Recently, I went to visit my college student at his apartment. We had fun catching up, running errands, and cleaning his apartment. Well, I had fun cleaning and organizing his apartment….I’m not so sure he enjoyed the process!
That leads me to this post. How do different people see (or not) clutter and organization?
I’ve been observing myself, my family & friends, co-workers, and individuals I coach for years.
In parallel, books and podcasts on the topics have filled my reading/listen lists. There are two dimensions on my mind, and each have a bit of research available on them.
Cluttered vs. Tidy
Clutter is a collection of things lying about in an untidy manner.
The goal is visual – does the space look messy? This is subjective.
Two people can look at the same space and one person feels the space appears cluttered, while the other person doesn’t observe clutter in that exact same space.
For those who do see the clutter, if it isn’t “resolved” this can make them feel anxious. This is why some need to clean a space before they can get work done.
The stress clutter causes or doesn’t cause expands beyond the physical space into digital spaces. Examples here include unread emails, folder structures and notification “bubbles” on apps on your phone.
These can cause stress for some and barely be noticed by others.
Organized vs. Haphazard
Organization is arranging things in a systematic way.
The goal is retrieval – can you find what you need when you need it?
This is an interesting dimension to consider because people often make assumptions about someone’s clutter as a signal of their organization. This is where the assumption is often incorrect.
Half the population are visual organizers. This means that they need to “see” their things as part of their systematic organization system. There is a method to their piles.
The haphazard individuals are the ones that have difficulty retrieving what they need regardless of how tidy or cluttered their space may be.
My Story
The quick summary is that I’m tidy and organized living with at least one cluttered and organized. We are extreme on the tidy/cluttered dimension which creates the need for a fair amount of compromise.
Your Turn
Where do you fall on these two dimensions?
Do you lean strong to one side of a dimension or fall a bit in the middle?
How do you see the others in your life – both at home and at work?