I love being organized.
Not only does it help me more effectively meet deadlines and do my work, but it makes me unbelievably happy.
It all started back in the day at the Mitus Family Calendar Meetings. (Yes, they really exist). For those of you who know my family, or who are my family (hi Dad!) this does not come as a shock to you. When my sister and I were still in the house, we would meet on an either biweekly or monthly basis to “go over calendars.”
What this means is that we would all sit at the kitchen table, open up our planners, and talk about what we had going on over the next month. Much like a status meeting in a work environment, our family all knew when each other was going to be away, had a big project at work or school due, or had some fun event, concert or show to go to.
When I went to college, I continued this with my roommates, where each month the calendar on the fridge would include all of our tests and projects for the month, so we knew when one another would be stressed out (they were obviously color coded by person).
This love for organization goes much beyond my every day tasks and into my living arrangements. My kitchen cabinets are organized, my closet is sorted by color, and yes, even my underwear drawer is folded.
This organization ability is one of my best qualities. In high school, I was the secretary of my class because I was organized. In college, I was picked to lead projects because I could keep everyone else organized. And now, at work, I get kudos at work because my boss doesn’t have to remind me to do things because I likely have them on a list somewhere.
Want to be more organized in your every day life?
Where to begin:
- Make Lists
Write everything down. Seriously. I forget everything if I don’t write it down.
The tools I use day to day include:
- My Paper Source Planner. Nothing makes me happier than a good planner. I need the monthly and weekly calendars, with lines, or else I don’t like it. Mine even has stickers!
- Lined and unlined Post-it notes. I love making lists where I actually get to cross things off. Weekend daily lists, grocery lists, people to see, stuff to do, are all likely on a post it somewhere.
- The Post-it program on my laptop at work. I have post-its for each day of the week across the top of my desktop, as well as a post-it on the bottom right for things on the backburner, but still on my list.
- I’ve also heard great things about Evernote if you’re not a paper person, but I get gratification from actually crossing things off.
Put everything on your daily lists, including some things you can easily cross off. On many of my daily to do lists on the weekend I include going to the gym, showering, and eating lunch so I can get started on crossing things off and feeling good.
- Do a Little Each Day
Tackling your closet seems like the worst Saturday ever? Bring organization to your life in baby steps. Start with one drawer in your bedroom then move to the next. Then move to the living room shelves, and then to a few kitchen cabinets a day. Organization isn’t supposed to take the life out of you! So focus on something small, but frequently, to bring order to the madness.
- Have fun
While organization actually makes me a happy person (just ask my roommates about my love of toilet bowl cleaner smell) not everyone is like me. So a few suggestions to spicing up your organization fun: crank up the music when you’re going through your closet and tidying up drawers. Buy cute organization things or pretty print outs. The Container Store, Target, and even Walmart have great pattered file folders, plastic bins and hangers for all of your organization needs.
Happy organizing!