Why Your Family Won’t Follow Your Organization System
You bought the baskets. You labeled the bins. You explained, very clearly, where everything goes.
And somehow, everyone in your house continues to NOT put things where YOU want them to go.
Before you explain for the 47th time that the basket is literally right there, the reality likely is: Your system makes perfect sense. To you.
One Person’s Pile Is Another Person’s Filing System
Some people look at a pile of mail on the counter and see chaos.
Other people look at that exact same pile and think, Excellent. That’s where the mail is.
That’s the problem with organizing a house full of different personalities. We don’t all agree on what “organized” looks like.
Some of us want things hidden. Some of us need to see them.
Some want tiny, specific categories. Others would rather have one basket labeled STUFF WE PROBABLY NEED and call it a day.
Neither approach is inherently wrong.
Your PixieType Is Showing
Your PixieType affects more than whether you appreciate a good label maker.
It influences how you naturally keep track of things, what feels cluttered to you and how many steps you’re willing to take before “put this away” becomes “I’ll deal with this later.”
Which means the beautifully organized system one person creates can be completely baffling to everyone else.
The problem isn’t necessarily motivation. It might be the system.
Stop Putting Things Where They Should Go
Here’s one of our favorite organization questions: Where does this stuff actually end up?
Not where Pinterest says it belongs. Not where you think a responsible adult would put it.
Where does it actually land?
Shoes pile up by the garage door? That’s probably where the shoe storage belongs.
Mail always ends up on the kitchen counter? Congratulations. You’ve discovered your mail center.
Everyone drops bags in one particular spot? Don’t fight it. Put hooks there.
Your household is already giving you clues. Pay attention to them.
You Don’t Need One Organization Personality
If you share your home with other humans, chances are good you’re never going to agree on the One True Way to organize a junk drawer.
That’s fine.
The goal isn’t to turn everyone into your PixieType.
It’s to find the middle ground between “I need everything put away” and “I need to see it or it ceases to exist.”
Maybe that’s an open basket instead of a closed drawer. A broad category instead of seven tiny ones. One designated pile instead of six mysterious piles migrating through the house.
Good organization doesn’t require everyone to behave exactly the same way.
It makes room for the way they already behave.
The Best System Is the One Nobody Has to Think About
If you’re constantly reminding everyone where something belongs, that’s useful information.
Your family may not be bad at staying organized.
They may just be bad at your version of organized.
And once you stop trying to make everyone organize the same way, something magical happens:
The stuff starts getting put away.
Mostly.
We are still talking about families here.
Find the System That Fits You
Not sure why some organization systems click while others never seem to stick? Your PixieType can help explain a lot.
Discover your organization personality, and start creating systems that work with the way you naturally think, live and put things away.