Are you the organized one in your family? Does it seem pointless to try to stay organized, with everyone making messes right behind you as you go around the house tidying up? Here are some sneaky ways to get them onboard with your organizing systems.
Archive for Organize Your Family
Last week I attended a lecture on Chaos Theory. I’d heard of it before, but didn’t really know what it was, exactly. The lecture was my dad’s idea for something to do together. And it turned out to be really interesting! He said he expected it was going to be about The Butterfly Effect. And it was, but who knew it was also going to be about entropy, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, fractals, and Rosa Parks (whose small act of defiance triggered a chain of events resulting in the civil rights movement)?
Are you and your spouse, or partner, or roommate, like Oscar and Felix, of The Odd Couple? (Are you old enough to know what I’m talking about?) Do you need Clutter Counseling? I am not a marriage counselor (or a psychic, or a magician), but I am sometimes called upon to mediate disputes as to what goes where in a home or other shared space.
It really helps to have an impartial professional to hear both sides of an issue and give a practical opinion that will work for everyone. Often my recommendation is something neither person has thought of before!
Keepy app logo
I am a new Keepy user, not an experienced one. I am personally child-free, but I have recommended it to organizing clients as an option for managing their kids’ paper clutter. Meanwhile, I am intrigued by the possibilities of using Keepy for genealogy purposes, and the more people who agree, the more likely it will be customized to this use.
Disclaimer: Keepy’s creator, Offir Gutelzon, gave me a free year’s unlimited account to play with, but it only costs $29.99/yr. — hardly enough to sway my opinions!
Does your life run like clockwork?
As a former engineer I’m all about systems and problem-solving. And, as a student of fine arts, and a certified home stager and interior re-designer, I’m all about making things look nice. But as a professional organizer, function takes precedence over form. Who cares how pretty your laundry hamper is, if your dirty clothes are still lying on the floor? Who cares how neat and tidy your office looks, if you can’t find your stapler when you need it?
Why is organizing so much fun for me, and not for everyone? Maybe it’s because I’ve always liked games and puzzles. I woke up with a song in my head, “One of these things is not like the other”, from Sesame Street. I’d already written most of this post and realized that “One of these things…” is an organizing game too, no? Let me give you some other examples (each title is also a clickable link):
Ahhh, Back-to-School….one of my favorite times of year as a kid!
New school supplies (yes, of course, all lined up and containerized) … the smell of freshly sharpened pencils… the endless possibilities of blank notebook paper… reuniting with friends from other neighborhoods… dressing up like a ham for the school play…oh wait, that was Scout, in To Kill a Mockingbird… well, you know what I mean, don’t you? (more…)
Recent Comments