organizing « Well-Ordered Chaos

My Organizing Journey: Getting Started — The Staging Area and the Big Sort

There’s a lot of wisdom in the old adage “A Place for Everything and Everything In Its Place”. However, if your space hasn’t been organized before, most of what you own does not yet have its own “place”. This is why it’s important to set aside a portion of your home as a [...]

My Organizing Journey: Getting Started — What’s Working? What’s Not?

After identifying Activity Zones, my clutter buddy and I talked about what was functioning well in each area, and what needed to be fixed. I was overwhelmed by the mess, and initially felt that nothing at all, anywhere in my kitchen, was working. Jana pointed out that the Cat Zone was not only functional, but [...]

My Organizing Journey: Getting Started — Identifying Activity Zones

The big day had arrived. My clutter buddy was at my home and by the end of that day I would, come hell or high water, have made some progress on organizing my home. My confidence had received a boost from learning that my apparently chaotic surroundings were actually a somewhat functional attempt [...]

My Organizing Journey, Step 2: It’s Better Than You Think

Last week I started writing up my organizing journey from it’s very beginnings in the fall of 2004. Since the continuation of my entryway project now rests on things beyond my control (like somebody buying my bike and my clothes), I’ve decided to spend a few posts continuing that story. Today’s post isn’t about taking [...]

How to Organize and Entryway, Step 6: Maintenance

When I went to containerize my entryway last week, I noticed that things had slipped a bit. To the right of the front door, there was packing paper spilling out of the recycling bin, and my bike was still in the back corner because I hadn’t gotten around to selling it yet:

Entryway Maintenance [...]

The ADD hiker: an organized hike is a safe hike

A lot of people with ADHD find that they love being outside. Personally, I feel like my ADD vanishes the minute I leave civilization. I’m usually the first one to spot wildlife, catch birdsong, or to notice a change in the weather. Maybe there’s something to that whole Hunter/Farmer thing.

However, heading outside can be also [...]

How to Organize an Entryway, Step 5: Containerizing

Welcome back to the series, “How to Organize an Entryway”.

Yesterday I started the fifth step of organizing the entryway: Containerizing. Earlier in the week I went to The Container Store to get supplies. I got two clear acrylic sweater drawers, a set of matching clear dividers, and two plastic bins to try out [...]

The perfect is the enemy of my enemy is my … wait, what?

This weekend I wrote a Squidoo lens about tabby cats.

Why tabby cats?

Well, a Squidoo community that I’m a part of has been having weekly contests, and last week’s was to write a lens for the “animals and nature” category. I figured this would be good for me; all of my lenses to date have been [...]

Entryway continues

Today I’m picking up some of my containers from The Container Store on the way back from my med check. I’m on a low dose at the moment, thanks to the asshats who broke into my car last week, destroying the ignition, and forcing me to deal with that emergency instead of making my [...]

Perfectionism, time management, and postive self-talk

I was on my way out the door today when I happened to check my text messages. I’m glad I did; I was alerted to the fact that the Vietnam Veteran’s Association was coming by to pick up the donation pile from my entryway.

I had set myself an e-mail reminder for yesterday morning, reminding me [...]

Well-Ordered Chaos

Now where did I put that post…