husband tried to convince me to put my (fabulous bright yellow) mixer in a low cupboard because he thought it took up too much counter space. I use the thing at least twice a week. I told him that if that is where it went, he’d be the one hauling it out every time I wanted to use it because the thing is huge. Plus I love it and wanted it where I could see it.
Excellent post and very important for people to read and learn.
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[...] and this is so important, remember that organizing rules are meant to be broken. Debbie from Virtually Organized explains why. Do what works for you even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else. [...]
[...] from Virtually Organized shares this great post called Organizing Rules are Meant to be Broken. If you’ve been reading Organizing Your Way for very long, you know I agree with her [...]
I agree that there are really no strict rules on how you organize your stuff. Do whatever works best for you. As they say, different strokes for different folks. Just like Debbie, I arrange my spices according to how I use them. They don’t need to be arranged alphabetically, well at least for me. I group the ones I use often together. But I am a huge fan of organizing products to help me arrange my things accordingly. Simple containers for example are very helpful in organization; just store the item/s, label them and you’re done.
[...] To get us started on the right foot, Debbie Jordan Kravitz tells us why Organizing Rules Are Meant To Be Broken. [...]
Hi Debbie,
Well, you dashed (no pun intended) my organizational ideal of alphabetical spices, like in grocery stores. However, yours actually makes more sense, as long as the owner of said spices remembers where they’ve placed them.
Thank you for the eye-opener!
Fantastic post. The problem with micro-organizing like alphabetizing spices is that once you pull the paprika from the back of the shelf, it’s so much more tempting to just stick it in the front when you are putting it back. When you over-organize something, it gets harder to maintain and when the system breaks down it just depresses you and makes you feel even more disorganized than you really are. Better to organize the right amount for you!
Thanks!
Lelah’s last blog post..Preparing for every day: Purse
[...] Guest post by Michi Story, known also as the KenZen Coach. KenZen is Japanese for harmonious mind, body and spirit. A mom of an almost four-year-old boy, Michi draws upon this, her Japanese heritage and her training as a wellness coach, personal trainer and health & fitness specialist to help other busy moms learn how to better manage their stress, get fit, lose weight, have more energy, and create more work/life harmony. Since organization, or the lack thereof, often goes hand-in-hand with these other life issues, I invited Michi to guest post and discuss one of the biggest factors of household disorganization. . . stress. Click here for Michi’s words of wisdom . . . [...]
It’s when we “break the rules” that we sometimes come up with our most creative organizational ideas! Great post…I also have a bread machine, but haven’t used mine at all. For good reason though, someday I know I will need it.
I like your Blog and i want read more.
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