Objects you love, things that simply tickle you or bring you calm are part of what makes you you.    Surrounding yourself with the aesthetic you love can actually help to keep you moving toward your goals especially during the difficult times.  All of our dreams require that we do the actual seat-in-the-chair, pen-to-paper, hand-on-the-shovel hard work that is required to get the job done.  Anyone who has every accomplished anything (including you) will tell you, it was mostly about showing up and staying until the job was done.  Creating organizing systems that work for you, that are pleasing to see, feel and use, make a big difference in actually getting the project out the door.

I know what some of you are thinking because I have thought it myself:   How can style make that much difference?  I am frugal.  No wasting, thank you very much.  I like eclectic.    I used to think the same thing about decorating – that it didn’t make that much difference – until I lived with a Queens 1954 bathroom in sad shape.  Then I got to live with the redo.  And you know what?  I behave SO differently in that redone bathroom.   And I feel differently.   I keep it cleaner; a lot cleaner.  Well, it’s easier to clean.  And I don’t mind cleaning it…now.  I rather enjoy it now!  Glory be!   And you know, I have always adored coming into a REALLY CLEAN bathroom.  And now I do.  Every day.  And it’s easy.

I have watched exactly the same thing happen with client after client when organizing throughout the years.  If your systems are attractive to you, enticing to the touch, easy to use and they work, you will work better too.   With less effort.  So you will get more done.   In less time.  Those wonderful objects ARE your STYLE.  Do not toss them blithely aside.  Set them aside with respect while you organize your office at work or tackle your kitchen.  You will need them again when you are setting up your final systems and containers and labels and areas.

Finding Your Style :  Here are the Questions to Ask

As you are starting your project, notice what kinds of items you have accumulated at your desk or counter or wherever you are beginning.  Ask yourself these questions as you gather the objects:

• How do I feel when I see this?
• Do I like some items and not others?
• Am I keeping some things out of obligation?
• Which ones make my heart light?
• Which objects put me in the ideal frame of mind for the activity I will be doing here?
• What do the colors, textures or style I see teach me to look for when I need containers or furniture for my organizing systems?

Using Your Style to Your Advantage

1. Go ahead and sort your objects, grouping them by the answers to these questions.
2. Label them so you know which group is which when you come back to them: LOVE IT,  OBLIGATION, GIVE AWAY
3. Plan your containers, objects, colors and furniture so that you go, “Ahh,” or you laugh, or your juices flow to write or think or solve your latest enlivening dilemma when you enter this area.
4. Shop (remembering to look in your stash first) for your containers or furniture.
5. Enjoy every day.  And as my brother the chef says, “Taste & Adjust.  Taste & Adjust.”

Trumpeting your style can give you a cheerful jump-start into getting to work every day on what is most important to you.