Prior
to this summer I went to a store to pick out a new purse. I don’t spend too
much money on my bags, which makes it easy to feel good about treating myself
to a new one to match the season. As I wandered through the store browsing
different types (large, small, fabric, clutch, strapped) I was delighted to
realize that in this particular store, instead of by style or brand name, the
bags had been divided by color.

Naturally,
all of those other options mattered to me — I wanted something small,
attractive and summery with a few separate compartments — but having my
choices pre-sorted by color made it easy to gravitate to the section that felt
best for me for Summer 2011. Once there, I had only to stay in one area to see
which purse would suit my other needs.

Sorting
by color is a skill taught at a very young age. So many early learning toys are
designed to develop this ability and most children have learned to sort by
color by the time they are eighteen months old. Despite our many years of
experience with this tool, we often forget that we have it.

I use
the word “tool” because many people use color in many ways:

• Artists use color as a tool for creating visual
  images.
• Writers use color as a tool for creating mental images.
• Chef’s use color as a tool for stimulating the
  palate.

As an
organizer, I use color to create organization and streamline processes.

Take,
for instance, clothing. Whether it is a closet or a sock drawer, clothing is a perfect area to
address when deciding to try organizing by color in the home. To take on the
challenge of setting up color-wise clothing organization first identify the
area that you will address such as a closet or drawer. Next separate items,
like with like — pants, blouses, jackets, skirts, dresses — each in their own
section.

Take
one section at a time and start matching up like-colors together, working from
light to dark. Don’t make yourself crazy with multi-colored items. Some
patterns will tend more toward a particular color. Just pair them with the
sections where you feel they fit best. When you are finished you should be able
to see a rainbow-like pattern of colors.

I
understand that for some, this may not seem like something you might want to
spend your time doing. But, like so many other organizing projects, the time
spent up front in setting up the system will pay off every day following once
the system is in place.

Managing
your clothes with a color system will shorten decision-making time and free up
space in your mind for more important thoughts. Being able to go directly to a
section of clothing to find a particular blouse or jacket makes wardrobe
coordination a breeze. If asked to pull out a green shirt, it is likely you
could produce it before the question was ended. Finding a pair of black pants
to match it? Not a problem. Also, being able to see clearly what colors of
clothing you have more of will help in knowing where your wardrobe may need to
be supplemented.

Some
of you may be reading this and thinking, “This isn’t for me. Color-coding and
setting up this kind of rigid order is not something that would inspire me and
wouldn’t work with my artistic nature.” If this sounds like you, I would
ask that you try it for a month. Remember, a Monet painting may have
many colors mixed to form breath-taking art, but those colors started out on a
well-organized color palate. The art is a product of the artist.

* Annette Reyman is a member of the National
Association of Professional Organizers and its Philadelphia Chapter. View her
Web site at www.allrightorganizing.com.
To contact Annette for organizing work or speaking engagements in the greater
Philadelphia area, call(610) 213-9559 or email her atannette@allrightorganizing.com. Visit her blog,http://www.areyofhope.blogspot.com

About Annette Reyman

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