Organizing
A place for everything and everything in its place. This is all you need to know about organizing.
A place for everything. Everything should have one place where it belongs and like things should be grouped together. For example, there should be only one place for your gardening books, and all gardening books should be in the place designated for them. I notice that in a disorganized household, you’ll find the gardening books in three or four different places. Or games, or tools, whatever the category may be.
Everything in its place. Besides having a place for the gardening books, the gardening books need to find their way to that place when you aren’t using them. One way to make this happen is to designate a logical place for them, near where you are most likely to use them. For example, if you always read and sort your mail on the dining room table, then the place for the mail should be within reaching distance of the dining room table, possibly on a shelf or drawer beside the table.
One last thing to remember: when you designate a place for something, you have to make sure that all of the somethings you have fit in that place. This may involve building shelves or purchasing storage units. It also may involve paring down your collection!
If you have comments, or would like to contribute some information to this site, please send an email to wisdomtoshare@kittyco.net.
DECLUTTERING
The basic idea of decluttering or downsizing is not to have or buy things you don’t/won’t love or use. There are lots of techniques for getting rid of things, and even TV shows on the subject.
Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, by Karen Kingston, Broadway Books, New York, 1998.
This is the best book I’ve seen on the psychology of letting go of your things. It provides practical advice on how to identify and deal with your clutter and a very concise introduction to using the Feng Shui bagua.
For more on Feng Shui, see Home Design, Decorating and Repair.
LISTS AND NOTES
I used to have lists and notes everywhere, on little scraps of paper and in notebooks and on my refrigerator and on my work table, and yellow stickers pasted to my mirror and computer. Now I put them two places: on the large white board in my living room (once I complete a task I can erase the reminder and in the meantime I see it whenever I enter the room), and in a little black book with an elastic band (see more below) that I keep in my purse or pocket. Anything I need to write, whatever the subject, goes into my black book. That way, everything is in the same place. I still also keep a separate address book.
Moleskine (R), a legendary notebook that the European artists and intellectuals used.
This little black book has an elastic strap and a pocket in the back. It is available at most bookstores, and can be purchased lined, or with graph paper inside.
When you’re decluttering, break your effort into projects. For example, a project could be your medicine cabinet, or a kitchen drawer, or a particular bookshelf, or a closet shelf. Make sure you complete each project because you don’t want to leave a half-finished, cluttered mess.
Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life, How to Use Feng Shui to Get Love, Money, Respect, and Happiness, by Karen Rauch Carter.
Another good book on feng shui, told with humor and organized in chapters for each area of the Feng Shui bagua.
OTHER LINKS:
AFFILIATE LINKS:
amazon.com
HIPSTER PDA
This is a different kind of PDA, a system based on 3 x 5 cards. For more information, visit the Hipster PDA site, the DIY (Do It Yourself) site (for free forms) and the Levenger site (if you want to purchase a beautiful leather case for your Hipster PDA). Or use a paper clip.
Hipster PDA
www.43folders.com/
D.I.Y Planner site
www.diyplanner.com/
Levenger site
www.levenger.com/
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |