apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Organizing: Are You a Hider or a Seeker?

12-1-08organizing.jpg

Looking for home office solutions, we stumbled across an online blurb that separates organizational types into two categories: hiders and seekers. Although we generally believe that more than two types exist for just about everything, we did find ourselves questioning which category we belong to...

 
 

The article (from Smead's organizing tips) defines "hiders" as people who "can’t stand to see anything sitting out – the desk or countertop must be clear before they can concentrate" and "seekers" as people who "tend to panic when things are hidden away." We usually fall into the "hider" category (our living room is an exercise in hidden storage), although there are some things (like bills and to-do lists) that we prefer to keep in plain sight. What about you? Are you a hider, seeker, or somewhere in-between?

Photos: House Tour Roundup: Hard-Working Home Offices

Tags

organizing

Related Links

Share

Comments (42)

I strive to be a hider but I think I'm somewhere in between right now.

posted by Monica on November 3rd 2008 at 7:44am
view Monica's profile

I think I am a hider my heart. However, I get lazy and become a seeker if that makes any sense.

posted by souk1501 on November 3rd 2008 at 7:44am
view souk1501's profile

seeker, definitely. the first thing my friends do when they come over is close all my cabinet doors, but i like having them open so i can see everything!

posted by sharinly on November 3rd 2008 at 7:47am
view sharinly's profile

Sharinly, perhaps you should just remove your cabinet doors?

I'd like to have everything have a place but the reality is this: many many piles of stuff. Papers, magazines, photos, books...for instance on top of my scanner right now is a box of old family photos that need scanning, a manila folder with family info, and a packet of card stock. And some random paper sticking out that I'm not sure I can identify from here. Probably a recipe.

Got it: What would you call the category of people who are prone to being scattered but who fight it in pursuit of having a magazine-photo worthy office?


http://embritadesign.blogspot.com

posted by EmmieB on November 3rd 2008 at 7:53am
view EmmieB's profile

Hider. I can't concentrate if everything is in plain sight.

posted by thiscozyskull on November 3rd 2008 at 7:56am
view thiscozyskull's profile

definitely in between

posted by Kat1 on November 3rd 2008 at 7:57am
view Kat1's profile

EmmieB: I know the feeling! Try my best to be organized and have my home look like a photo shoot ready setting, but never makes it there.

posted by RedMaiko on November 3rd 2008 at 7:57am
view RedMaiko's profile

I would like to be a hider, but find that I tend to forget that I have things when I try and be super-organized and put things away. Out of sight, out of mind.

Then I end up going out and buying more of things that I already have because I don't know I have them/can't find them.

posted by Marie on November 3rd 2008 at 7:58am
view Marie's profile

Hmm -I love open shelves and hate drawers, so I guess I'm a seeker?
But I can't stand having anything on surfaces I need to use (coffee table, desk), so maybe I'm a hider?

posted by pyewacket on November 3rd 2008 at 8:06am
view pyewacket's profile

At work it translates to piler vs. filer.

I am a piler - who would love to be a filer, but would miss the strange comfort of being surrounded by stuff. And agree with Marie, if I can't see it, I forget about it.

posted by Design Diva on November 3rd 2008 at 8:08am
view Design Diva's profile

Hider, can't concentrate with things strewn about, although I too can get lazy and let "organized" piles of stuff accumulate.

posted by megashad on November 3rd 2008 at 8:10am
view megashad's profile

Hider... but it definitely doesn't help me keep track of things with everything in boxes, drawers, and closets. If stuff is in the open, it has to be in piles.

posted by Geno B. on November 3rd 2008 at 8:14am
view Geno B.'s profile

OMG I'm a hider and my husbands a seeker...it's a nightmare! :( i often triumph after spending hours filing all of his piles. i call him a reverse Roomba.

posted by larchgirl on November 3rd 2008 at 8:16am
view larchgirl's profile

well, i think i'm a wanna be hider. i see others at work with clean desks and i want to have more drawers. on the other hand i want a plant and a few things at easy access. i love the look of open shelves as others have said, but i hate piles of paper and boxes. i like to see surface area- makes me feel uncomfortable when there is stuff just everywhere.

posted by Oneformybaby on November 3rd 2008 at 8:36am
view Oneformybaby's profile

When it comes to my desk, I'm a definite seeker, but that doesnt apply to the rest of my house

posted by Hollie on November 3rd 2008 at 8:37am
view Hollie's profile

Hider for sure

posted by worldtraveler22 on November 3rd 2008 at 8:55am
view worldtraveler22's profile

Wow! I never heard anyone put it this way. I am a seeker, but I have always tried being a hider.

posted by rhianna on November 3rd 2008 at 9:02am
view rhianna's profile

I'm not just a seeker, I'm a surface abuser. *sigh* Am trying to become a hider, but it's hard to remember where stuff is. When stuff can be anywhere, I rarely have trouble finding it. My problem with hiding is that I go through a list of possible hiding places before thinking of a brilliant solution, then I promptly forget said brilliant solution and remember only the previous list.

At work, piles are considered an official organizing system. We label our piles, but they're still piles. I have three huge 8-foot-tall bookshelves filled with piles, plus a table covered in stacks. A hider would have a heart attack in this place!

posted by parhelia on November 3rd 2008 at 9:17am
view parhelia's profile

Funny))

I'm definitely a hider in everything except my desk and home-office bookshelves. In that area I'm a rabid seeker.

I hide away all the pots and pans... and spices, and utensils, and glasses... in the kitchen; I hide away all the DVDs in the living room - can't stand seeing even a single one of them lying around! In fact, I frantically try to hide into boxes or drawers anything I set my eyes on. The only things I leave on display in the living room are the books.

But my desk is a mess, and I have to have it that way. I need to have everything in plain sight and within easy reach there, or I absolutely cannot concentrate.

I never noticed this stark contrast before. Interesting... Thanks for the post!

posted by flipper on November 3rd 2008 at 9:24am
view flipper's profile

I am definitely a seeker, while I don't panic if I can't see stuff any available surface invariably gets covered in stuff.

posted by jinx on November 3rd 2008 at 9:33am
view jinx's profile

A HIDER in big, bold letters. Can't stand clutter. Can't work if there is anything on the table. Can't cook if the kitchen counter has stuff on it. Can't sleep if the bedroom dresser has things on it.

Seems like I have issues!

posted by VeryVee on November 3rd 2008 at 9:40am
view VeryVee's profile

I am a hider. People walk into my office at work and the first thing they say is "Wow your office is so clean." At home, I am the same way. I have a hard time working if there are things all over the surface I am trying to work at. Hence when I was working on my thesis last year, I always ended up cleaning the house before I got to work on it.

posted by Signe on November 3rd 2008 at 9:44am
view Signe's profile

larchgirl: hehe reverse roomba...too cute ^ ^

posted by madamelai on November 3rd 2008 at 9:48am
view madamelai's profile

I'm a hider -- can't cook, can't be creative or think with "stuff" around. The key though, is to know exactly where you've put the stuff so that you don't waste time looking for it, like a squirrel digging holes all over the garden, looking for one of its may caches of nuts. If I have any doubts, then I start making piles of the "important stuff" which then just leads to a mess...

posted by mschatelaine on November 3rd 2008 at 9:50am
view mschatelaine's profile

I'd like to be a hider, but I'm a packrat in practice -- piles of stuff everywhere.

posted by ami on November 3rd 2008 at 10:09am
view ami's profile

Seeker, seeker, seeker! If I can't see it it doesn't exist in my world.

I can't even keep food in my fridge drawers because I'll forget it's there and then.... ugh!

posted by rockypondgirl on November 3rd 2008 at 10:29am
view rockypondgirl's profile

Total seeker. I have empty drawers and cabinets, with piles of things all around them. I don't tend to use things I can't see... clear storage helps some.

posted by lemonadefish on November 3rd 2008 at 10:43am
view lemonadefish's profile

I'm a hider. My sweetie is a seeker. I'm kinda outta control.

posted by gquaker on November 3rd 2008 at 10:56am
view gquaker's profile

Seeker! Seeker! Seeker! My beauty supplies run overboard because I "clean" trying to be a hider and forget all about them! Those and my craft supplies; its horrible. If y'all could do a post on how to keep things looking good but still in plain sight if your a seeker that would help so much!!!

The only place I am a hider is the kitchen. I can not stand an open cabinet. Since I got throught hte drawers so often (a girls gotta eat :-D) I have no problem losing things in there.

posted by gslove on November 3rd 2008 at 10:58am
view gslove's profile

seeker. as in I have to look for everything because I don´t know where anything is.
http://notyourgoddess.blogspot.com/

posted by Harpa on November 3rd 2008 at 1:03pm
view Harpa's profile

hider hider hider

posted by formosagirl on November 3rd 2008 at 2:04pm
view formosagirl's profile

hider, but a disorganized one for sure. Things pile up, then I stash them, forget where I have stashed them... and then have to pull everything apart when trying to figure out what drawer holds a certain pile that may or may not have a specific bill/letter/ dmv registration renewal stashed somewhere in the middle of it. :-(

posted by MelissaLeigh on November 3rd 2008 at 2:09pm
view MelissaLeigh's profile

I'm in between. I do what is most practical. If hiding everything causes too much of a waste of time relocating it, then I leave it someplace in sight. However, I can't stand to have stuff which is infrequently accessed at hand (like files or office supplies I rarely use). I don't have much space, so I don't have the luxury of designing a perfect set-up to hide everything close at hand.

Personally, I think a lot of people waste time and energy hiding things rather than just leaving a pencil cup on their desk or whatever.

posted by Orchid64 on November 3rd 2008 at 2:32pm
view Orchid64's profile

I am both. I am a seeker when I work and a hider when I am relaxing. My desktop is chaotic, but I find it very distracting to have all that chaos in the room when I am not working. It just reminds me of the work I still have to do. My solution was a desk armoire. The workspace can be disheveled chaos, and when I am done working I can close the door and order returns. There is no need to "organize" the desktop simply for appearances.

It took me many many years to sort out that dynamic and come up with a solution that finally worked.

posted by RichardinLA on November 3rd 2008 at 3:06pm
view RichardinLA's profile

i am definitely a hider. i am often made fun of for this trait. of course, it does not help that i am also a purger. people are always wondering where all of my stuff is.

posted by brookeb21 on November 4th 2008 at 5:24am
view brookeb21's profile

I'm a seeker. I'm not really a big fan of everything hidden away. Though there are things that I do believe are better hidden, but for the most part I have no problems seeing my things.

posted by tgfoo on November 4th 2008 at 6:42am
view tgfoo's profile

Ha! I'm a hider, which everyone seems to think is positive. In reality, it's only positive if you know where you've hidden things. I'm particularly bad about hiding things that belong to my husband (who is definitely a seeker) and then completely forgetting that I ever touched it.

posted by LauraII on November 4th 2008 at 12:51pm
view LauraII's profile

i don't know if i'm either. as someone else stated here, i'm definitely a purger, because i always go through my things and weed out what i don't need (clothes, pens, papers, etc.). i guess i'm a hider, because even though i own two pieces of cookware, i keep them in the cupboard. my computer desktop at home is pretty much empty (and i'm proud to say that i've turned a couple friends into clean desktop people as well).

posted by lemonpie on November 4th 2008 at 2:10pm
view lemonpie's profile

OMG I'm a hider and my husbands a seeker...it's a nightmare!

LOL in my house too!!!!!!!!!!

posted by Haunted_Studio on November 5th 2008 at 5:02am
view Haunted_Studio's profile

At work, I'm a hider. I really don't even like to have much on my walls, if I can avoid it... otherwise I get distracted.

At home, I'm pretty much the same way. Junk drawers galore.. except for the kitchen, where I prefer to have it all out in the open.

I wonder what that's about?

posted by lordnelson on November 25th 2008 at 6:02pm
view lordnelson's profile

posted by Errin on December 15th 2008 at 10:10pm
view Errin's profile

I am a seeker for sure. I love seeing all my things, that's why I own them. However, I am too messy. I would love to be a tidy seeker, I don't think they are mutually exclusive. I love seeing so many colours and textures around me but I think it would be more enjoyable if I knew that that's where they belonged.

posted by saturday on December 22nd 2008 at 8:12am
view saturday's profile

Feeds

RSS icon Chicago

+ City Feeds