Too Organized?

Is there such a thing as being too organized? Some may say yes. I am organized in ways others might say is obsessive-compulsive, but I am not a slave to my organization. I let my filing and laundry pile up and procrastinate as much as any other woman. There are areas of my life that I like to keep organized simply because it saves me time and keeps me from getting frustrated when I can’t find what I want.

To make finding your clothes easier each day, hang:
• Short sleeve shirts in one area by color
• Long sleeve shirts in one area by color
• Pants
• Skirts
• Dresses and suits together

In the kitchen:
• Keep all your baking items in one or two cupboards next to each other near the area you use to mix and fix
• Alphabetize your spices. Lack of space forces me to keep mine in a cupboard rather than a rack. I can only see the front row. Alphabetizing them allows me to know approximately where each item is, rather than searching through them all to find the allspice.

For movie and music lovers:
• Alphabetize your movies and CDs (I confess, I actually categorize my CDs then alphabetize)

For book lovers: (get creative!)
• Alphabetize by title or author
• Categorize by subject/type, such as DIY repair books, fiction, work related, etc. and shelve accordingly (dare you alphabetize too?)

Monk would love these rules (and no, I didn’t learn them from him). It’s not about being a slave to the method. It’s about staying off the hamster wheel.
Debra L. Butterfield © 2010