Getting Organized –Your Way!

As many of you know, I’m a Judging (J) type. Being organized comes pretty naturally to me. Therefore, I’ve never paid much mind to books or systems that help you “get organized”.

Yet every so often a Perceiving mother will say to me, “I need help getting organized.” When that happens, I have to confess, I draw a bit of a blank. I know much more about helping a J mom become more go-with-the-flow than I do about helping a P mom become more organized.

Despite the fact that type knowledge proves otherwise, I take my strengths for granted and assume everyone else has them too. I remember an INFP friend telling me what a wonderful organization tip she’d learned from her ISTJ husband. “Now as soon as I use up the last bit of peanut butter,” she said, “I write peanut butter on the grocery list we keep posted on the refrigerator.” It hadn’t occurred to me that a basic hint like that would be a big “aha” to someone else.

I also know different types need different organization styles. What works for J types isn’t necessarily going to work for P types. For example, in writing, Js typically gravitate to outlines to organize their thoughts. But many Ps prefer cluster techniques. Whether you are an S, N, T, or J figures in, too. I know an ESFJ mom who insists that jackets get hung up at the door as soon as they are taken off. Her system would be too rigid for me (INFJ) and my family. Sometimes I myself like to toss my jacket on a chair and wait until later to hang it up.

Helping another type mother get organized requires tuning into her basic nature and coming up with a plan that works for her and her family. The right amount of organizational structure can make life smoother, more efficient and less irritating. Too much can be confining and impractical.

That’s why I asked mothers of different personality types to tell me their favorite organization tips.

What Different Types Say About Organization
Here are four quotes from different type moms that illustrate the broad spectrum of attitudes toward organization:

"As an ISFJ, I think organization is my favorite topic. Thanks for giving me an excuse to write about something fun!"

"It's typical of my INTP type that I have lots of those "Getting Organized" kinds of books. It's way more fun for me to read a book and plan how to get organized than to actually do it!"

"Even though I'm an INTJ, I have an entire shelf of organizational books. I really, really, REALLY like to be organized but somehow can never achieve my goal because the detail thing (Sensing) just becomes too annoying."

"I am a (J), so I love order – and when I set my mind to it – I am a master at organizing things. But, and here’s the big “but”, I am also an (N) and have many ideas and projects that distract me from the day-to-day Sensing tasks of picking up and cleaning my house. So, my house is almost always in a mild state of chaos."

15 Mom-to-Mom Tips
Below is a summary of 15 favorites. I invite you to look over the list, pick one that speaks to you.

1. Create A Master Grocery List. My master grocery list is an 8x10 sheet of paper divided it into 20 squares. Each square is labeled with an aisle number and 3 common things that I typically buy in that aisle. I keep a bunch of photocopies on my kitchen counter. Whenever we get low on something I write it on the list in the appropriate aisle. This is a very efficient grocery list because now you don't have to wander the grocery store looking for stuff and don't retrace your steps. I came up with this idea when my son was a toddler because he only had so much "good" time when we were shopping and I couldn't afford to waste time. My husband now helps with the grocery shopping because he doesn't have to keep asking where certain items are. Browsing the categories before you go shopping also jogs your memory to double check if you have common staple items in the house. -- Sonia, INFJ

2. Clear Your Desk. I work from home. When my workday ends, it’s tempting to leave all the open files and piles of notes and documents out, ready for the next day. But seeing it there doesn’t feel good. So I’ve recently purchased a large, beautiful bamboo-type box with a cover. I throw everything in there, put the lid on, and congratulate myself for at least creating the appearance of organization. -- Carolyn, ISFJ

3. Hide the Poster Board under the Rug. I keep poster board under a big rug in our home. This way it is always flat and ready to go! --Deb, ENFP

4. Plan a Week of Menus. My husband and I are both ENFJ's, and every weekend we sit down and plan 6 dinners that sound good to us for the week ahead and post the list on the fridge. Then I check the pantry and fill out a full grocery list. It saves a ton of time. We have 6 meals to choose from and all the ingredients already on hand. We also don't have as much fresh food go bad in the fridge, since we know we'll be eating it within the week. We only plan for 6 meals, since we have take out and a movie every Friday night after our 9-month-old goes to bed - our "date night". And since the menus are right there, if the baby needs one of us, the other can easily start dinner if needed! --Taunia, ENFJ

5. Clean-up in Quick Sessions. My best tip is to spend only 10 or 15 minutes at a time picking up around the house - maybe once in the morning and once in the evening. Generally, no matter what is going on, that will keep the general chaos to a managable amount. I think this works with the kids too - we have quick clean sessions where I have them pick a room and clean for 10 minutes. It's usually enough time to get things done and not long enough to tax even the most 'P' of children. -- Teresa, INTJ

6. Donate, donate, donate. I honor almost any request that comes my way for donations, whether the local parish is having a linen drive or the Cancer Federation calls for donations...whatever...I always say "yes" and take that opportunity to spend 10 minutes putting together a bag of old clothes or unused dishware, etc. to donate. That way it goes to a good cause and I feel that I'm keeping the "accumulation" at bay. -- Patti, ISTJ

7. Color-Code Each Family Member. My survival is using color....everything for one child is done in green and the other it is red. This way in a snap, I can read in my calendar which team is playing where....which notes are for which child. On the master calendar I use two different colored markers for the kids schedule and one color for myself and my husband. --Deb, ENFP

8. Keep a “Whole Family” Calendar. One of my favorite organizing tools is one of those family calendars that have a column for each family member. You write each person's name at the top and the days run down the left. Then you write everything down on this one calendar so if somebody asks "When is Jack's football game" you can just look at the calendar. I have trained my kids to write everything down although I still have trouble with my husband. As an INTP with a J (but very, very busy) husband and two P sons, organization is not my strong point. --Susan, INTP

9. Keep a “Talk-to-My-Hubbie” List. My husband travels a lot and with a family of 6 there are always a million things to discuss with him. Because I can't reach him a lot during the day, I have a special place in my calendar where I keep a running list of “things to discuss with Mark." All day long I add topics to that list as they come up. That way, I don't have to remember everything, and when he calls and says, "I have 5 minutes to talk" I can look right at my list and know everything we need to discuss is all there in one place. --Val, ENFJ

10. Make a File for Each Child. In my home office, I have a hanging file in a file cabinet with simply each child's name on it. Everything for the child goes in there that may have to do with school physical forms, school open house stuff, reading lists to which I may need to refer, student directories, district calendars, driving lesson/permit info, graduation info, YMCA and park district brochures, skating/dancing/baseball/basketball, etc. schedules PER CHILD. This is not a keep-sake file. It is a working/info file for the child's school and activities. It is a HUGE organizer for me. I weed each child's hanging file out about 1-2 times per year, or just ongoing. --Marka, ISTJ

11. Manage Toys. My son's toys are kept in cardboard boxes in the basement. Each box has a different type of toy collection. When he's bored he'll browse the boxes and bring one up. Only one box allowed up at a time. Clean up is easy for him because he literally throws everything back into the box. Also because most of his toys are out of site/out of mind - he gets re-excited about old things instead of us having to constantly buy a lot of new stuff. -- Sonia, INFJ. I purchased each of the kids their own toy boxes. They aren't the traditional toy boxes but instead they are shelves with transparent colored bins. Toys can be similarly grouped together instead of piled in a box. It helps the kids see all the toys and periodically I go through and re-organize the bins and it appears to be like all new toys to the kids. Suddenly they see a car they haven't played with for a week and its like new! -- Suzanne, INTJ

12. Put it in Baskets. The best idea that works for me is the idea of containing alike stuff in baskets. I like baskets because then I can see the contents and yet it keeps things basically neat. I seem to need everything where I can see it. This is probably why all my projects are out and about...I need to see them to remember to pick up on them and finish them. If I put things in a box with a lid, I have to label it, ...otherwise I can't find things. --Jan, INFP

13. Check Out www.FlyLady.net. I joined FlyLady.net and it helped immensely with juggling work, children, household, and appointments. Once I had my own system established I unsubscribed to the list, but the habits have stuck with me. --Tia, Judging type

14. Do the the 27 Fling Boogie! You can’t organize clutter – you must evict it! I am just reading Marla Cilley’s (The FlyLady) book “Sink Reflections.” This woman is a riot, and she has the de-clutter-and-organize-your-life thing down to a simple science. No matter what your type – the FlyLady has some tip that will help you. My favorite FlyLady solution: The 27 Fling Boogie! I love this! This is how it works: I gave each of my kids and my husband a brown paper bag – you know the kind with handles. I took one too. I set the timer for 10 minutes, and then we all started running around the house filling our bags with stuff (well actually garbage). The goal was to find 27 things we don’t want or don’t need and throw them in our bag before the timer went off. We did it – and it was fun. You wouldn’t believe how nice that felt – and how much garbage we threw out! I liked it so much, we did The 27 Fling Boogie again the following Saturday – this time the goal was to pick 27 things to give away (we had 15 minutes this time). And we filled a huge box for Good Will! In one week we got rid of 216 THINGS! And the truth was - it was fun, easy and took very little time. --Lisa, ENTJ

15. Trim Your To-do List. One BIG mistake that I see moms make all the time is throwing EVERYTHING on one To-do list. It becomes 5 miles long and so SCARY that they avoid doing anything! Drawing on David Allen’s System from Getting It All Done, I teach my clients (I’m a life coach) to distinguish between what is a “project” and what is a “next action.” A Project is any desired outcome that requires more than one action step. You can’t do a project – you can only do an action related to a project. A Next Action is the absolute next physical thing to do to complete a project. Your to-do list should ONLY contain next actions – the VERY NEXT physical thing to do on each project. You can keep track of your projects on a separate list. For example, your to-do list might say something like “Repaint the banister.” Unless you’ve got everything ready for painting, repainting the banister is probably a project -- not a next action. It should go on your projects list. What goes on your “next action” or “to-do” list is the very next step like “buy the paint” or even “call Bob to find out the name of the beautiful paint he used on his banister.” -- Sarah, ENFJ.

[Go to http://www.solutionsforbusymoms.com/blog/2006/8/30/a-solution-for-hopelessly-disorganized-moms.html to read Sarah’s review of her favorite organization book by Julie Morganstern. Sarah says the book discusses different organizing personalities, (not MBTI based), and her system is excellent. ]

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