Saturday, January 5, 2013

Right Brain Organizes

In 2012 I got a book that has helped me tremendously! Organizing for the Creative Person by Dorothy Lehmkuhl & Dolores Cotter Lamping. The subtitle summarizes it nicely, "Right-brain styles for conquering clutter, mastering time, and reaching your goals".
I've been giving myself a refresher and want to talk about how it has helped me with organizing my stuff. One thing they mentioned was that some people (right-brain dominant) need to see things to use them. This is why I leave my clothes on the chair and prefer them hanging in the closet instead of in drawers. Growing up I was taught to make a place for everything and everything in its' place. With the help of this book I realized if I want to use "everything" I need to SEE it.
So I sorted my fabric and stacked it on shelves so I can see it. I took all my beautiful ribbons and laces that I wanted to use and wasn't and wound them on a frame, and around cards instead of having them all tossed into a drawer. Easy access and ease of use.

Another thing the book talked about was breaking down tasks, especially distasteful ones, into chunks of time and only working on that project for so long. It keeps you focused and prevents burnout. This revolutionized the way I clean. It's amazing what you can get done in 15 to 30 minutes!

My mailing office and card making pile?
Notice the new hanging basket so I can SEE
Thrift store finds for me and inventory for my Etsy shop
15 minutes into it, fabric is on the couch, papers
are piled and you can begin to see the floor.
30 minutes later the job is done!

I can walk to the desk now!
I'd been dreading this job for weeks, walking over stuff and shuffling through the pile to get what I needed. But with only thirty minutes of my time I was able to clean it up and make it a more comfortable and sane working space.
How about you? Do you have any tips or tricks for cleaning or organizing spaces? I've started a Pinterest board full of Right Brain Organizing ideas! I'd love to see yours!

4 comments:

Carolyn said...

My gosh that is some serious re-organising... you did a terrific job! The only rule I follow is to ALWAYS clean up completely after I've finished something. Seems to work OK!
Happy New Year, and thank you for your kind comments on my blog

EmSewCrazy said...

Thanks, I try to get everything picked up after I finish a project. I just need to figure out what to do with the leftover bits. What do you do?

Adele said...

I'm a person who likes to see stuff too. As a result my sewing room and study can be a heck of a mess - to the point that it gets counter-productive. I should definitely read that book.

EmSewCrazy said...

It's a great book! I've started a pinboard full of ways to organize a sewing room. Now if I can just get someone to build me some of that stuff!