Retrieval and Other Pixie Principles: The Guidelines
At this point, we know all about the Pixie Personality Types — their organizational habits and preferences, their quirks, their methods. Hopefully you’ve taken the quiz and/or read the descriptions, and have a pretty good bead on what type category you fall into.
Here is where the Pixie Principles come in. They are 7 organizational rules to live by, coined by Katie and myself. They are our advice, in a nutshell. They dictate the way we help different types of people solve the same problems in the way that best works for them.
Principle 1. Know and Accept Who You Are
Good news: if you’ve taken our Quiz and read each description carefully to figure yourself out, you’ve already mastered the first Pixie Principle: Know and Accept Who You Are. You’re a Smart who thrives with big-picture thinking. You have a system— it might not look like a Classic system, but it’s the way you get things done, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that. Want to figure out next steps? Read on for a few words on the next 6 Principles.
Principle 2. Purge Clutter Your Way
You want to throw things out? Great. It’s easy for you? Even better. Reducing clutter is the goal, after all — unless you’re an Organic, or a Fun, or even a certain type of Smart. Normally, a professional organizer’s bottom line is to tell a client to keep something only if it’s useful, beautiful, or makes them happy. We are not those people. The way WE approach purging is to go deeper, and discover why it is that you are holding onto things. Is purging difficult for you? Once we figure out why, we can help you come up with a comfortable, workable solution.
Principle 3. Formalize Your Natural Organizational Tendencies
Which basically means, use what you’ve got and we’ll help you refine it until you’ve got a well-oiled, efficient system on your hands….no matter what. Meaning, we will work with you, not for you. There are 3 building blocks to organization:
- Knowing where things are
- Retrieving them easily
- Maintaining whatever system that made the first two possible
And that’s it. No magic formula. No House Beautiful. No embroidered shoe bags for each child (unless that’s what works, then go for it!) Organization is really very simple. And, when you know who you are and what works and doesn’t work for you, you’re way more than halfway to being totally organized. The way things LOOK ceases to matter and the way YOU FEEL (comfortable, confident in knowing where things are and your retrieval system) is what’s important.
Where we come in? Suggesting a container system for pilers (no, they don’t have to match — you just need to know what papers go in which container. Think: mail. Think: dining room table. Now picture a little three slot metal holder you can hang on your wall. You want to throw everything in each slot and wait for that time of the month to sort it? Go ahead! Want to sort it as you get it and assign different slots for different types of mail? Be our guest. This is about improving on a system you already have in place, not developing an entirely new one.
Principle 4. It’s All About Retrieval
Can you find things easily in your home with no fuss (alright, little fuss)? You are organized. We don’t care what type you are, if you can retrieve, you’re an organized person. You don’t have to be a perfect Classic Structure to have an organized home, either. So drop the need to be perfect and the shame of NOT being perfect, and know that if you’ve got retrieval down, you’ve got this. Simple.
Principle 5. Reduce Organization Procedures
(to as Close to One Step as Possible)
Get things down to one or two steps. For example, when you come inside from walking the dog, put your boots in the closet and hang the leash up on a hook inside the closet, so you only have to open the closet one time and then you’re done. The dog’s muddy feet are another story, but we are sure we could help you streamline that, too.
Principle 6. Proudly Use Unconventional Organizational Solutions
(if they work for you)
So you write to do lists on your hand. So? Whatever works for you will work. Throw all your summer clothes into a huge rattan chest until the winter passes? That works, as long as when you’re looking for that gauzy, pink dress to wear for Halloween, you remember it’s in the chest. Retrieval, right?
Principle 7. There Isn’t One Best Organizational Solution
As many different types as there are, there are that many ways to approach a problem. Organizationally and otherwise. We may share the same organizational issues, but as long as we are all different people, there will be no singular solution to them. A few thoughts we will leave you with:
- There is no ‘right’ way to organize.
- There isn’t one best solution. There is one best solution — for YOU.
- There are always exceptions. We are human beings, not stereotypes
Keep these principles in mind as you begin your journey with us. And remember our motto: Life Should Be Easy — it can be difficult, so the least we can do is help you make it as easy as possible, always with YOU in mind.