Depression Understood Forums

Does any one have any tips for combating disorganization?

I'm either neat-freak clean or cluttered messy....

~sigh~ I need some help.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions!


Edit: This thread has transformed a bit from the original title. I have also posted about when I am combating disorganization. Feel free to share your trials + triumphs.

Hi Crystal
I am terrifically disordered too. But what does work for me is to divide all my stuff into catagories. Like; desk stuff, cold weather clothes, warm weather clothes, purses, wallets, scarves. Just get everything sorted into specific catagories. Then go to Target and get a bunch of those plastic units that have a lot of drawers in them. Put just ONE type of thing in each drawer. They also have these sectional things you put in your closet that sort the stuff in there - shoes, shirts, skirts, pants etc.. If you have a lot of little things, go to the tool department and they have these plastic drawer things that have about 30 little drawers in them and then put eye shadow ONLY in one, lipstick ONLY in another etc. etc. I just totally swear by those things.

Good luck. Let me know if it helped.

A5

Wow! ~lol~ Yeah, you're right! [Why didn't I think of that?!]

THANK YOU!!!! There might be some hope for me yet!

Crystal

Glad I could help. You should see how many of those little drawer thingsI have. But it works!

A5

I'm still disorganized for the most part, but I did manage to do some cleaning for the hurricane season a few months ago. There were a few hurricane scares, but nothing major yet.

This time I'm at it again & I started moving. It was way easier to move storage bins. Soon, I'll get to rearranging my space to get the most out of it.

Admittedly, I am already a little beat, as I did the moving myself & I had to go up & down the stairs to get the job done.

Edit: I had to do some serious cleaning shortly after I wrote this post originally, since the house insurance inspectors had to come by the house. We were given very little warning & in the end, since I didn't finish, I sort of had a meltdown & said to hell with it, they see what they see.

The meltdown was a little bad, but I was seriously tired. I'm just recovering from it.....

I am disorganized again.... ~sigh~ I am trying to do some clearing up again... This time, I am breaking down the work into ultra small tasks...

Today, I put my "work"/more stylish shoes back in the boxes.... That was about all I was able to muster today. I will try to do more soon....

Well... I started cleaning yesterday. I SAW a hundred foot in my room! (centipede)

I mean I'm glad that's all it was... but STILL I don't usually see bugs there--beyond a lizard, a few mosquitoes, a few daddy long legged spiders or a black milipede (or two).

I realize what puts me off with cleaning my room finally. You see.... In order for me to sweep + mop the floor, I must move the bed. Usually, I have to take the mattress + box spring out of my room to be able to really get any thing done.

Since I've lost a good bit of whatever muscle strength I had, I can barely lift my twin bed by myself (& I mean a twin bed is nothing)....

With my recent setup, which gives my room the illusion of space & more privacy when guests come to the house, before I can put the bed back.... I must remove every thing from the top of the closet & the cubbies in the closet & THEN dust, since the bed is in front of the closet in my setup.



THE SETUP
_____________________________________
Desk 1 Desk 2 Hamper Dresser

JUST ENOUGH SPACE TO FEEL SORTA GOOD;
SPACE DOUBLES AS SPACE FOR YOGA
(when I don't have junk on the floor)

Bed
Closet + Top of closet-----------Door
.............................................Hallway--->Doorway to Living Room
__________________________


I will try to dust the closet cubbies & the top of the closet today.... ~sigh~ BUT I don't happen to be feeling too good right now. I started out sort of okay about 3 hours ago, but now, I'm in a bit of pain in an odd place & I've no idea why.

Oh well.... I did sweep the floor for the most part in my room + the hallway, so I AM GLAD FOR THAT! WHEW!

Yesterday was:

Clearing up every thing off the floor
Moving storage bins out of my room (off the floor & from under the bed)
Clearing out some boxes, etc I had on the closet floor to sweep it
Cleaning the tub + the middle wall
Dusting off speakers + hooking them up to the computer to listen to music

I tried... Ya? But it's hard.... Still I'm gonna do my best to keep trying.... ~pant~ I am tired, though... BLEH!!!

Edit: I almost want to throw out every thing!!!

Watch the show "Horders" on A&E. It will make you throw out everything in your house that is not nailed down. I'm only half joking. The show is amazing to me. Hording can occur with some people suffering from forms of OCD. People literaly form emotional attachements to garbage. I was watching last night and a lady was trying to hold on to an empty bottle of shampoo. Seriously. I found after watching that a few times I was able to clear out alot of stuff I didn't need. Old cloths I don't wear, papers, cassette tapes, old expired makeup (it does have a shelf life) etc... They have no value in my life and are just clutter. A basic rule of thumb I tried to use is, if I havened touched or used it in six months then I don't need it. And with all the "stuff" gone it is ALOT easier to clean.

CBaby (Robyn), Thanks!!! I will try to watch that show like you said....

Part of why I tend to have too much stuff especially if I buy it here on island is that I may find something today & 3 months down the road, when I need it again, no place has it.....

It's something else....

I will look at every thing again though... It's worth a try....

Well, I started cleaning last night a little. I do feel a bit beat already... (Yikes!)

I took every thing out the room & swept + mopped.

Today I did the window sills (on the inside of the house). I started wiping off the...um... this wooden decoration at the bottom of the wall. It's a tough job... In order to get it done, I have to lie on the floor on my side to scrub it....

Ah, well... Magic eraser to the rescue... I hope to get the rest done soon! ....

Edit: I haven't seen an episode recently of that show...

I couldn't sleep so... I was bored & put on some music + started cleaning again. I

pulled out the desk to sweep + mop behind it,
wipe the really visible dusty parts of the desk,
continue cleaning the decorative covering at the bottom of the wall
wiped the cobwebs off the back of the door

I still had energy so I drove down by my man's job, picked him up + drove around a little more, took him home & came home myself to scramble-fry some eggs, finish the Midlight's Deep battle in FFXII: Revenant Wings (DS) & finally go to bed!

Well... Yesterday was the windows... I cleaned about 26 windows. Most had 5 panes each.... & get this: I'm STILL not done but I will do the rest later! I spent too much time outside all ready! The inside is more important right now!

I finished cleaning the wall, mopped the floor for the back room, put the desk back where it was, put in the bed, clean the fan, 2 gargabe bins...

Oh WTF!

~pant~ Oh man, I don't know how I did it... (& I don't feel sore....)

I could get up & do something that today again, but I do need to go out & check the mail + get ready for a job-related appointment on Thursday.

I feel like procrastinating, but know I mustn't...

& the goal for all this cleaning--so I don't forget--is to be more organized & better manage cleaning chores. I'm hoping I'll be able to free up space as well!

I also would like to work out indoors--make use of my exercise DVDs, mats & equipment (dance shoes, weights, yoga ball, et al) I have lying around in my space. I really would like to get toned up, as quickly as I can!

The world waits for no one!

At this time, I will say a very very VERY special THANK YOU to DANDELION! Thank you for all your encouragement! Super Dande Power! <---- See? It's working!

(((((((((((((( Crys ))))))))))))))))

Oh, Lol!!! im glad i give you some encouragement *giggles* i managed to clean my apartment and it is now super clean lol (i can be clean freak sometimes lol). I washed all of my dishes and all of my laundry, but doing all of these at once makes me feel bored because i dont have anything to do anymore hehe. But on the other hand, i can focus on other things as well, marking my students workbooks, writing my lesson plan and all of that boring stuff, lol. I do my exercise for twice a week now, for at least half an hour, i didnt lose any weight yet though . But hey, on the other hand, it will keep me heathly and also keep me fit . And im glad that you manage to do some cleaning!! truly proud of you girl! and i know how much you want to clean your stuff and sort them out and you did it! yayy

<3 <3 <3 crys

love you lots
dandelion

Hope the cleaning is going well.

I have never been a great cleaner. I would figure that the dishes were clean enough, if food wasn't sticking to them. If the person didn't like it they were free to go wash it on their own.

I went from living in a large house of my own (27 years) to back living with my mother. She is aging and can't live alone.

That means that I went from a large house to a small bedroom. I have pretty well my entire life in this room. I try to keep it tidy but have trouble doing that. Every few weeks or so, I have a purge and get the room all cleaned up. Just to have it mess up again in a couple of days.

Must admit that I don't like cluttler, but sometimes it takes a bit until I face up to doing it.

Admire you for the progress that you are making.

To dande, don't worry about the weight! Just keep at it! There is always time. Just try to keep with it & also keep the positive thoughts. (I am slimming down; I am toning up; it's working!)

To Monty, I am trying to face it... It took me a while to do so & even when I did, I had to stop for a bit. The room I cleaned? Well it's only still clean/cleared because I haven't been in there to use it. The desk is still a bit untidy & since it's been about a week, I know dust and every thing will be trying to take over the room again. ~sigh~

I also saw some backyard animals in the house.... (Yuck!) Last night was a trip. First, I saw a huge cockroach, just sitting out on the floor! I sprayed it. (I can't stand cockroaches & centipedes!) Then, I saw a baby frog shortly thereafter!

I was like, "I can't take this, and how did that frog get in the house?!"

I guess I am prompted to clean now, but truly, I don't feel like it today.

Hugs to you both! ((((((((((((((((((((( dande )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

((((((((((((((( Monty )))))))))))))))))))))))))