--- title: "STYLE Savvy: Just Organized Enough" description: Do you feel like getting organized is an impossible dream? Lisa Hess offers 3 keys to getting organized -- and staying that way. --- [![catholic-mom-logo-v2](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/images/catholic-mom-logo-v2.svg "catholic-mom-logo-v2")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) [![search-icon](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/search-icon.svg)](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2019/03/27/style-savvy-just-organized-enough/#) # STYLE Savvy: Just Organized Enough Mar 27, 2019 3:30:03 PM  |  by [Lisa Hess](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/lisa-hess) [![](http://catholicmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Savvy-3R.jpg)](http://catholicmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Savvy-3R.jpg) Even though we might never be perfectly organized, most of us are satisfied to be just organized enough. Just organized enough to find what we need when we need it. Just organized enough not to panic when last-minute company is headed our way. Just organized enough for things to run smoothly. Most days, anyway. Luckily, this isn't an impossible dream. Here are three key ingredients to getting organized and staying that way. **Styles. **Identify them. Embrace them. *Use *them.** **Once we identify our styles, we automatically pay more attention to them, which leads us to experimenting with strategies that work for us. Embracing our styles allows us to let go of the guilt and shame that often accompany organizing in non-traditional ways. Once we do this, we can channel that wasted energy into actually getting organized instead of lamenting our organizational struggles. **Habits. **Identifying our styles and putting them to work helps us to build new habits -- habits that take what we already do and use it to our advantage. Knowing that I'm a ***drop and run*** organizer helps me to catch myself in the act. Choosing tools that embrace this tendency (bins without lids, for example) leads me to dropping things where they belong. Voilà! A new organizational habit. Best of all, each successful habit can form the foundation for others just like it. **Confidence. **For those of us who've long struggled with organization, this can be the toughest of the three. Luckily, the first two ingredients are the catalyst for this one. Once we embrace our styles, viewing them not as stumbling blocks but as something we can use to our advantage, we become more confident in the way we do things. The more our strategies work, the less we care about what doesn't work, no matter how many other people swear by those strategies. Confidence in yourself is the fuel you need to succeed, in organization and in everything else. And, if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. It's a process. --- *Copyright 2019 Lisa Hess* ### Share this article [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2019%2F03%2F27%2Fstyle-savvy-just-organized-enough%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2019%2F03%2F27%2Fstyle-savvy-just-organized-enough%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2019%2F03%2F27%2Fstyle-savvy-just-organized-enough%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=STYLE%20Savvy%3A%20Just%20Organized%20Enough) [![Share on Email](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/email-24x24.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2019%2F03%2F27%2Fstyle-savvy-just-organized-enough%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.catholicmom.com%2Farticles%2F2019%2F03%2F27%2Fstyle-savvy-just-organized-enough%2F%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ** #### About the Author ![Lisa Hess](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/Lisa%20Lawmaster%20Hess.jpg) ### [Lisa Hess](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/lisa-hess) Transplanted Jersey girl Lisa Lawmaster Hess is the author of a blog compilation, three novels, and three non-fiction books, including the award-winning Know Thyself: The Imperfectionist’s Guide to Sorting Your Stuff. A retired elementary school counselor, Lisa is an adjunct professor of psychology at York College of Pennsylvania. She blogs at [The Porch Swing Chronicles](http://l2hess.blogspot.com/), [Organizing by STYLE](http://www.orgbystyle.blogspot.com/), and here at Catholicmom.com. [Read all articles by Lisa Hess](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/author/lisa-hess). [**](https://www.facebook.com/L2Hess/) [**](https://twitter.com/orgbystyle) ## Related Blog Articles [ STYLE Savvy: 18 Things to Try in 2018 Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2018/01/31/style-savvy-18-things-try-2018/) [ STYLE Savvy: Getting to This Place Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/style-savvy-getting-to-this-place) [ Back to School with STYLE: Taking Baby Steps Read ](https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/2015/10/07/back-to-school-with-style-taking-baby-steps) ## Comments ## Donate now [![Support Catholic Mom](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/275132/10016573-1c5c-4aa5-baba-c2ac91fe7545) [![CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)](https://www.catholicmom.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png?width=1806&height=731&name=CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c%20(002).png "CatholicMom_hcfm_logo1_pos_871c_2728c (002)")](https://www.catholicmom.com/) ##### Subscribe to Catholic Momcast on iTunes or Spotify [![itunes-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/itunes-logo-black.svg)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-momcast/id1362352357)[![spotify-logo-black](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/logos/spotify-logo-black.svg)](https://open.spotify.com/show/15CoipHL7z61IDcYErV0b8?si=hqaQJSxDQgq7S1hxCwsoxQ) ##### CatholicMom on Social Networks [![facebook](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-facebook.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/CatholicMomCommunity) [![twitter](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-twitter.svg)](http://twitter.com/CatholicMomCom) [![instagram](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-instagram.svg)](http://instagram.com/catholicmomcommunity) [![youtube](https://www.catholicmom.com/hubfs/_catholicmom/icons/social-icon-youtube.svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUqHCVPDzyMgSMaMZxxug?view_as=subscriber) ##### About Catholic Mom [Who We Are](https://www.catholicmom.com/about-us) [Contact Us](https://www.catholicmom.com/contact) [Support CatholicMom.com](https://www.catholicmom.com/support-us)   ##### Associated Links [Holy Cross Family Ministries](https://www.hcfm.org/) [Family Rosary](https://www.familyrosary.org/) [Family Theater Productions](https://www.familytheater.org/) [Congregation of the Holy Cross](https://www.holycrossusa.org/) [Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C.](https://www.fatherpeyton.org/) [The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life](https://www.peytonfamilyinstitute.org/) ### **Stay connected!** Don’t miss a thing! Sign up to receive our free daily digest email. Copyright © 2026 CatholicMom.com. All Rights Reserved.