Organizing Styles
COLOR CODING
Source: The Home Edit (rainbow), ...
Retailers have been color coding items for decades to make their merchandise more appealing and to make it stand out in larger groupings. This ideal has been adopted by many organizers — perhaps most recently and famously, by organizers at The Home Edit — to make finding items easier and displaying them more aesthetically pleasing.
VISUAL VS HIDDEN
Source: Clutterbug, ...
From pegboards to bento boxes, organization can be a feast or famine for the senses. This theory is based on the idea that some people function better with their items out in the open (visual feast) while others find it more relaxing to organize their stuff out of sight (visual famine). There is no right or wrong way — it all comes down to preference and balance.
MACRO VS MICRO
Source: Clutterbug, ...
Size matters in organizing! This method holds true for more than just the size containers you choose — it also plays off of your ability to put things away. The macro organizer needs a quick and easy cleanup that often requires a bit more effort to find what your looking for when you need it. At the other end of the spectrum, micro organizers will take more time to put the item in its correct spot so that they can quickly and easily retrieve it. From a size perspective, you're looking at bigger bins with larger categories for macro and smaller containers with fewer categories for micro.
KON MARI
Source: Marie Kondo
As with the decluttering part of this method, this style emphasizes tidying all the areas as once instead of bit by bit. You work in categories versus locations, collecting like items and housing them together. The categories include clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous, and sentimental items — and should be tackled in this order. The homeowner is encouraged to keep only the items that spark joy. Clothes are also folded and stored vertically for easy reference.
PERSONALITY
Source: Organized Beautifully, Sane Spaces, Martha Stewart, All Things Admin, Just Organized, Clutterbug, The Fine Refine, The Spruce ...
Type "organizing by personality type" into your search engine, and you'll get about 28 million results. Some that we've already touched on fall into this category: Visual vs Hidden and Macro vs Micro. Visual and Hidden organizers are two main categories of five; the other three are minimalists, savers/keepers and the controllers. Other theories abound but these seem to be the most commonly highlighted. Here are the breakdowns for the latter:
Minimalists
These mindsets focus on having only the essentials and will likely need help slowing down in the declutter process versus tossing more items quickly — if they're coming to you, emphasize thoughtful choices more so than with other clients to avoid decluttering regret. You may also be working as a mediator in a home where all members don't agree on being minimalists ... tread carefully!
Savers/Keepers
These are your "just in case" and sentimental junkies — they can be a professional organizer's biggest challenge because letting go is about more than clearing a space. Anticipating the possibility of future need is a major stumbling block here and you will need to redirect clients back to their goals for the space often to make sure they don't get bogged down.
Controllers
Just as the name suggests, these mindsets seek control over their lives via their stuff. Tidying and re-tidying areas for just the right look, feel or function. They aren't exactly perfectionists so much as problem-solvers. When one thing doesn't quite work, they shift gears and rework a system.
For more ideas on personality types and systems, check out these articles:
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6 Organizing Personality Styles & How They Stay Organized For Life
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6 Organizing Style Personalities & How to Stay Organized for Life