Matchy-Matchy

I love to coordinate things. Organization, visual appeal, etc. It just makes me happy. I even have a degree involving information design – as in organizing information in a useful, easy to understand, visually appealing way. <sigh> Bliss. Now if I could only find a job locally that utilizes that…

I enjoy decorating our home (not that you can tell right now, it’s in the middle of renovations) which involves coordination – of color, size, shape, texture. I try not to make things too matchy-matchy, that can get boring. You need that visual dissonance to keep things interesting and to keep the eye moving.

I also love coordinating things at work. It helps that I’m good at it – statistics, spreadsheets, files, schedules, etc. And really, there’s nothing like a freshly reorganized supply closet to set the mind at ease. (Yes, that’s what I do when I’m having a really frustrating day at work, I take half an hour to decompress and reorganize the supply closet.)

I hate clutter. I really do. I hate it when things are not in their right spot. I honestly get anxious if things are disorganized. Unless that’s the way it’s supposed to be – like toys. Toys all over the floor during play times only really bug me if they’re a walking hazard and I stub my toe. And then I’m usually more annoyed at myself for not paying attention.

I’ve gotten better (really!) as I’ve lived with my husband for the last 8 or so years. He’s not tidy. It drives me nuts, but it does keep things interesting. I must admit he’s gotten better too. We’ve both moved in from our extremes to a somewhat compromise, though it definitely doesn’t match exactly. He has no problem with socks left anywhere in the house. I do. Small things like that.

What got me thinking about this was two things: First, a comment I left on someone else’s blog about keeping the eye moving in decorating, as I was thinking the bedroom might be too matchy-matchy except that the nightstands are different and that gives it just enough dissonance to keep things interesting. Second: I coordinated my outfit to Max’s this morning. Yes, I did. We’re both wearing brown shirts with blue accessories (earrings for me and a pacifier for him). I’m not into totally matching outfits for us, but the little color coordination makes me smile and keeps me thinking about him all day whenever I look down at my brown shirt. And no, I don’t do this every day. Just once in a while if I notice that I have a clean shirt on the shelf that’s the same color as his outfit.

So, no matchy-matchy anywhere, just coordination. Which is good. Except in the supply closet - I’d be ok if the supply closet stayed totally matchy-matchy. Though I’d have to find something else to do when I can’t stand looking at my computer anymore…

So, what about you? Do you love coordination? Do you love clutter? Do you love to leave dirty socks out because you think it's cute when your significant other gets fussy?