Quiz: What Type of Clutterbug Are You?

Have you ever stood in the middle of a room with a storage box in your hands thinking, “Where should I put this so I can actually find it later?” Only to spend the next week searching for that same box all over your apartment? Or maybe you have that chair in your bedroom that exists solely for piling clothes on? If so, our quiz will help you figure out why some organizing systems work for you while others turn into chaos within two days.

Why Do We Organize Space Differently?

It’s not about laziness or willpower. Canadian organizing expert Cassandra Aarssen discovered that people differ in two key ways when it comes to organizing their stuff. The first is how important it is for you to see your things. Some people need everything visible, otherwise they forget items exist. Others can’t stand visual noise and prefer hiding everything behind cabinet doors.

The second factor is how detailed your organizing system needs to be. Some people are ready to sort socks by color and day of the week, while others consider throwing all socks into one basket a victory.

These two factors create four combinations – four types of organizers that Aarssen named after insects. Sounds weird, but the metaphor works: each insect organizes its habitat differently, just like we do.

Discover Your Organizing Style: What Our Quiz Will Tell You

The quiz determines your dominant style through simple questions about everyday habits. Where do you put your keys when you come home? What does your desk look like? What happens to documents after you read them?

Your answers will show which of the four types you are. And this isn’t a horoscope – each type is based on specific behavioral patterns. Knowing your type will help you choose organizing systems that actually work, instead of becoming another abandoned home organization project.

The quiz also recognizes that the same person might organize different areas of life differently. At work you might be one type, and at home completely another. That’s normal and actually useful to know about.

The Four Types of Organizers You Can Get in Our Quiz Results

Each type in our quiz is a combination of two factors: whether you need to see your things or prefer to hide them, and whether you prefer simple solutions or are willing to maintain detailed systems. No type is better or worse than another – each just has its own strengths and pitfalls. Knowing your type will help you stop copying other people’s organizing systems and create your own that won’t fall apart in a week.

The Bee

Bees love detailed organization, but they need quick visual access to their things. Their ideal system includes clear containers with labels, open shelves with baskets, pegboards with tools on the wall.

A typical Bee’s kitchen: spices in matching clear jars with labels, arranged alphabetically on an open shelf. In the entryway – a wall organizer with pockets for each family member. On the desk – a stand with compartments for pens, markers, and pencils.

Bees often keep bullet journals, use color coding, and love label makers. Their problem is perfectionism. They might spend a weekend creating the perfect system, then abandon it if something goes wrong.

The Butterfly

Butterflies are visual people who can’t stand complex systems. Their motto: “Out of sight, out of mind.” If a Butterfly can’t see something, they forget about it. So their space often looks cluttered, though for them it’s functional chaos.

A Butterfly’s kitchen counter has everything on it – from the mixer to the tea collection. Clothes hang on hooks, chairs, or open racks. Documents sit in stacks on the desk because in folders they “disappear forever.”

The best solutions for Butterflies are open storage systems without lids, clear folders, magnetic boards. They don’t need to fight their nature and try to hide everything. Instead, they need to organize visible storage so it looks tidy.

The Ladybug

Ladybugs value visual calm and beautiful spaces. They hide things but don’t like complex organizing systems. Their approach is “toss it in a pretty box and forget about it.”

A Ladybug’s home looks like a Pinterest picture – minimalist and aesthetic. But open any drawer and you’ll find a jumble of random items. They have beautiful baskets and boxes, but without labels or clear purposes.

Ladybugs work well with simple systems that have minimal categories: one basket for all cables, one box for all batteries, one drawer for everything craft-related. The key is that everything looks beautiful on the outside.

The Cricket

Crickets are minimalists who like things hidden and clearly organized. Their ideal is empty surfaces and well-thought-out storage systems inside cabinets.

A Cricket’s closet has a designated place for each category of items, often with labels. Documents are sorted into labeled folders, clothes organized by type and color. Only the minimum stays visible – just what’s used daily.

It’s important for Crickets to regularly get rid of excess, otherwise their systems overflow. They’re the first to implement methods like KonMari, and it actually works for them. The Cricket’s problem is they might spend too much time maintaining their complex systems.

Digital Clutter vs Physical: How the Quiz Evaluates Both Aspects

Funny thing is, our digital habits often mirror how we organize physical space. A Bee creates detailed folder structures on their computer with clear names. A Butterfly saves everything to the desktop so they can see files. A Ladybug dumps everything in the Downloads folder and searches for it later. A Cricket regularly cleans their computer and sorts files by categories.

The same patterns show up in email organization, phone photos, browser bookmarks. The quiz considers these aspects too, because digital chaos can affect productivity just as much as physical clutter.

Understanding your type helps choose the right digital tools. Butterflies work better with visual task managers like Trello. Crickets suit detailed systems like Notion. Ladybugs prefer simple, beautiful apps with minimal settings. Bees like tools with detailed customization options and tags.

Knowing your type isn’t an excuse for messiness – it’s a tool for creating a system that actually works for you. Because the best organizing system is the one you actually use, not the one that looks good on Instagram.