Systems That Stick

Have you ever met someone that you are sure was “born organized”? They seem so put together and they make it look so easy! My daughter’s teacher seems to have it all together. Her systems are flawless and every paper has a home. I was a teacher and I know it takes a lot of work to get it to look so “effortless”! And although some people surely have a knack for keeping things neat and in place, anyone can gain tools and resources to get organized and find systems that work for them.

Stacy, from Foolish for Light, delves into this topic today as she shares her own personal struggles and triumphs with organizing her crafting space.

Creative people are often not gifted with organizational skills.

I hope that’s true anyways, because believing it helps me feel better!

Maybe I should just stick to what I can say for sure, and that is I’m pretty creative and pretty lacking in the area of organization.

Behold: my college dorm room in it’s natural state. This is exactly how I remember it.

Now don’t get me wrong, I value organization and can crush over magazine images and Pinterest boards of beautifully organized and clean spaces like the best of them. But getting and staying organized is not a natural rhythm in my life. Said differently–

Once upon a time I had only been married a few weeks and boasted to my husband, “Look! I washed, dried, and hung up all your clothes for you.”

Husband said, “Stacy, thank you so much. Now, the only thing is—can I teach you my system for where all my clothes should be hung?”

System? I was horrified.

{In the photo above, taken in our closet door mirrors, you’ll notice his neatly organized shirts hanging on the right and everything falling out of my cubbies on the left.}

I thrive when there is at least some level of chaos. Picking out my clothes in the morning is an artistic experience of collaborating color, mood, weather, and fabric—how could anyone possibly have a system for that? At some point that evening as my husband and I struggled to understand each other, I shed some tears. Not my proudest moment.

And then, to my surprise and dismay, two weeks later in my beloved Martha Stewart Living magazine, Martha had the audacity to suggest the exact same system as my husband’s. True story.

The good news is that slowly, as a lover and follower of the organizational website Space for Living, something has begun to click. I realize now that creative, free-spirited people have something to learn from the organized, structured souls. And vice versa. {And yes, of course I’m generalizing a bit. In reality most of us are a combination of both.}

For much of my life, I’ve tried to be organized and pretty much failed at keeping up with it; after awhile, I wrote myself off as an organizational drop out.

But if I imagine a Type A, organizational guru telling me he or she had given up on ever trying an artistic endeavor, I know exactly the pep talk I’d give them: “Embracing creativity is something you can learn, through small steps, and I believe being open to the power of art will change your life for the better.”

Alas—I need to take my own advice. Learn. Small steps.

These days I’m excited to learn from Space for Living, my own organized husband, and other people whose strengths aren’t mine. And equally important, I commit to give to my family, community, and blogosphere out of my strengths, too.

The funny thing is, as I’ve made effort to become more organized, the biggest improvement has been in my creative life. For a long time it’d been a pattern for me to be struck with inspiration but then not be able to locate all the little supplies I needed to pull off the project. Imagine hearing me say, “I know I saved that thing….somwhere…..” several times in a row until I give up and decide making coffee sounds like a nice alternative.

This frustrating, annoying trend has not been the case since I seriously tackled organizing my art supplies.

{first–what needs the most help?}

I have so much paper, and I use paper a lot, so it was top priority!

Using two Target paper sorters right in front of each other made a home for all things paper: full sheets of scrapbook paper, construction paper, magazine clippings I love, even specialty paper for t-shirt iron-ons.

The only paper that doesn’t belong in these sorters is stationary. I have so much of it, it needed it’s own space. Below you’ll see my super-handmade yet super-helpful organization system.

That’s right–just a small storage container with post-it notes taped to index cards, but I tell ya what–I know exactly where to find exactly what I need when I want to send someone a note.

{a space to be messy}

I mentioned before I thrive in chaos. This is the designated area for chaos on my desk, and I’m more than ok with it being a tad messy.

I made this “treasure catcher” pictured above out of plates and goblets. I love having a place to quickly toss things when I need to clear off the desk. The small supplies are up and out of the way, yet easy to relocate if I’m going to finish the project soon.

Our filing cabinet, lovingly maintained by the husband, fits under the snazzy craft desk we bought at Goodwill for $7. I probably put in another $7 to sand and paint it. And I’m in love.

So there we have the craft desk!

Now let’s venture over to my slightly ugly but very effectively organized craft shelf.

{like things get stored together}

All things adhesive and sticky go in the same crate {a garage sale find} pictured below. Boy is it nice to know where you can find what you need.

The perfectly sized basket shown below was from a Christmas basket I received. Re-purposed and free, it holds somewhat miscellaneous “earthy” stuff.The gallon sized clear bags make my treasures easy to find without creating a huge mess.

I love these purple boxes from Wal-Mart for holding small supplies like stamps, tags, and miscellaneous items.

{only so much space}

I have a strange fascination with glass jars. Now that I have a place just for them, I don’t feel badly about letting them collect….. but when there’s no more room on this shelf, I can’t add anymore to the collection without using or getting rid of something to free up room.

So, care to eavesdrop on a more recent conversation of my husband and me?

Husband said, “Wow. It’s so clean under the sink! It looks really good. Where did you put everything that was under there?”

{put it where you’ll use it}

Beaming, I said, “The only thing I did was organize the grocery bags–they were taking over! We don’t use paper bags very often, so I tidied those into one bag and took them to my car where I’m more likely to reuse them for shopping. And, I created this for our plastic bags:

A coffee can turned bag holder. We’re not keeping any more plastic bags than this little guy will hold.”

Husband said, “Wow.”

And I thought, “Wow. There’s hope for a creative, organizationally challenged fool like me!”

Given my Martha meltdown a year and a half ago, I think the fact that my husband said “wow” about something that had to do with me being organized is pretty wow, indeed.

To read more of Stacy’s perspective, check out her blog Foolish for Light, an encouraging place for people who aren’t afraid to be seen as foolish for challenging the way things “have to be done.”

 

Way to go Stacy! I love how Stacy takes organizing strategies and makes them work for her. Although now I am really curious about the closet system shared by both Martha Stewart and her husband (Stacy’s my sister-in-law, so I really do need the scoop on an organizational system my little brother sticks to!) You’ll have to reveal those secrets next time!

Stacy is proving organization can be learned and cultivated just like any other skill. Start where you are at with what you have!