Getting Organized and Staying That Way

Getting organized is probably one of the most important things that you can do for yourself to reduce stress and manage your time. And I say that after I just spent 10 minutes looking for the remote in my living room. Apparently just because I can put stuff away in some sort of organized manner, that doesn't mean I can prevent the couch from eating the remote. But I guess that is beside the point. I have learned a lot about getting organized since I started living on my own. I thought I was a hyper organized person when I lived in my 13x15 dorm room and that was basically the only place I needed to clean. My dorm room was almost always clean, just because there was no room for me to be messy. Since moving in with Alan I have learned two things; first: two people make a lot of mess, second: most of the time something will be out of place and you have to deal with this. But I sat down and I thought about it and thought about what works for Alan and I.

1. Start small: Getting organized isn't easy. In fact just because you get organized doesn't mean that you will stay that way, actually most of the time when you get organized something will come along and mess it all up. So the best thing you can do for yourself is start small. You can't go in and be like I am going to organize my whole place today, because depending on how disorganized you are, trying to organize your whole place might be more like trying to melt an eight foot pile of snow by blowing on it. Basically causing more stress than it's worth. Instead what we did was start small. Start in the kitchen or somewhere else where you feel that organizing is going to help you out. I started in the kitchen because with it being organized I can move around quickly and efficiently which leaves me the ability to do other things.
   
2. Keep up with the mess: I think one of the biggest things that I have learned is that you have to keep up with the mess. I know that it is hard to do that with all the other things that we have to do in life, but at the same time if you want to get organized you have to stay on top of it. Once you organize something keep it organized. This means dirty clothes go in the laundry basket. Clean clothes as soon as they are folded get put away. Dirty dishes go in the dishwasher, when the dishwasher is done put the dishes away. It just makes life simple.
   
3. Share the responsibilities: When two people live in a place, two people should clean the place. This seems obvious but it is something I have seen a lot of people struggle with. In all actuality this is something Alan and I still struggle with on a regular basis. But is something that you have to agree to work on. Alan and I have divided some of the basic chores up. He takes out the trash, cleans up his man cave, most of the time he picks up his own clothes (even though that took a while to get him to do that), and does other things I ask him to do. I do the laundry, dust, clean up the kitchen, and clean up the bathroom. Then there are things we both do such as empty/load the dishwasher and vacuum. Other things pop up; there are times when I do his chores and there are times when he does mine. Dividing the work makes life a little easier because when it comes to keeping your place clean it takes team work.
   
4. Have a messy place: Unless you have OCD, or you are just one of those people who are blessed with the ability to be organized all the time, it is not possible to keep everywhere clean all the time. I know that I can't keep everywhere clean all the time, in fact anytime I try to keep everywhere clean all the time I feel like I am losing my mind. So, I decided to allow myself one place where it was okay for me to be messy. This place is my car, and anyone who knows me knows that my car is never ever clean, in fact anytime I do clean out my car I just make it a mess again in a few days. So after cleaning my car over and over again, I decided to make this my one place I was allowed to be messy. This reduced so much stress in my life, and yes I do clean my car but I do it like once a month now. Having a messy place just makes life easier because it allows me to remember that I don't have to be perfectly organized all the time.
   
5. Keep it fun: Yes, I am still talking about cleaning here. Keep cleaning fun. Now I know you are probably sitting here thinking wow she has lost her ever loving mind. But no, I promise I haven't. One of the easiest ways to get organized and to stay that way is to keep it fun. I know there are certain chores that everyone hates. Personally, I loathe vacuuming and folding clothes, so when I vacuum I pull out my ipod, pop it in, and dance around my living room while, this makes vacuuming so much more fun in fact that I am willing to vacuum more often and do it a little more thoroughly. Plus I am getting some cardio in so it's kind of like a two for one special. When I am folding clothes, I put on a movie I love, and I fast forward to my favorite parts. By making this a little more enjoyable it seems to go by faster, and before I know it my clothes are folded and put away and I can then go do something else.
   
6. Don't put it off: Don't put off cleaning. Putting off cleaning your apartment just means that you will have a bigger mess when you get to it later, and then you really won't want to do it. I know that cleaning the kitchen when you are cooking or when you are done cooking sucks something awful but just think about it like this: if you get spaghetti sauce on the counter and you leave it there to dry then you have to work really hard to get it up, but if you grab a paper towel as soon as you spill it and wipe it up, there is no more mess and it took little to no real work. Laundry is the same way. I hate doing laundry as much as the next person, but just because you have three weeks worth of clothes, doesn't mean that you should go three weeks before you do laundry. One week of laundry is bad enough multiply that by three and it's like a nightmare in itself.
   

Getting organized is not something that will happen overnight. Honestly, there are days when I am not organized, but what I have learned is that when I am organized things go a lot smoother. It's not something I do by myself, and it sure isn't something that I am perfect at, but what I have learned about being organized is that when you get there you will want to stay there.