If I were a superhero, the evil, cape-wearing Captain Clutter would be my arch nemesis and piles of paper would be my kryptonite.
I can’t seem to throw anything away. I can always think of some future use or need for every scrap of paper or the information printed on it. The piles teeter and totter on the corners of my desk and next to my chair. It gets overwhelming.
After spending a few hours yesterday trying to sort through the mess in my office I threw up my hands and headed to my keyboard. A little research on the Internet has provided me with a helpful guide to getting organized.
Some of the tips on the list are obvious. I know the concept of “If you don’t need it, get rid of it,” but for the pack rat like me, that’s an issue.
However, some of the other ideas should help me retrain my hording brain. The suggestion to schedule clean-up time in small doses and adhere to that short window of time makes sense. Much can be accomplished in a small time frame.
The guide also suggests eliminating procrastination. This can be done in ways like going through your mail immediately and chunking junk in the trash instead of setting it aside to sort through at a later date. Okay. That makes sense.
My neatnik grandmother was a stickler for the “a place for everything” theory. I didn’t inherit that neatnik gene. The get-organized list suggests purchasing bins, boxes or basket to contain the clutter. The suggestion continues to state that labels for these containers will also help. I’ve seen that in other studies. People who tend to build up clutter are visual types, who like to have everything within eyesight. A label on a bin can fill that need to be able to “see” your stuff.
Check out the entire guide for all the suggestions on getting things in order.
Tags: clutter, mess, getting organized, messy
