It can be so frustrating to want to be organized and try many different things to get organized but nothing seems to work. We are not all the same, we learn differently and we like different things. What will work for one person may not work for another. As a professional organizer I receive questions from people all the time who want to be organized. A sweet young girl wrote me the following:
I am having some trouble organizing my clothing in my closet and in my drawers. My mother is always telling me to put my clothes away. I tried using a pencil to lightly write in the type of clothing I want in a certain space, but if I'm in a hurry, I always just stuff them in quickly, and some of it ends up on the floor. Am I just messy or is there something else I can do?
I applaud her for trying different ways to keep organized. I believe we can keep organized; we just can not always stay organized. There is a difference between keeping and staying organized. Staying organized has a static feel about it. Once everything is organized we think it will just stay that way. Keeping organized means we know life happens and things that were once organized can get unorganized again. They can and will be organized again because we have a routine or system of organizing that we can go back to before things get completely out of control.
We all get in a hurry sometimes and we just stuff clothing quickly into our drawers or closet. If this is what we do all the time then clutter and disorganization is most certainly going to be a problem.
The first thing to do is to do an assessment to determine what the problem is. It could be things such as too many clothes for the amount of space, not having a designated place or drawer for everything, or it could be a matter of convenience. If the drawers are hard to pull in and out or they are situated so it is awkward to get to them chances are clothes will not be put away.
The next thing to do is to set goals and write them down. By setting goals this clarifies what you really want. Perhaps it could be to buy a different dresser or getting rid of the dresser and use cubes to put clothes in if the dresser is not working for you.
One thing I love and highly recommend is drawer organizers. They keep shirts, pants, socks, lingerie or anything contained within a certain space. Organizers can be purchased either on the internet or at container stores and variety stores. Or look around your home and see if there are boxes you can slip in your drawers. Use what you have. Use the size that fit the items you are going to place there.
The next thing to do is take everything and I mean everything out of each drawer and put it on the bed. Keep like things together. By taking everything out you are able to see what you do not wear any more or things that you do not want anymore. These can be donated. Put the drawer organizers in your drawer and organize your clothes in them.
To organize clothes in the closet again do an assessment and set goals of what you want it to do for you. Take out everything, starting first with the floor and organize the shoes which are usually what is on the floor in closets.
Next take out all the clothes on the rod. When putting them back organize them according to type such as all shirts together, pants, dressy clothes, sport clothes etc.
Then take everything off the closet shelf and put back only things you like and are going to use. Off season clothes could be stored here. Baskets work well as containers for purses and sometimes for shoes.
Lets face it, we all get in a hurry and we just toss our clothes into our closet or drawers. When we do this it just costs us more time later when we have to come back, pick it up, fold it and put it away. Make a habit of putting clothes away even when in a hurry. It only takes a few seconds more but tossing them on the floor or where they do not belong creates clutter and costs us more time later.
Keep throwing clothes on the floor or stuffing them in a drawer or closet and then set aside some precious time later such as a Saturday to get rid of clutter that has accumulated during the week. If you like to spend time like this on Saturday instead of taking the extra few seconds to put them away the first time---the choice is yours.
Marilyn Bohn is the owner of Get it Together Organizing, a business dedicated to developing practical organizing solutions that help individuals and business professionals live clutter-free and productive lives. She is the author of “Go Organize! Conquer Clutter in Three Simple Steps” and is an experienced, enthusiastic public speaker, a member of NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) and the author of hundreds of articles covering various organizing topics.
Marilyn takes the often stressful subject of organizing and breaks it down into a simple, easy to understand system. Her methods are both eye-opening and encouraging! She has a passion for helping others reach their personal goals and living a better, clutter-free life!
Marilyn invites you to discover her one-of-a-kind video workshops and organizing ideas at http://www.marilynbohn.com