Monday's Question of the Day - July 25, 2016

It's almost time for a new school year to start for us so I've been doing some cleaning and sorting.  I'm waiting for a bookshelf I ordered online to come so I can put some things away.  I ordered some magazine holders and picked up some small crates too.  I might need some bookends for my cookbooks too.

Are you an organized person?

I can organize things; but in general, I'm not bothered by some clutter.  If things are TOO sparse around me I feel unsettled.  I mean I want space to work; but the minimalistic look really doesn't appeal to me.  It does make dusting easier though.     

I was thinking while sorting and tossing things last week; back before I had kids i thought we had a messy house with clutter.  I laugh at myself now.  I don't have a DIRTY house; but it's gotten much harder to keep clutter to a manageable level since we doubled the number of people living here.  Plus; we are home all the time.   I'm trying to teach my kids to keep their toys sorted.  I bought storage tubs in different sizes for different kinds of toys.  I've even found some great small ones that hold tiny toys; like Barbie shoes.  Now getting my kids to use them properly is a challenge. But it does help! 

The linen closet and pantry are mostly organized and so is the front closet; but all bets are off when it comes to the master closet!     I have a junk drawer and 2 cabinet shelves that need sorting too.  I like when things have a place; but I'm learning to let things go too.  I don't like throwing things away just to find you need them later.  It's hard to create new habits; but I'm looking for a balance! 

I go through phases of being organised, but clutter mounts up all too easily :lol3: I love BEING organised, but all too often I just don't have the energy to keep things that way :disa:

I'm reluctant to throw certain kinds of things out too - especially clothes and books. All too often, I've gotten rid of something only to find (sometimes years later) that I want it again. Far better to keep hold of the original :nod:

Yes, very organised.

I can't stand clutter so if it's not useful or beautiful it gets thrown out. I get annoyed by anything that is difficult to use or anything that takes up too much time, so I like to have everything in the right place so that it's easy to find whenever I need it.

It drives me crazy if I run out of anything, so I like to plan ahead and buy in bulk so everything is there when I need it.

I think it's because I used to live in boats and caravans a lot when I was a kid. Space was a very valuable commodity so only the useful stuff was allowed to stay on board. Also, if your home moves around a lot because it's mobile (or you live somewhere that has a lot of earthquakes) you can't have to many things lying about.

Having said that, I do love jewelry, accessories, scarves, hats and all the rest. It just has to packed away when I'm not wearing it. 

I try. I really try. I hate clutter. My desk is usually very neat. The kitchen is usually very neat and uncluttered. But it takes a lot of effort to keep this house neat. A lot of effort.

Dear Richard doesn't care. Takes his cap off and it's on the kitchen table. Doesn't make the bed because he's just going to sleep in it again tonight. Brings in the mail and it lays on the table til I sort it and put it away.....then I get in trouble because he can't find what he's looking for. Brings his medical prescriptions home from the store and the bag lays on the counter for days until I get frustrated and throw it away. He says it doesn't matter. Wants me to wash a pair of jeans and throws them on the hallway floor with the rest of the pants, but doesn't sort through the pockets, then he yells at me because I washed his paycheck. And on and on and on and.....

Our house is not dirty; at least, I don't think so. But messy? Yeah.

My thing is that when people come to a messy house, they say, "Gee, she's not a good housekeeper, is she?" They NEVER say, "Boy, he's a flippin' mess!"

Much as I hate clutter - I'm not very organized at all.

Paper is my nemesis. I just don't have enough space at home to store it properly.  I really should get a scanner already so I won't feel bad about dumping it all lol.

Same at work, although I'm somewhat better since the tools to organization are at my fingertips.

The only place everything is where it needs to be is my kitchen. I'm fairly obsessive about making sure everything is where I expect it to be.  Makes me nuts how many times my Tom puts items in the wrong place even though I've been telling him for 6 plus years where they go 

yes, i'm an organized person!

for me, there are two parts to being organized -- getting things organized, and keeping them organized.  also, needs change over time, so i've found that i've needed to change how i have some things organized. even so, clutter starts accumulating all too easily, and i then need to go through it or return things to their proper places.

I would say semi-organized.  There is usually a bit of clutter around but I keep it down to a reasonably small amount.  

No.  I am not organized.  However, I love to organize if this makes any sense.  

I either cannot finish the organizing because I cannot keep up the rhythm , I have a hard time not going from one thing to the next,    or once it's organized, I just can't seem to be methodical enough to keep it that way.  I guess I like chaos a bit.

Again, that being said, I do love to organize things in the moment!!     

Winchester said:

My thing is that when people come to a messy house, they say, "Gee, she's not a good housekeeper, is she?" They NEVER say, "Boy, he's a flippin' mess!"

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I feel like people think if you are home; your house must be spotless!  What they don't get is; we're too busy living here to keep it spotless!  A friend who has done both said it's just more time to make a mess!  And she is a VERY organized person.  From her house to her schedule. I'm exhausted when I hear about all she manages to do in a day; while homeschooling 3 kids plus a toddler.  

Originally Posted by sivyaleah  

The only place everything is where it needs to be is my kitchen. I'm fairly obsessive about making sure everything is where I expect it to be.  Makes me nuts how many times my Tom puts items in the wrong place even though I've been telling him for 6 plus years where they go 

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My husband and I do that with 2 things; the cutting board and the splatter screen.  We've been here for 7 years and still put those things in different places.    Our old place was so small we didn't have room to put things in 2 places. 

My DH is much more into organization and less clutter than I am.  We try to balance each other out to an extent.  He reorganized our pantries and now I have no clue what is in the back pantry where we put the "excess" items.  So I go to the store and come home with another item I think we are out of but we aren't.   

Yes, I like to be pretty organized.
I'm a bit of a neat freak. I have a place for almost everything.
I do have one little stack of some papers next to my big desk calendar, which happens to be on top of the dryer in my kitchen. It's too big to put on my small round table, (& I try to keep the table clear), & has my work schedule on it. Every client on their day, (& what bill is being paid out of that day).
So I try to keep anything up there as small & neat as possible.

People think I am, because I have detailed lists and my "work" area (home office) and kitchen are just so.  It's actually a desperate attempt to keep some sort of control in a basically chaotic life.  I actually think I may have Adult ADD.  If I don't have lists, and a LIST OF THE LISTS, I never get anything done at all.

About some things I am outrageously organized, other things, not so much. I often have good organizing intentions, then never fully complete my organizing project.