Know Thyself. Lisa Lawmaster Hess

style are amazing step retracers. They can extract an item from a pile based on its location, which tells them when they last used the thing they’re looking for.

      Putting it to work: Make it as easy to put things away as it is to put them down. One-step storage systems, containers, hooks, pegboards located where the drop and run organizer is likely to drop things before running, unlidded containers — all these provide ready storage solutions to help shape the drop and run tendency into an organizational habit that works. Choosing key locations for these containers helps the drop and run organizer transition from dropping things wherever to dropping them where they belong.

      •••

      Did you notice one piece of advice reappearing across the styles? No matter your organizational style, establishing consistent homes for things — especially those you use often — is the biggest time-saver you can add to your organizational toolbox. While the containers we choose will be unique to our styles, putting the same item in the same place every time saves time. Because we know exactly where to find it, we don’t waste time looking for it.

      Now that we’ve fleshed out the personal and organizational styles, take a minute to consider where you’ve landed. If you had to choose one primary personal style (I love stuff, I love to be busy, or I need to see it) and one primary organizational style (I know I put it somewhere, cram and jam, or drop and run), which would you choose? Use the worksheet and containers chart on the following pages to flesh out your ideas and begin to think about how your personal and organizational styles can work together.

       Smart organizers know when to ask for help

      Dear Lord, help me to remember that my organizational styles are a part of the me you created. Give me the wisdom to expend my energy on finding the good in who I am, rather than wasting it on judgments that keep me from appreciating what I have to offer. Amen.

       Style Sheets

       Personal Styles

      My primary personal style is:

      But I also identify with the personal style:

      Because:

      The best part of my primary personal style is:

      The part of my primary personal style that’s most challenging is:

       Organizational Styles

      My primary organizational style is:

      But I also identify with the organizational style:

      Because:

      The best part of my primary organizational style is:

      The part of my primary organizational style that’s most challenging is:

       Containers and Systems

      When I look at the chart on the next page, the containers I find most appealing are:

      There is/isn’t crossover between the suggested containers for my primary personal style and the suggested containers for my primary organizational style.

      Remember this chart from chapter 2? Now we’ve added the organizational styles. A “yes” means that type of container is a good match for the style; a “no” means just the opposite. Blank cells are “may-bes” — containers that fall somewhere in between and are more a matter of personal preference. This time, as you scan the chart, go down the columns, and look for containers that are a yes or a maybe for both your personal style and your organizational style.

       Lisa’s Lists

       Three More Things to Remember

      1. Every style has attributes. This is true for organizational styles just as it is for personal styles. Although the organizational styles described in this chapter fly in the face of traditional methods, each still has an element of organizational logic behind it. Working with our styles makes organizing less of a hassle, and choosing tools that make sense based on what we do naturally makes it more likely that we’ll use them on a consistent and long-term basis.

      2. We organize best when we integrate our personal and organizational styles. Sound difficult? It’s not. Because both our personal and organizational styles are what we do naturally, we’ve already integrated them within ourselves. The next step is choosing the tools that work for both of our styles and purposefully using them in ways that work for us.

      3. There is no one right answer. Two people could have the same personal and organizational styles but choose completely different ways of putting them to work. Style and taste preferences, available space, and a multitude of other factors will determine what shape each person’s organizational system takes.

       Organizing by STYLE

       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