By Stephanie Calahan (Calahan Solutions, Inc)
Do you have family members that are just not following the routine? Maybe you have put organizing systems into place and you seem to be the only one that is trying to keep it organized? You are not alone. But, before you get too frustrated, listen to this story and see if it can help your situation.
A few years ago, I asked my son (who at the time was 7) to pick up his room and organize his desk. I had been teaching him organizing and “picking up” strategies since he was young, so I was not worried that the job would get done. When I went into his room, his toys were all over his desk! I was frustrated. He had been instructed to put his toys away and instead I saw them all over his desk so random.
A long time ago, I promised myself that I would understand first. So, I held my irritation and asked him:
"David, we talked about organizing your desk. Can you please explain to me what organizing you have done?"
"Mom!" he exclaimed, "I did all KINDS of organizing."
"OK. Tell me about it."
"It is organized by color. See! All the brown is together. All of the red is together. All of the black is together . . ." he continued.
I then looked at his desk in a completely different way. He was applying organizing techniques, just not in the way I had anticipated.
I learned that day and you can learn from me! I have always said that different people look at the world in different ways. I now know that my son focuses on color first. (His closet is by color too.)
Just because an organizing system makes sense to you and is “common sense” does not mean that it will be the same for people that live in your household! By looking at your space from multiple perspectives, you can identify a solution that works for everyone.
Think about your family members that just "don't get it" and decide if they really don't or if they just look at the world differently.
At first, I expected David to put like items together – stuffed animals, car toys, etc. However, when I looked at his process, I really could not argue that he had it “put away.” The toys were no longer on the floor and there was order to what he had done. He had done exactly as I had asked. Was it wrong, or just different? I decided that he was not “wrong” with what he did and we moved on with our day. What would you have done?
To your success!
Stephanie is the founder and CEO of Calahan Solutions, Inc. She is a nationally known speaker, media personality, author, publisher, productivity & organization consultant, and business coach. She believes that organizing is about making time and room for what is important to you and that life was meant to be lived. Stephanie lives in Illinois with her husband, 10-year-old son and Havanese puppy. You can find her on Twitter and at Productive and Organized, Daily Productivity Tips, and at Stephanie Calahan.