There are a lot of people who feel like they LIVE the try everything organizing approach and there are others who feel that the latest trends or books about organizing SHOULD work for them, but they don’t. That can be extremely frustrating and lead a lot of people to think they are doing something wrong or that they just can’t get organized! That makes me so very sad!

I like to take the ‘Try Everything Organizing approach” when working with creative clients who feel overwhelmed or like organizing is impossible for them. What do I mean by this? Well, we might mix systems for example and use the Kondo technique for books and clothing but try something very different for anything that is sentimental and harder to part with. When I say I use the Try Everything Organizing approach, I literally am going back and drawing on all the systems and techniques I’ve learned from books and classes on organizing and productivity.

I believe that when we are learning something new, we need to explore different techniques, experiment and practice. A dogmatic approach might work for some disciplined personalities but it might be more frustrating than helpful for artists, collectors, free thinkers and less conventional creative individuals. I work with a lot of clients who fall into one of the above categories…not putting anyone into a box, just sharing a description of some of my favorite client! Sometimes some of these individuals are ADD/HD and are so creative in their approach to problem solving, we come up with (invent/discover) some really amazing solutions. Mistakes lead to invention! There might be obstacles along the way…

• you might be frustrated
• you might be overwhelmed
• you might be-feel laziness
• you might be un-interest or un-motivation
• there might be other people involved
• you might feel shame
• you might experiment
• you might take an unorthodox approach
• you might fail and try again!

Give yourself some “Try Everything Organizing” prompts such as, “What would happen if”? Respond by writing about it, or acting it out. What would happen if I…

• I got rid of clothes that don’t fit?
• I let go of books I have read and won’t re-read?
• I gave someone who needed __________ more than I do?
• I got rid of the magazine articles I tore out but never reference?
• If I tried storing __________ here instead of there?
• I let go of a few of my less favorite items in my collection?
• If I tried folding my ________ instead of hanging them?
• I tried living with less ________?

Your turn…what have you tried that hasn’t worked for you? What has worked? Are you already using the Try Anything Organizing approach? If not and you want to give it a try, I’d love to hear from you, Here.