Back-to-School: It's Not Just for Kids

 I'm currently up to my ears in fall semester planning and frustrated that organizing is something I can only talk/write about until things settle into a routine. Luckily, I had a chance to do just that on Tuesday, when Tracy Stewart, the woman behind OSV's Up Close webinar series, was kind enough to host me on the webcast once again. 

Fittingly enough, we talked about back-to-school organizing, but we got to move beyond just little kids and talk a bit about college students and adults as well. I think that's the first time I've had that sort of back-to-school discussion, and it was a lot of fun.

In addition, OSV (the publisher of Know Thyself) offered the book at 20% off in conjunction with the webinar. Sale price is good at the OSV Bookstore through August 22 with the code KNOW20.

You can listen to the webcast here. 

If back to school is a thing at your house, I wish you all the best! 

OBS FAQs: Why Can't I STAY Organized?

It happens to all of us. We get frustrated with the clutter, we dig in, we get organized....

And much too soon, we're back to where we started.

Why is it that we can get organized but we can't stay organized?

Often, it's because the systems we put together when we're in a hurry aren't as well thought out as the ones we come up with when we can take our time and really think about what works for us on a day-to-day basis. As a result, we end up using whatever we have on hand, or stashing things wherever there's space without really thinking about the desired end result, which is easy upkeep.

How do we get there? There are two answers. One is by using our styles -- something I'll address in a future FAQ post -- and the other is approaching our trouble spots with STYLE.

• Start with successes. When we're overwhelmed, it's hard to see what's working because so many things are calling out for our attention. Take a step back. Where is the eye in the center of the storm? Your successes are probably hovering close by. These are the systems you want to replicate so that you can stay organized for the long haul.
• Take small steps. Taking even five minutes at a time to sort, clear and rescue clear space from within the clutter yields a huge payoff. Trust me on this. Even better, the more we do this, the more likely we are to only need five to fifteen minutes to dispense with the clutter.
• Yes, it has a home! Or, if it doesn't, you've found a starting point. As you sort, cluster similar homeless items together. That will make it easier to determine the size of a home these things will need and which home works best for you (see successes, above) because it makes it easy to both put things away and retrieve them when you need them.
• Let it go! People tend to find this one either terrifying or cathartic. Keep in mind that letting it go doesn't have to mean throwing it away. It can mean selling it, donating it or passing it along to someone else who'll love it as much as you did (Ask first! And be prepared to graciously take no for an answer). When you sort, give yourself the luxury of a "maybe" pile so you can part with those tough-to-let-go-of items gradually.
• Easy upkeep. The goal. Didn't reach it in a single session? I didn't expect that you would. Easy upkeep arises over time when we find homes that work for our personal and organizational styles for all of the things in all of our piles. How does this happen? By replicating our successes so we know what kind of home-hunting we want to do in the first place.

It's a process. Want to know more about your styles? Take this quiz. 

True Confessions Wednesday: Organizing is Fun!

True confession #49: I organize for fun. If you read this blog regularly, I'm sure this doesn't come as a surprise, especially since I recently wrote about how much I enjoy the problem-solving aspect of organizing.

During one of the last Sundays of the semester, as I struggled to figure out what remained to be done in each class and how I needed to organize the content, I found myself getting crabbier and crabbier. I knew I needed a break, but I didn't want to start something I'd get pulled into and not want to stop doing. So, I set a timer for fifteen minutes and dug into the box of files behind my desk (more on that later). Fifteen minutes, an overstuffed trash can (I was rather ruthless), a handful of recycling, and eleven empty file folders later, I actually did feel better. 

Lighter.

Sorting and purging has that effect on me.

The box in question is just one of several hot spots that have cropped up in the past month as I struggled to balance end--of-semester tasks with the onset of holiday decorating and an influx of Santa-related packages. The box of files -- the largest and most intrusive of the piles -- is the last remnant of an office revamp that relegated my long-neglected file cabinet to the basement (where archival storage belongs). While it would have been easier to just put everything back in the drawers, I wasn't convinced I needed everything that was in the drawers, especially since I couldn't actually remember what was in the drawers. So, I'd tossed all the files into a box, planning to sort through it a few files at a time and create a filing system more in line with what I need now.

It was a good plan in theory, but you know what happens to the best-laid plans. And what road good intentions pave.

So, the box, along with its smaller, less-contained counterparts, has been calling out to me for the past couple of weeks, each stack doing its part to distract me from the more time-sensitive tasks at hand. But now, with the bulk of those tasks checked off my list, the fun part has arrived.

I get to organize.

To make things even more fun, I have my pick of the projects. Last night, I got started on some of the papers in my office that needed to be sorted and filed (in addition to the box of files). I also need to find a way to organize the books and papers I'm accumulating as I plan to teach a newish (taught for the first and last time two years ago) course this spring.

I have a kitchen cabinet overhaul to do, thanks to a splurge on new dishes, along with new pots and pans to go with the (necessary) new stove. Most of the cookware has found a home, but I need to do a little more thinking about the right homes for a few sentimental items taken from my mom's cupboards that have been displaced by the changes.

Oh, and there's Christmas decorating, along with finding temporary homes for everything displaced (are you sensing a theme here?) by the Christmas stuff. And Christmas presents I dare not use an I know I put it somewhere approach with or I'll be giving them out on St. Patrick's Day.

While some would find all of this overwhelming, I (mostly) find it exciting. So many possibilities for purging things I no longer need and creating clear space! 

If you're not sure when you'll have time to dig in,
look for opportunities to make piles smaller
a little bit at a time.

Thanks to a combination of better habits and a largely paper-free semester, things look much better (kitchen changes notwithstanding) than they have at the end of previous semesters. One personal victory is my desk, which I have consistently cleared off each night for a record number of months. This is a success that has not only sustained me, but motivated me to keep other clear spaces clear as well.

When things get busy, it's easy to fall into piles, especially for those of us who have I need to see it personal styles and/or drop and run organizational styles. But, with a success or two to remind us of what we can do when the dust settles and blocks of time, whether small or large, open up, organizing can be something we look forward to.

Lemme at those piles.