My organizing is finally rubbing off

[NMAmy]

on DD and DH! Imagine my shock when dd took advantage of a recent grounding by totally reorganizing her room and getting rid of some of her old stuff. The child has always been a total slob but I've had hope that eventually she'd come around to getting tidier and more organized. She's had a big book for her cd's and dvd's and insists on keeping each one in alpha order (she even moves them around when she gets a new one.) Even I'm not that much of a freak--if it's in the general area that it needs to be, I'm good with that.

Then, DH was combing the dog and when he was finished, I overheard him finishing his conversation with the dog. He told Sunny, "We need to put this comb back in your basket so that we'll know where it is the next time we need it." He then whispered loudly to her, "We've lived with Amy for too long." I have a basket full of things relating to the dog--her leash, her comb, etc.

I'm not obsessive about it but I do like to have things in a certain place. Mail goes in the mail basket, papers we'll need in the coming week go on the bulletin board and are removed after they are no longer needed, the cupboards in the kitchen are arranged neatly and logically. That's just a few of my little systems.

How about you? Are you an organizer or are you more of a "wherever it lands is ok with me" kind of person? My mom is the second kind of person which I think is why I turned out the other way. I hate having to search for things.

 

[THESCHULTZFIVE]

I'm the wherever it lands....but I'm getting a little tired of it. I've been that way since I was younger. But it's one thing to be that way when it's just one person. Dh and I have 3 kids and thats alot of stuff to be wherever. Then everyone comes to me to ask where stuff is. So I'm trying to become more like you. Any tips?

 

[NMAmy]

I'm the wherever it lands....but I'm getting a little tired of it. I've been that way since I was younger. But it's one thing to be that way when it's just one person. Dh and I have 3 kids and thats alot of stuff to be wherever. Then everyone comes to me to ask where stuff is. So I'm trying to become more like you. Any tips?

Move a lot. Seriously, I've moved so many times that I became a major organizer freak. Any time I go to buy something, I think, "Do I really want to pack this and unpack it?" Makes me cut down on a lot of impulse purchases.

I'm no expert but the best way to start is just room by room. It can take a lot less time when you're unpacking but I've reorganized my mom's house and she's lived there for 37 years so it is possible. I started in the living room and found a place for each indispensible item--baskets for different things or those plastic storage containers. We also had boxes for items to give to different family members, goodwill, and trash. Then we went on through each room doing the same thing. The hardest room was the kitchen--she has a small kitchen but had accumulated so much stuff over the years! It's so much easier to keep track of stuff when it's returned to it's proper place.

Good luck!

 

[pjlla]

Well, I used to be a lot neater and a lot more organized before I married DH. He is a terrible slob and it just gets impossible to keep up. So I have found that my level of acceptable "neatness" has lowered. But I still keep the things that are strictly mine (such as scrapbooking things) very organized. And we have unfortunately bred two sloppy kids. But given a choice, I am definitely a "place for everything and everything in its place" type of gal!....................P