What's Your Organizing Style? Find Out YOUR Best Strategy to Decluttering

When it comes to organizing, it's never one size fits all. In fact, there are four distinct organizing styles, according to professional organizer and the host of HGTV’s Hot Mess House, Cassandra Aarssen. She explains that the first step in getting and staying organized is to determining which one you are.  

Butterfly 

"A butterfly is a visual organizer who needs big, broad categories, so the perfect solution when it comes to organizing is going with clear bins that are large and have no lids. You don't want to have a lid as a butterfly because it's all about being able to toss your things back in," explains Cassandra.   

Bee 

"A bee is a visual organizer who needs small, detailed categories, so the perfect organizing solution is going with clear, stackable containers, drawers, LazySusan's—anything you can make very, very detailed," she says.  

And if you're thinking that sounds similar to a butterfly, Cassandra explains the difference between a bee and a butterfly. "A bee is different than a butterfly because a butterfly might have one container for dental, but a bee would want to sort into toothpaste, toothbrushes and dental floss. They definitely love all the little categories," Cassandra says.  

Cricket 

"A cricket is a hidden organizer who needs small, detailed categories, so, the perfect organizing tool for a cricket is definitely going with solid, stacked bins. You want to have a lid so that you can stack and take advantage of that vertical space," Cassandra explains. 

And the difference between a cricket and a bee? "For a bee you can see all of the organization just by looking at it, but for a cricket all of the details are hidden inside the containers, so it's giving visual simplicity," she says. 

Ladybug 

"A ladybug is a hidden organizer who needs big, broad categories, so the perfect organizing solution is going with big baskets without any lids because a ladybug needs to just toss their things away. The difference between a cricket and a ladybug [is] they both like their things hidden, but crickets are really detailed. Inside the ladybug bins, everything's just mixed together," she explains.  

Take the quiz here to discover your organizing style!