I’m not good at Organization. I want to be better, but when I try, I overcomplicate things. Is that a word? Overcomplicate? Should it be two words? Even if it isn’t…you know what I’m saying.
Maybe it’s not so much that I’m bad at organization, but rather that I’m good at overcomplicating…the previous paragraph could stand as proof.
I have always followed lists and it is the only way I can consistently get things done. This week I started a flexible list on the computer instead of on paper and I’m hoping that it will inspire me further. My problem with organization is most obvious on my desk and with my sewing stuff. Believe it or not my kitchen isn’t too bad. Yes, it could stand some improvement but it’s workable.
My desk has no drawers and stuff just gets piled on top of piles. Yesterday I went through one pile and threw a bunch of stuff away but there is still a pile. My goal is to find a way to categorize what I want to keep or do and keep it as simple as possible. I’ll move on to the sewing stuff eventually but my desk is the problem area I most need to improve. I end up forgetting about stuff…like the little pile of thank you notes I started but never finished after Ivan was born. If you never got yours, it’s not because I wasn’t appreciative, it’s because I don’t have drawers. Is that an excuse or what? The problem I’ve had in the past is that I create too many categories and then when I actually go to file something away, I can’t remember which micro category it best fits in, or what I intended it to fit in. Eventually I cross file things and I have to start over, thus creating more piles of things to do.
I’m starting over again and this time I’m limiting myself to four categories and one filing crate for things I actively use. Just because I don’t have drawers does not mean I cannot be organized…I’m a creative person…I can find a way if it means putting post-it notes on cardboard boxes. I think I have enough ability to accomplish this don’t you? Things I don’t actively use, I will put in archive file boxes. I have three small boxes for this. They are already pretty full but I probably need to throw some things out of them.
There…now don’t you feel better?
I don’t know if I’m an overcomplicater or not, but I’ve been known to be a perfectionist (although some aspects of my life don’t sumbit to this personality trait). So for me, it’s an “all or nothing” problem. If I don’t have the time/ money/ patience to do a perfectly organized, with labels, kind of deal- I won’t touch it. The occasions when I’ve been forced to “make do” with what I have or what I’m able to do right then, I pleasantly find that that which I previously considered a half-done attempt does the job quite well.
Oh yeah, sign me up for the Tisra Fadley way of doing things! I am all about that, which gets me in all kinds of trouble. I have been getting better at organizing as I have gotten better at throwing things away! Now that we have a library including three new bookcases AND two new cabinets I am already feeling more organized.
Hmmmm, if I know where most everything is does that make me organized? I didn’t think so. I also want to get organized but need boxes, etc. to do so.
Good for you though, I’m sure you’ll figure it out and then you can tell me how you did it. Or better yet you can come over and organize it for me 😉 Ooh, then you could start an organizing business and have your own TV show and start your own line of organizational products….well, you could.
LOL – Amy. Have any of you ever heard of “The Container Store”? I’ve been to one in Dallas and one in Atlanta. Organizer’s Heaven.
I consolidated some of my fabric scraps and freed up a crate that has bars along the side for hanging files. There was a box of about a dozen empty hanging files in Kris’ closet and that was sufficient for what was momentarily cluttering my desk. I think my system is working…the only things that didn’t fit in my categories, didn’t belong on my desk at all. Just one more short stack to go through and I’m saving it for Monday.
Tisra – I know what you mean about being a perfectionist. My mom used to say the same thing about the way I cleaned. I often let things get really bad before I do it because I know I can’t do it “all the way”. We’re just a bunch of idealists.