Organizing with Archetypes in Mind

Starting an organizing project can be difficult, especially if you are sharing space with people of different needs, wants, ages, habits and personalities. You may just want to get rid of it all, your spouse may want to keep it all, your mother-in-law may want to hold on to it for grandchildren, and your teenagers may not think piles are a problem. Some of you may have emotional attachments to items; a practical need to hold on; a fear of lack or a revulsion to clutter that drives their decisions.

As you navigate trying to get organized, it is helpful to try to understand yourself and everyone else in your home, office, or community space. Whoever lives, works, or owns belongings in the space that needs organizing may need to be consulted. Different styles of communication, timelines, and support systems may be necessary.

Creating an approach to meet those various elements is highly effective. Taking time to recognize and work with the personality traits, habits and needs of our family members, housemates and colleagues make the organizing process more respectful, pleasant, and efficient. It is both a proactive strategy and a responsive tool that can help you get unstuck.

One of the many ways to meet various needs is to have an understanding of each person’s basic tendencies when it comes to their relationship to their belongings. In one of my favorite organizing books, “New Minimalism; Decluttering and Design for Sustainable, Intentional Living”, Fortin and Quilici describe four archetypes: connected, practical, energetic, and frugal. I really like the way they have given a very positive expression to archetypes when it comes to organizing:

“We've defined our four distinct archetypes as connected, practical, energetic and frugal. These archetypes are not mutually exclusive. Rather, they are states of being. You may find that a certain archetype resonates more with you depending on the particular category of things that you are addressing. For example, dealing with memorabilia inherently calls upon the connected emotional archetype, while dealing with technology almost always taps into the practical, logical archetype. Still, you will find that you default to one particular archetype ninety five percent of the time.” 

CONNECTED
“The connected archetype has an emotional, relational and impassioned way of approaching the world. These people treasure family friendships and partnerships above all else.”  Fortin + Quilici

So, as you can imagine, the connected (or what we might call sentimental) archetype may have a hard time letting go of physical items that remind them of a loved one. They may feel that letting go of the thing means letting go of the person or the memory. By holding on to the item, they may feel they can retain the emotional connection to what those items represent. It is important to understand how both the light and the shadow play out for a sentimental, or connected archetype.

PRACTICAL
Fortin + Quilici share that “The practical archetype operates from the logical hub of the mind… It is a data driven, methodical and factual way of approaching the world. The practical archetype comes into play when there is a task at hand, an actionable item, an objective to be met, and a question that needs to be answered.” 

Someone who is really practical may hold onto things that could be useful. “I could use that for this or I could use them for that” Especially with our depression-era elders, this can become an overwhelming amount of items.

ENERGETIC
“People who operate primarily in this archetype joyfully move through the world at a pace with an efficacy that makes those around them stare in wonder. The energetic archetype is a physical way of approaching the world. It radiates energy throughout the body into the limbs. They have great stores of energy and zeal which they could use to tackle any project.” - Fortin + Quilici

The shadow side of that is what the authors call scattered, meaning ‘I can do it all’. Many of our clients fall into this category. They are interesting, interesting people who are creative, skilled, generous, and resourceful. There are indeed many things that they can do and have done. But let’s think about that. If you're doing it all, how much of it are you actually getting finished? 

FRUGAL
“People who operate from the frugal archetype tend to act from a place of mindful self awareness and contentment. They plan for the future, but are rooted in the present moment, viewing their surroundings with clarity. They have thoughtfully uncovered the most important goals and choose to spend their resources in ways that are aligned with those highest priorities. ...The shadow side of frugality is scarcity. Someone in the frugal archetype might not want to let something go because they might use it one day.”

Pinky Jackson is an Organizing Consultant and Decluttering Expert who uses her energetic approach to life to connect with frugal, practical, sentimental and other energetic people to help them and their families have organized homes and the systems to maintain them.  

Pinky’s home base is in Louisville, KY but she happily travels to clients throughout the country as well as providing virtual organizing sessions and lessons online. To learn more, go to pinkyjackson.com