STYLE Savvy: Is There a Place for Maximalism in Organization?

Lisa Hess considers whether a design trend fits her own organizing and personal styles.

I was flipping through a magazine recently when I came across a layout of a table set in a cacophony of colors and patterns—an example of maximalism, according to the piece.

I’d never heard of maximalism. After a few minutes of pondering, I went to my favorite search engine, where I discovered the maximalism is indeed a design style, exemplified by the idea that more is more. More colors, more patterns, more quality and quantity, according to one site.

As you might have concluded by my use of the word “cacophony” in the first paragraph, this style does not appeal to me, but that’s immaterial. There are lots of styles that don’t appeal to me; that doesn’t mean that they should be banished from anywhere except my own home. But another question quickly arose in my mind.

Does maximalism have a place in organizing?

Since decluttering and downsizing are both key parts of keeping our stuff under control, it would seem that the answer would be no. “Let it go” is, after all, one of the key elements of STYLE, which would seem to indicate that more would not be more when it comes to organizing. When we have too much stuff for our space, minimizing what we have would seem to be called for. And once we have gotten that quantity under control, we need to store all of those things.

And that’s where maximalism might just come into play. While the function of a container is arguably its most important attribute, the look of the container plays a role as well. We’re more likely to use—and perhaps even more motivated to use—things we find attractive. Colors, textures and patterns can add a lot to a space and can also serve as visual reminders for what goes where.

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Recently, I bought a new tote bag. I didn’t need it but this particular item (which, not coincidentally, matches my favorite planner) kept calling out to me and so, when it went on sale, I splurged. Every single day when I pick up this bag and take it to work, it makes me happy. Part of the reason for that is that it distributes the collection of miscellany that I carry back-and-forth to work quite nicely, making it easy for me to haul what I need to from place to place. 

But honestly? One of the biggest reasons that I like it is because it’s pretty—a black tote bag with white polka dots that adds a lovely pop of pattern to solid outfits. 

Do I change my tote bag, swapping it out each day to find one that matches my outfit? I do not. On its own, this tote bag works well for me on both an organizational level and an aesthetic one. Consequently, some days, I'm a walking example of maximalism as my tote bag bounces on my hip alongside a patterned sweater, jacket, or pair of pants. 

Hmm. So much for my personal ban on maximalism.

When we struggle to get organized or stay organized, we need tools in our arsenal that make the task fun. #CatholicMom

When we struggle to get organized or stay organized, we need tools in our arsenal that make the task fun. And if that means choosing a wide variety of non-matching containers, each of which we love for not just its function but its beauty, then it seems silly to quibble over whether or not things match. And, if we also happen to have a style that is visually driven (I need to see it), and/or benefits from using distinctive or unique organizers (I know I put it somewhere), crossing "it matches" off our list of attributes might even be an advantage.

While I lean more toward minimalism than maximalism, and you won’t find me espousing the joys of bringing as much stuff as possible into my home or setting up a row of containers that don’t at least complement each other in terms of style or pattern, I definitely see the potential value of maximalism, particularly with it comes to choosing storage systems. I have two caveats, though: there can't be so many containers that we can’t remember where things go, and the look of the container shouldn’t outweigh its function.

Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder. And Organizing by STYLE is built on the idea that each beholder should be true to his or her styles.

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