Book Spotlight: Organizing for the Creative Person

I haven't read the whole book yet, but I got something interesting from Organizing for the Creative Person today.

I am not a left-hander (as most right-brained people are), but I am a creative person. I have always been a very visual and hands-on person, both in learning and in real life. When I'm crafting, I like to have things where I can see them. According to the book, this is characteristic of a right-brained thinker.

Now here's the part that comes as an "aha" moment: creative types like to stack things into piles rather than putting them away so that they'll remember what needs to be done. I can't tell you how many times I've done that, but I never knew why. I was afraid to put away all those items cluttering the top of my rolltop desk because I was afraid I'd forget - forget to return library books, call the HSA representative, charge the cell phone ...

Now lest you think my house is a disaster all the time, I have to say (in my defense) that these kinds of things are usually stacked in neat piles - but they are still piles. And I have to admit that I have a love-hate relationship with clutter. I'm a clutterbug, according to the book (no surprise here). But I can't stand to see clutter.

So I'm sure you're wondering the solution advocated by the authors. It's easy enough: write down what needs to be done and then put it away. The list (someplace prominent like the refrigerator) helps you remember, and you know right where something is when it's time to take care of it. What a great idea!

Now I'm off to reorganize and purge my newly rearranged craft room ...