Happy Thursday everyone!! Welcome back to Theoretical Thursday!!
Theoretical Thursdays are the days that we will be talking about Architecture, Organizing and the many different components, connections, traits/etc that Architecture and Organizing have in common.

Last time we discussed Hierarchy, Circulation, and total area. This week’s post we will focus on Strength, Utility and Beauty. I am sure most of you are familiar with Leonardo da Vinci… he was a great…well everything. He was an artist, an architect, an engineer, a sculptor-he was everything. Some of his well known pieces are: The Last Supper, Mona Lisa, and the Vitruvian Man to name a few.

I want to focus on the Vitruvian Man. This man is said to be perfectly proportioned. He is the outcome of Leonardo following the principles of Vitruvius. Vitruvius may not be as well known to some as Leonardo is – hence starting with Leonardo. Vitruvious was an engineer, architect, and author. Firmitas, Utilitas, and Venustas (“strength”, “utility”, and “beauty”). These three adjectives were the ideal puzzle pieces that every building should have – that was Vitruvius philosophy and these principles were adopted across the board.

How does strength, utility and beauty fit in with organizing?

Well right off the bat… Strength… makes sense right? Be it – in buildings or closets – we want materials and products that will hold up… that won’t bend, twist, or deflect. Let’s say you are in the middle of organizing – anything – you don’t want to pile a flimsy box on top of a flimsy box do you? No. Why not? Because that flimsy box is eventually going to squish from the weight on top of it. We want durable and long lasting storage solutions.

Utility – yes please! This goes not only for the space we are organizing but also regarding the products/items that we are organizing with!! What is the point of organizing a space other than to have it function properly?? What is the point of buying a particular silverware divider if it doesn’t organize your silverware in a way that functions properly for you? That may be a silly example – but I don’t think so – there are NUMEROUS types of drawer silverware organizers out there – but you need to find the product that will allow the drawer to function in a way that works best for you. For me – Utility is a major part in organizing.

Beauty – Let’s face it – we all want to look at pretty things lol
In a paragraph above I asked what was the point in organizing other than having it function properly – well the other answer to that question is Beauty. We want it to be pleasing to look at. Sure we could use cardboard boxes to organize all of our stuff – but who wants to look at that? That is why you can go to The Container Store, Homegoods, etc and find beautiful baskets and storage solutions that make you WANT to look at your closet, cabinet, etc.  For some people – that is why they color coordinate their closets, books, shoes… They want it to be organized and to be aesthetically pleasing.

In big ways and in small ways – Architecture and Organizing are joined at the hip. We will continue to learn and expand on that as our journey continues!!