Each month I ask my fellow organisers a Quick Question. Their responses each month help to build up an accurate picture of the organising industry and how it operates. Thanks to them for generously sharing their experience. Here’s the survey summary.
The May Quick Question Survey asked:
As part of your organising work, do you organise by colour?
There were three possible answers to that question.
- Yes, always
- Sometimes, if the client agrees
- No, never
No-one answered “Yes, always”. 8% responded with “No, never” and 92% said, “Sometimes, if the client agrees”.
But that’s just the beginning of the story. I also asked what categories of items organisers typically organised by colour.
Clothing came out as the most popular answer, for 85% of organisers who took the survey.
Arts and craft supplies, and towels and linen are also popular categories to be organised by colour, with 62% of the vote.
Other items commonly organised by colour include LEGO, books, office supplies, crockery and accessories.
As with all organising projects, the method and the desired result are client driven.
Rachael Wald from Time to Tidy said, “Colour coding looks amazing but it can be very time consuming and difficult for clients to maintain. I only do this with certain clients. Lego and arts/crafts are definitely a few areas where colour coding works but again, the system needs to be effective for the client not me.”
That was a message that came through loud and clear from other (anonymous) respondents also.
It seems that organising by colour, aka colour coding, is one useful strategy, given the right circumstances.
My local hotel clearly likes to organise the drinks by colour. It’s very appealing to the eye. I wonder whether the staff can find what they need quickly. I’m guessing yes.
What’s your opinion about organising by colour?
Want to suggest a future survey topic? Drop me a line here.
