Sort, Catagorize, Organize

I love to organize. I really enjoy sorting through things, categorizing them, putting them in containers and making it look pretty. I guess it fulfills my need for control. My mom says I've always enjoyed this sort of thing. It's only been in the last year or so that I have found out that there are actually professional organizers. People are willing to pay for something that I like to do. I've been thinking "Maybe I should become a professional organizer." I realize though, there are a few things that I need to learn to do better, like communicating how the systems I set up work. Case in point, I have been helping my husbands aunt get some things straightened up at her house. She struggles a little with paper clutter, as a lot of people do, so I set up a little mail station for her with a place she can put catalogs/magazines and a mail sorter with a letter opener. I did all this while she was at work, so I never really sat down with her and explained the process I had envisioned, so it's become just another horizontal surface that collects clutter. To me, it's obvious how that space is to be used, but, duh, I was the one who came up with it.

That brings me to one of my beliefs about successful organization systems. The people who will be using the system need to be involved with the planning of it, or it is not going to work for them. When I was an aide in a kindergarten class, the teacher I work with would have me organize things for her, but they never stayed organized because she wasn't involved in the process. I've also found when organizing things, that people don't always have the same priortization of the stuff. My sisters and dad have organized things for my mom, to do something nice for her. She appreciates having things straightened up, but often, she is not involved in the process, so some things get put in a location that is inconvenient for her.

Chris has asked me to help her organize a few things around the house, so as I finish the projects, I will post what we did and how it turned out. Then, maybe it will give you some ideas, and if you would like my help with an organizing project, I would be happy to oblige.