Organize Your Way

I was at a friend's home waiting for her to come out of the house so we could go shopping. The man next door was using a leaf blower to clean off his drive way. He was blowing dirt, not leaves. As I sat and watched him I thought why I hadn't I ever thought of that. A leaf blower was just that to me. It was to blow leaves.

I live in the second driest state in the United States so I am always looking for ways to conserve water so I don't use water to clean off my drive way. I had been sweeping it with a large broom. This was an Ah-ah moment. I bought a blower and cleaned off my driveway with it. I read somewhere that the noise from the blower is someone's pet peeve. Every time I use it now I hope it isn't a pet peeve of my neighbors.

When I use it I have to attach an extension cord. I can always find one because I have a basket on a shelf in the garage (one of my organizing ideas a few years ago) that has worked as well as hanging it on a nail which seems to be the norm. Anyway, when I was getting out the cord I was thinking how nicely my husband puts the cords back and I like that. I try to do it as nice but frankly that is why the cords are in a basket, they are contained and I don't have to be as careful winding them up when putting them away.

I guess my professional organizer mind kicked in and I thought of the different styles of organizing. I like the way my husband puts the cords away but other things he does drives me crazy. He often does not put things away where they belong. I have learned to live with it and I quietly put them where they go so he doesn't have to ask, "Have you seen the hammer"?

We all have our own organization styles and when we recognize what they are they can work for us. If we know we don't like to be precise in putting things away then we can look for ways to work with this. In the kitchen the cords on appliances can be unruly. If you are the type that doesn't like to take the time to wrap them around the base, put the item in a basket if small enough (like a hand held mixer) and the cords stay contained along with the attachments.

The vacuum cord is another cord that many people wind around and around just like it came from the factory. That drives me nuts. I just wind it like a coiled rope and hang it from the handle or another place on the vacuum that will hold it. I do this because it saves time.

If you are the meticulous type of organizer and it is important to have everything absolutely neat and tidy—go for it. For us with a more relaxed style it is okay to contain and move on. As a professional organizer I know there is not just one way to organize nor only one right way to organize. Depending on personality and preference home and office organizing does not have to be just one way. Make it fun and make it work for your personality style of organizing.

Marilyn is a creative organizer who helps women, seniors and their families create space and end clutter in their homes and offices by setting up custom made systems.
Marilyn invites you to visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com where you can find solutions to your organizing needs. She offers free tips in her blogs, articles and videos for your home and office organizing solutions.