Get organized, fast and cheap (original) (raw)

A book came out a few months ago called "A Perfect Mess." I expected to hate it. The idea behind the book is "mess is better than organization" - because being organized is a waste of time and money.

So, I read it on the plane. It started out much as I expected - loaded phrases betraying their bias - referring to the organizing industry as an "industry of sorts." Um, no, it's actually a real industry - and a fast growing one. They mention a dearth of "hipness and glamor" at a conference of professional organizers. Yeah - cause all the professional conferences I go to are just bursting with hipness and glamor.

But as I continued, I realized the book actually agreed w/ everything I feel about organizing. It just seems the organizers they've met are slightly insane. Or else they just wanted to jump on the organization bandwagon in their own way and sell some books bashing it.

What the book boiled down to was, get organized enough so you can find your stuff and not be stressed out by your life. If you can't invite people over to your house, there is a problem. You don't need to spend a lot (or any) money to get organized. (While purchasing boxes, containers, or shelves is helpful if your problem is a lack of places to put things, you don't NEED to spend ANY money to get organized.)

The authors seem to feel professional organizers believe you should spend 4 hours a day filing so you can save 1 hour a day looking for crap. Um... that would be crazy. I spend a couple of minutes a day filing and putting stuff away and that saves me an hour a day or so in looking for crap. Plus the stress and frustration I feel when I can't find something, which is worth a significant amount of money to me to avoid.

Their tips for getting organized:
Relax. Find some time to work on your crap. Toss out/give away a bunch of crap.

Um, yeah, that's pretty much what I, or any professional organizer I've ever heard of, agrees w/.

Having a professional organizer can help - if only because having someone unemotional around can help you make decisions. And if you really don't know where to put things, what kinds of containers work for stuff, etc. they can be helpful.

"Order and cleanliness should not cost more than the value they bring in in health, efficiency, and convenience." DUH. Anyone who thinks otherwise is nuts.

So, I think most people who read this book will feel inspired to get a bit more organized, and throw out a bit of crap. If you pick up this book thinking it will be just the excuse you need to live in disorder, you will be disappointed.

My basic organizing principals (which were also expressed in this book):

no one system is right for everyone. I don't think any system is perfect for anyone. Some organizers say throw something out if you haven't used it in a year. That's stupid. My boyfriend hasn't used his grandfather's knife in a year, but it's sentimental and irreplaceable. If you have a warm winter, are you gonna throw out all your snow shovels? That would be completely insane.

When you look at an item, you judge it's value (be it sentimental or something you'll actually use again) and how costly/difficult it is to replace. If you can reprint it online, toss it. If it costs 1andyouhaven′tuseditin5years,tossit.Ifit′sexpiredorbroken,tossit.Ifyouloveitoritbringsbackgoodmemories,nomatterhowlittleyoulookatit,keepit.Ifthereisa11 and you haven't used it in 5 years, toss it. If it's expired or broken, toss it. If you love it or it brings back good memories, no matter how little you look at it, keep it. If there is a 1% chance you'll ever need it and it can be reprinted online, toss it. If there is a 95% chance you'll need it, keep it. If the chances are you'll never need it again, but if you do need it and don't have it, it'll cost you 1andyouhaven′tuseditin5years,tossit.Ifit′sexpiredorbroken,tossit.Ifyouloveitoritbringsbackgoodmemories,nomatterhowlittleyoulookatit,keepit.Ifthereisa11 million, then for fucks sake, keep it. (thought that's rare. Almost all information can be reprinted or otherwise recovered.

Unless your house actually poses a health threat, don't be embarrassed to invite people over. No one cares. While messiness can make a bad impression at work, at home, the people you invite over shouldn't give a fuck.

Don't let anyone make you feel bad or like a bad person 'cause your place is messy.

Be organized just enough to be happy. If you lose things you love, miss appointments, spend most of your free time searching for things or moving piles around, you may want to get organized. If you are happy, who cares if your mail is in a pile on your dining room table?