Re: How do you stay organized?

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

My spouse is very neat. I am fortunate.

Have any of you with a messy one ever thought about just leaving it there? Let it pile up to his ears and not say a word.

Pick up your stuff, dishes, papers, and just leave it until the subject comes up? Then "Oh dear. I hadn't noticed."

Anyway, just a thought. . .

sometimesQVCaddict · ‎03-09-2010

I've found if someone is disorganized and/or messy it's pretty impossible to get them to change their habits. Even if they read or hear someone tell them what to do. Their brain doesn't process what seems simple for others. There's nothing wrong with them, they just concentrate on other things in life that gives them pleasure & enjoyment.

Conversely for those super organized clean freaks, they'll always be like that! And it's nothing to them to zap through their home & everything is in its place.

It's just part of a person's personality traits. Anyone in the middle falls where they feel comfortable.

Anyone who is super messy has the option of having family/friends help them keep on top of the mess/cleaning or hiring someone if they are able to on a consistent basis. Otherwise things will keep being messy again.

I've seen & been involved with both extremes. I lean towards being super organized, but don't sweat if there's a pile to go through & put away for a few days till I get to it. It's weird in certain rooms I'm more ocd about organizing than others.

Free2be · ‎03-10-2010

@CherryHugs I'm going to take a different tack -- take what OCD people do with a grain of salt. Clearly that is not you.

Give some thought to what bothers you most, perhaps make a list of tasks that would give you peace of mind if they were done X number of days in a week or within a single day. I don't mind that something isn't done when I go to bed, it gives me a reason to get up the next day with at least one goal in mind, be it ever so small or big. That said, it is never left over dirty dishes. You might wash those as a habit starting point.

Map out how to accomplish the satisfaction you need, not for anyone else to be impressed. Then stay on top of it like it matters. To you, for you. In time, you can actually have fun making your home clean and ordered. I'm not a fan of OCD behavior.

One trick I've recently put into practice is if there is a good movie on one of the FX channels that has tons of commercials, during those I jump up and work at whatever tasks need doing, then return to the movie. Up and down, exercise and entertained at the same time. So many commercials! LOL Use whatever incentives stir your blood. Music helps, too.

I am my own worst critic, as most of us are, but it's important to find pleasure in the process of being orderly, not making it a guilt inducer.

queendiva · ‎03-12-2010

Good point. I also get up and do something around my condo during every commercial break while watching a ballgame or program on TV. You can also easily go through the contents of a drawer or two while watching TV. Schedule it.

It's important for me to do the final pick-up for the evening after dinner, before it gets too late and I'm too tired. I also live alone in a small home, so I feel as if the mess is "in my face" if I don't attend to it.

Edit. Don't keep anything that is not useful, beautiful or necessary. That really makes keeping your home tidy so much easier, because everything MUST have a place and return there after it has been used or cleaned.

jackthebear · ‎03-11-2010

Mail

use one of the apps or websites to get rid of junk mail

and that will save a lot of time

we don't get any junk mail <4 piece per week

it takes a few months to cycle thru but well worth it,

don't sign up for catalogs etc

Regal Bee · ‎07-20-2017

Keeping a clean and organized home is easy for me as I am a neat freak.....I cannot stand disorder and I put things away immediately after any project, dinner, entertaining or whatever.

Guess I am blessed that order comes very naturally for me.

AnikaBrodie · ‎03-10-2010

We downsized 2 years ago. Our home has a good flow and is much easier to keep clean and tidy even though we have less storage areas. When we use something we put it away right after. I'm still working on DH to do this but he's doing better. When we moved we donated and sold a lot of things. We kept things we thought we needed and now if we rarely use it we donate it. Many items still go on a regular basis proving that less is more!

"Faith, Hope, Love; the greatest of these is Love." ~The Silver Fox~

MM13 · ‎07-22-2019

Sorry, I can't help because I'm in the same boat. I just wanted you to know you're not alone! LOL

I grew up with a mother who was neat and tidy, always cleaning so she would say she didn't even have time to color with me which I asked her to do a few times. I don't blame her, as those were the times. Women were expected to keep a clean home. But it did make me grow up thinking life is too short to have everything spotless at the expense of spending time doing things with those you love. She was a good mom, but never played with us. I have a husband and two teens and I know my house will be cluttered until the kids leave! LOL

I keep the kitchen and bathrooms clean, but my worst problem is the PAPERWORK! Between the mail and important (and not so important) paperwork for 4 people, I can't keep up. And until one of the kids move out, I don't have the space to have an organized office area. I am so tired of having piles on my dining room table! I go through them often, and I do get rid of junk mail as soon as it comes in, but my problem is the stuff that you need but don't know what to do with it yet!

I love that someone brought up unannounced visits - one of my worst fears! haha - or god forbid an emergency. I put away the stuff that collects every few days, but it's always between those times that someone shows up!!

Good luck. In my next life I hope to be one of those minimalist people with hardly any "stuff".

CANDLEQUEEN · ‎03-09-2010

My good friend, who is extremely neat, her house is always super clean, she said she no longer puts anything on her refrigerator, she has a spare bedroom where she displays her grand children's artwork!

She said that has really made her kitchen look more streamlined and clean-with out all of that stuff on her refrigerator.

Interesting concept...

Bri369 · ‎11-03-2018

@CANDLEQUEEN wrote:
My good friend, who is extremely neat, her house is always super clean, she said she no longer puts anything on her refrigerator, she has a spare bedroom where she displays her grand children's artwork!

She said that has really made her kitchen look more streamlined and clean-with out all of that stuff on her refrigerator.

Interesting concept...

When the kids were little, I'd have all kinds of stuff on the refrigerator. Then I saw a picturer of it, and I was horrified. I vowed never to have a cluttered refrigerator after that.