We’ve all seen those magazines and television shows where home décor experts sort items by colour. From books to clothes to toys, they organize everything into the ROYGBIV rainbow colour sequence. Without a doubt, it looks pretty in the photos and on-camera but is organizing by colour the best option?

Organizing by Function

My favourite strategy is to organize items by functionality. In this method, you put things that serve a similar function in the same area – where you use them. Cookbooks go in the kitchen. Cereal, coffee, and tea go in the ‘breakfast food’ zone. Likewise, in your closet, grouping your clothes by function – casual, formal, office, weekend – may help you be more efficient.  Sorting by colour can happen within groupings.

Organizing by Topic or Subject

When I see books organized by colour, I think about my local library. Can you imagine if the books were sorted by colour? You would never find anything! You can sort the books in your home by colour because you are familiar with each one. However, to make it easier to find what you are looking for, sort by topic or subject first (children’s books, fiction, reference books, etc.), then, if desired, sort by colour within those categories.

Organizing by Size and Shape

People with limited vision often benefit from organizing by size, shape, and texture because they can feel the difference between two objects. At Out of Chaos, we use the size and shape method of organizing most often in storage areas. We stack boxes or bins of a particular dimension together to take advantage of every corner of the storage space.

Colour Vision Deficiencies

Another issue with organizing by colour is that not everyone sees colour the same way. People with colour vision deficiencies (CVDs) don’t see the ROYGBIV rainbow. They may not be able to differentiate between shades of red and green (protanopia and deuteranopia) or have impaired yellow and blue vision (tritanopia).

For these people, organizing their clothing by outfit may be a better option. Hang all of the components of each ensemble together in the closet – a type of clothing capsule. While it might not look as tidy as the staged closets in magazines, the person using the system can quickly get dressed in suitable colour-coordinated attire.

Colour-coding file folders may not be a useful organizing method for people with CVDs either. Choosing one colour of file folders and adding large labels with an easy-to-read font would be more effective.

Synesthesia

Synesthesia is a condition where one sensory experience, such as hearing a sound, elicits another sensation such as seeing a colour. This particular case is called chromesthesia. There is also grapheme-colour synesthesia, where people perceive numbers or letters as specific colours. I have never had a client (to my knowledge) with synesthesia. However, I have wondered if using labels with numbers or letters in conjunction with various coloured file folders would be detrimental to an organizational system’s effectiveness. It is certainly something to consider when using colour-based organizing systems.

Colour can be a great way of organizing because our visual memory for colour is powerful. However, don’t let the TV shows and magazines fool you into thinking it is the only way or the best way.

For effective alternatives to organizing by colour, contact Out of Chaos today.

Image by Karolina on rawpixel.