Organizational Layaway

 

This great idea from Better Homes and Gardens — set aside stuff that you want to throw away but “can’t” and wait a year before you throw it away — is the perfect solution for half of the personality types. Which ones? The guys and gals who make decisions using subjective, personal criteria. That would be the Fun Freedoms, Classic Freedoms, and all the Organics.

The reason is that you all have intricate, personal and emotional reasons for holding on to stuff. And if you can live without something for a year (hey, maybe even five years for you Organic Freedoms) then you can, repeat after me, you can throw it away. Okay, sorry I know you can’t actually throw it away, but you CAN give it away. We always recommend Goodwill to clients because they take almost everything and recycle what they can’t sell, so it’s easy. But, do whatever is easiest for you, your favorite charity, church, etc., or my favorite, the NYC street curb in front of my stoop. The original Freecycle™. Super easy.

Logic doesn’t apply here, so you Smarts, Fun Structures and Classic Structures won’t understand why this is so hard Fun Freedoms, Classic Freedoms, and Organics. You’re wondering why someone would hold on to something that has ceased to be useful, just to see how you will “feel” about it in the future? You guys have no problem throwing stuff out when it ceases to be useful. That said, none of us are perfect. Smart Freedoms can live with a mess of junk for a while (as long as it’s sanitary) and tend to throw out a bunch of stuff all at once, ditto for super busy Smart Structures. Fun Structures find a place for it, hidden away. But, deadlines are a great motivator for all the live-in-the-moment types (which would be Funs, Organic Freedoms and Smart Freedoms) so create a deadline by inviting oversomeone you know will judge you and your mess (and obviously someone whose opinion you actually care about.)

Best for Organics, Classic Freedoms, and Fun Freedoms

Originally published on January 5, 2010.