Do You Have Different Organizing Styles Living in Your Home?
(with permission from my daughter/son)
Different organizing styles in your home? Here are tips for how to deal with them.
As I write this newsletter, my daughter, Maddie is on her way home from DC for a short visit and my son, Eli from college for Fall Break. And as excited as I am (And I am!) to have them home, the type “A”, everything have a place, put it away immediately, Leslie, can’t stop thinking about the clutter that comes along with their visits. If I am going to be completely honest, as much as I miss them (and I do!), I get a giddy pleasure peeking into their perfectly neat and organized bedrooms. (Yes, I am that crazy!) It’s not that they were so messy or disorganized when they lived here. It’s just that we all have VERY different organizing personalities.
My son will walk into his room, see his floor strewn with clothes, books and computer and music paraphernalia, and tell me there is nothing that needs putting away. Really??? My daughter’s room generally has piles all over the floor – clean folded clothes in one, dirty unfolded clothes in another, filled shopping bags and totes in a third, and so on. Each is self contained but scattered throughout the room. Me? I need to clear my desk and prepare a to-do list for the next day before shutting my office door for the night. I can’t even go to sleep at night unless all the closet doors and dresser drawers are firmly closed. Yes, I am one of those!
And don’t get me started on the water bottles. Half drunken bottles line both their night stands and stay there until I threaten to pour the remains in their beds. Ok, not really. But it sounds good, doesn’t it? As someone who clears and cleans dishes in the middle of a meal-even if my guests are still eating, I just don’t get it! If it’s not makeup and hair products for her; it’s wires and cables for him!
So how do we create a harmonious household?
By shutting their doors…literally. I live by my old adage that “what you don’t see doesn’t exist”! And if that doesn’t work, then by compromising with, laughing at and complaining about each other. We have learned (mostly me!) that no matter what our style or habits – piler, filer, revealer or concealer – we need to do it our way; at our own pace and most importantly, in our own space! Email me at leslie@orderoochaos.com and let me know how you solve your organizing differences.
Would you like more information on organizing and organization tips?
Our post, 10 Ways Color Coding Can Help Organize Your Family, is full of ideas!
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