Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast - Home Organizing Tips and Solutions for Bees | Clutterbug Podcast # 36

Episode Date: January 18, 2018

What ClutterBug Are You? A Bee is really visual and prefers everyday used items to be out and easy to access. They also prefer detailes, micro-organized systems.  Want more information about a Bee and the other ClutterBug types? Visit http://clutterbug.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey clutterbugs and welcome back to another clutterbug podcast. Today we are continuing with our What Clutterbug Are You Organizing Style series? And today we're covering a B. I think I've really overcomplicated this in the past, this whole idea of what clutterbug you are. So I'm going to back up if you're just joining us and you have no idea what I'm talking about. I am a recovering super slob. I was drowning in clutter for pretty much the most part of my life. And even though I attempted, like it was an obsession to maintain what looked like a clean home, I was what you call a Heidi hoarder. So I had everything shoved in drawers and closets and under the bed and hidden spaces. I had a shower that I couldn't even use and every storage room and hidden space was filled to the brim and even everyday items

I could never find because I was hiding everything. I was shoving everything and I was trying to get organized and I went to the container store. I bought a bunch of different containers and I tried using filing systems for my papers because my paperwork was out of control and I continually failed. I failed over and over again with these organizing systems. One day I went to the dollar store. I got some dish pans and I organized my closet. I was like a light bulb moment that stayed organized. It wasn't perfect. I wasn't even folding the clothes. But I wasn't using a dresser properly. So I tried this dish pan, open lid, no lid approach. And it was life changing. And I replicated it through my whole home. And I thought I was on to something. I thought like I had discovered something so amazing that could

transform everyone's home. I started doing friends and family. homes and then I started working with clients and it didn't take long for me to realize that like whoa the system that worked for me and was so life-changing for me wasn't working for all of my clients some of them had amazing success with it and others wanted a more detailed system and so I would use the traditional detailed organizing systems for them and it would really work and then I'd have another client that my system didn't work, my easy, fast toss-in system, nor did the other system that was traditional, really detailed system work when I put things behind closed doors. I realized that some clients needed to see their items or they would completely forget about them and have

sort of anxiety about putting them away, no matter if I used a complex system or a really easy organizing system. So this is where it sort of dawned on me about the four organizing styles. I have to be honest with you, for the longest time, I didn't even really realize I wasn't able to break it down into really simple terms. I wasn't able to articulate it well. What I really saw was people who were visual and people who liked minimal or simple visual environment. They either like to see their stuff or they didn't want to see their stuff. And then I sort of had like this hodgepodge idea of the way people wanted to organize. But when I took a step back and looked at it, I realized, yeah, it's people like me who need fast, easy.

I'm going to call it lazy, but lazy organizing systems that are not really detailed. I call these macro systems. And then there are people who really need to sort of subdivide the categories. If they're going to have just their batteries all in a bin, they want them to have separated by, you know, 9 volt and double A and triple A. And it gets even bigger than that and more subcategorized when it comes to paperwork. They can't just have one for bills. They want to have it segregated into each specific bill. And they sort of want this detailedness throughout their whole life.

But here's the thing. You can be a detailed person and want to see your stuff. or you can be a detailed person and want to hide your stuff. And you can be a simple organizing system, a macro organizing system lover, but want to hide your stuff. And you can be a macro loving organizer and want to see your stuff. So this is sort of where the four styles came from. And today we are talking about a bee. And I'm going to tell you, I honestly gave a lot of thought into the bugs that I sort of clutter bug, right? Clutter bug. And it's a bug. It's a bug. so I wanted to attribute these styles to a bug, and I really gave it a lot of thought when choosing

the bugs. And the reason I chose a bee for a bee personality is because they're really visual. They're attracted to flowers, right? But a bee is really methodical and meticulous and hardworking, and they're not just flying from flower to flower. They have a strategic plan. And that is what I feel, you know, is the best bug to be associated with the bee personality. So a be as someone who likes visual abundance. And what I mean by this is they don't want to have everything everywhere all the time, but they do want to have the tools and the things that they use on a regular basis visible, easy to grab. They want to just be able to see it. And if they're not done using with something, they don't want to put it away. They want to be able to easily

access their items. And they do have a little bit of out of sight, out of mind. But on top of this, they're really a little bit of perfectionist. They want to put their things away in subcategories. They want to micro-organize their belongings. So some bees are meticulously organized. Alejandra. She has Alejandra TV. She's a famous YouTuber and an organizing expert. She was actually nominated like the most organized home in the world and had a special in HDTV. And she is a bee. She is visual. If you look at the way she organizes and if you are a bee, I really recommend you check out her website and her YouTube channel for inspiration because everything's up on the walls and she uses pegboard organizers and she has magazine racks to file her incoming mail and everything's color coded and it's really, really visual. I also think of my dad because my dad's bee and when he has his workshop organized, he has all of his tools hung up on a pegboard. He has everything on open shelving.

everything's meticulously put away, but it's really visual. And this is exactly what a B needs for success. And I think where the problem comes in for B when it comes to, I guess, clutter is that A, they're perfectionist, so they don't want to put something away until they have the perfect organizing system. And B, most organizing solutions and systems you can buy or that you see for inspiration are hidden organizing systems. So things that are away in cabinets behind closed doors. So a bee is meticulous, and they're not really able to have, you know, a readily available amount of ideas to put their stuff away.

So they often pile. They often have clutter. They leave things out. And even though they are very, very organized people, it can appear that they are not. Now, I don't want to confuse this with a button. butterfly. A butterfly also has a lot of things out, also loves really visual. They love visual abundance, but they need fast and easy solutions. So they are not going to take the time to put every little tool back in its proper home when they're done with it. They need one category for tools where

they can just toss their tools in where they're done. So I really want you to think about whether you like micro organizing systems, like subcategories really detailed organizing systems or macro, and if you like abundance or really simplicity with everything behind closed doors where you can't see things. So if you're listening to this and you're a bee and you have a bee in your family, if you have a bee in your family, here are some solutions that really work for a bee. Obviously, clear containers. Now clear containers can even be used inside closets and in inside drawers and behind closed doors. But having that as a visual container, especially if you really label the container, it's going to be a great visual reminder for that B of what's in there.

And it's going to lessen that anxiety that a bee has about putting something away in a hidden space. If they know when they open that space that they can see what's in it, they're instantly going to be more likely to put that thing in a hidden space. So here's the trick when it comes to labels for bees and butterflies. You have to be able to read that label from like across the room. It has to be a large enough label on containers. I'm not talking about little file folders or when you've really micro-organized things into smaller subcategories like screws. I'm talking about if you're using larger bins to have a lot of things inside, subdivided inside.

You know you bees, you want your things subdivided. But when you open a closet or when you open up a cabinet, I want you to be able to see what's in it from like 10 feet back. That's what's going to really alleviate that hidden feeling. If you know just by looking and you don't have to read, you just know by seeing the word from far away. So another thing that really works for bees, of course, is pegboard organizers. And we talked about that before, but a pegboard is pretty much made for a bee. It's a way to put things back really meticulously, but still have them visual. I really recommend pegboards in kitchens.

For people who love cooking, you can hang your pots and your pans and your most used tools on there, in craft rooms, in work spaces. In the laundry room, pegboard organizers really work well, and you can find on Pinterest a lot of inspiration for different areas that you can use pegboards. I also, you have to get open shelving. Open shelving allows you to put your items back but still see them so they're not technically hidden in a way, but be able to keep them in a really neat way. You know those clear bento box style organizers you can get at the dollar store or tool organizers that are clear that are really subdivided? These are absolutely made for a B as well.

They give you the ability to micro and subdivide but still have it clear so you can see it. glass jars all lined up on a shelf with all your belongings in them works exceptionally well for bees and a magazine rack or a magazine holder you know it hangs on the wall to put your papers in when you come home create an action file so you'll have maybe the bottom for to do the next one is like bills to be paid another one for two file but when it's on the wall and it's visual it alleviates that sort of piles of paper that sometimes bees can collect because I want you to remember bees that vertical is visual and horizontal is hidden so when you're stacking your papers just in a regular traditional pile a horizontal pile it's easy for you because you're so visual to forget what you have

to forget those those papers even exist they're gone from your mind so having a wall hanging system that's really clearly labeled where you can put your papers is really going to be helpful for you. Now, I'm not suggesting you have to have everything out on all of your walls. That is definitely not what I'm suggesting. And you're going to have, obviously, things in your drawers and things in your closet and things in cabinets. But remember to find a spot for the things you use most often and have those be able to be really easily accessed and open. If you find that in your kitchen, you stack your clean dishes on the counter instead of putting them in the cabinet, opt to take the cabinet doors off and have open shelving on your upper cabinets instead.

When you find that you are reluctant or you find that there are things that you use all the time that just are never making it to those hidden homes, no matter how hard you've tried, you're just consistently leaving them out. Why fight it? Why force yourself to do something that's against your nature. Instead, get creative and create homes for those things in a visual spot right there exactly where you're using them. Perhaps you take the doors off of your closet. Perhaps you, and just have, you know, a mudroom style entrance way when you come in, or you invest in some open shelves for your kitchen up top just to make things easier for you. I'll leave a lot of that anxiety, which is probably, honestly, subconscious, and really set yourself up for, or

organizing success. I hope this makes a little bit of sense when it comes to a B. I'm going to be talking about a ladybug in our next podcast, which is what I am. I'm like a total ladybug. And if you're if you're still confused about what style you are, you can take the test. You can go to www.w.clutterbug.com and you'll see what clutter bug are you. That's what the test is called. It's a free test. I don't spam you. No need to even. to your email address, just take the test, discover your style, and then I have lots of tips and tricks that can help you get organized for good. And I'm also working on an e-book that's going to be coming out in the next few weeks that really talks about more in depth of your style and also how

you can compromise with other bugs that are in your family. If you're a bee and you're living with, say, a cricket, it can be really difficult because one of you really needs visual. and the other really needs items hidden. So how do you compromise there? We're definitely going to talk about that in later podcasts and in my free e-book. It's a free e-book that's coming out very soon, so I want you to stay looking for that. But I'll give you a little tip before I go when it comes to that. And it's all about compromise, obviously, right? I mean, there is no perfect solution, unfortunately, but there are some things that you can do for someone visual. For someone visual, a bee and a butterfly, it is just as important to them that they have their things readily

able to see and access as it is for someone who likes it hidden, like a ladybug and a cricket. And it can cause the same level of anxiety. So it's important that a cricket and a ladybug allow and be okay and understanding that some things have to be out. That being said, it's really important that a butterfly and a bee understand that the same level of that they have about having their stuff get lost or hidden away that their partners feeling or their family members are feeling about having everything left out. It is causing that level of anxiety to see all of that visual stuff. So working together, a really good compromise is labels. And I keep saying this, but I am saying it because it's true. You can label a container and organize your things into it.

And the label gives that visual reminder to the bee and the butterfly, but the container where things aren't, you can't see absolutely everything, gives that calming feeling that a ladybug and a cricket really are desiring. So it is a compromise. I mean, ideally, ladybugs and crickets don't want to see the label, and bees and butterflies want to see what's in the container, but together it's the best of both worlds. It really is a way to compromise, but just remember to make your labels big enough, large enough

that you can see from across the room. Little tiny labels are totally not going to work. You need large, large labels to be able to see what's on there. So I'm hoping this helps. I hope you're feeling a little inspired to take the test. If you haven't already, discover your organizing style and give yourself some grace. If you've struggled to get organized in the past, realize. that 99% of organizing solutions that you can buy in stores that you see in magazines, on

Pinterest, on television are made for crickets. They are made for people who want minimal visual clutter and need and want a meticulous organizing system. And that makes three quarters of us out there failing at these organizing systems. They're not designed for us. They're never going to work for us. They're too complicated or they're or they're too hidden and it's setting us up for failure and it's making us feel from a young age probably that we're just a disorganized messy person. And I think that's a self-fulfilling prophecy when you're told or you think something for a really long time. You sort of resolve that that's just the way things are going to be. And that is not the case. If I can become an organized person, not only an organized person, but an organizing expert,

using a solution that most people, most crickets anyways, would look at and say, that isn't organized at all. Well, what is the definition of organized? I know where everything is. I never lose anything. I can find and put away everything in my home in seconds. My home always stays neat and clean and tidy. That is what organization is about. It is not looking like one certain system. It's about functioning. It's about how you and your home function. So that's all. And we will see you soon coming up with the Ladybug podcast. So stay tuned for that.

I did release a Ladybug video that you can watch on my website. You can go to Clutterbug.com and check out one of my latest posts for the Ladybug video. If you're curious and don't forget to take the test. Thanks so much and I'll see you next time.