Katie McMenamin - Organize Your Way: Simple Strategies for Every Personality

PART I
HOW KNOWING YOUR PIXIETYPE CAN HELP SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE

Chapter One
Why in the world should I care about personality type when I just want to get organized?

Chapter Two
PixieType 101: Are you a Classic Pixie, a Fun Pixie, an Organic Pixie, or a Smart Pixie?

Chapter Three
Who the heck are you? Take the PixieQuiz!

Chapter Four
How the eight PixieTypes organize home and life

PART II
THE MAGIC PIXIE PRESCRIPTION, OR PIXIEDUST, IF YOU WILL

Chapter Five
The Entryway

Chapter Six
The Home Office

Chapter Seven
The Kitchen

Chapter Eight
The Dining Room

Chapter Nine
The Family and Living Rooms

Chapter Ten
The Master Bedroom

Chapter Eleven
The Bathroom

Chapter Twelve
The Kids Rooms and Playroom

Chapter Thirteen
The Garage, Attic, and Storage Spaces

PART III
KEEPING THE PEACE

Chapter Fourteen
Youre driving me crazy! (compromises for different PixieTypes)

Chapter Fifteen
Maintenance: Im messy, or OCD and proud

Appendix:
Organizational resources, room by room

Youve bought the organizing files, boxes, shelves, and bins, but your house is still a mess. Its not you; its the well-meaning people who think they know how you should be organized with a system that they claim will make your home look like one of those perfectly staged renovations on HGTV or DIY Network. Their systems do work, but not for everyone. Thats because every brain is wired differently and has a unique way of coping and thriving in your house. And thats where personality theory comes in.

This book and our business, PixiesDidIt!, are the result of: thirty-fiveplus years of figuring out how to understand and respect each others differences; more than two decades of studying personality type theory; and ten years of organizing the homes and offices of a wide range of clients, from multimillionaires with household help and endless piles of paper, to neatnik financiers with messy closets, to stay-at-home moms trying to keep ahead of toys that multiply like bunnies. Heres what we found: organization isnt one-size-fits-all. The same organizational advice is easy to follow for some clients and impossible for others. The trick is customizing that advice to your individual personality.

We know our solutions work because we get repeat customersbut never to readdress the same organizational dilemma. We build our solutions around our seven key principles and the strengths and weaknesses associated with each clients personality. One of our first questions to our clients is: How do you get organized on your own? That simple question can yield a lot of insight and help us tailor our system to the way your brain is wired.

We are sisters as different as Oscar and Felix of that classic 1970s TV series, The Odd Couple. Kelly makes her bed every morning. Katie does it when shes feeling the need for a fresh start. Kelly tidies her home every night and prepares coffee for the morning ahead. Katie cleans up when its bugging her or shes expecting company. Kelly has daily To-Do checklists. Katie does em when shes feeling overwhelmed. Kelly has regular routines she rarely breaks. Katie has a few... off and on.

Its a miracle that we are on speaking terms, let alone business partners and best friends. Sharing a bedroom as children created some spectacular profanity-laden fights, but it also helped us develop a deep friendship. It was our dad who helped us see that our conflicts were innate, based on the way our brains were wired. Bored at a cocktail party, he wandered off and found a book about personality types that described his unique and eccentric personality to a tee. From thereon, personality type theory gave our family a way to understand why we often annoyed each otherand how to find a middle ground so we could get along. (Well, some of the time, anyway....)

So, how did PixiesDidIt! come about? In 2002, Kelly was working as a research analyst at a hedge fund, and Katie was a stay-at-home mom, working on her novel, trying and failing to keep her busy home organized. Our parents have long referred to us as The Pixiesprobably because our frequent squabbles, mischief, and gossip-laden banter reminded them of naughty Tinker Bellso, with that moniker in mind, Katie said to Kelly, Hey, when youre ready to quit the rat race, we can start a business together andwhatever we dowe can call it PixiesDidIt!

Kelly thought, Are you crazy?!

But life has a way of screwing up the perfect plans of even the most naturally organized among us: lo and behold, by 2006, Kelly grew tired of the hedge-fund world, Katie happily shelved the novel she was working on, and our organizing business was born. Before long, we discovered that clients with similar personality types tend to have the same organizational likes, dislikes, hang-ups, and visions. Our hunch was right.

At its core, organization is about retrieval: Can you find what youre looking for when you need it? Thats it. Being organized doesnt mean your house is immaculate with nothing askew. When it comes down to iteven if some people think you dont look organizedif you can easily retrieve what you need, then youre organized. One personality types idea of beauty or sentimentality is anothers idea of clutter or mess. There is almost never one best way to organize an entryway or fold shirts or get rid of possessions. But there is one best way that works for