STEP 1: CATEGORIZE your stuff.
PUT LIKE THINGS WITH LIKE THINGS. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Not so for everyone.

When we are little, we spend a lot of our cognitive capital learning to categorize things — all the red blocks go together; dogs vs. tables; hats vs. shoes, cars vs. airplanes; cars, airplanes and trains vs. camels, horses and people, and so on. The older we get, the more practice we’ve had and we take it for granted that we can easily and faultlessly do this whenever we need to. And, in theory, we do.

Yet, in practice, when faced with trying to organize the accumulated “stuff” of our fast-paced, time-crunched, multi-focused lives, categorizing it all can seem like your worst nightmare. What to put with what. How big to make the category. What to do with things that could go in more than one category. What about one-of-a-kind things?

Good news: categories are arbitrary. You use ‘em? You choose ‘em. There are some common ones, like linens, tools, financial records, gift wrapping supplies, and memorabilia. But, depending on use, these may not be the best categories for your stuff. So, make your own categories, such as guest linens (kept seperately near the guest room), upstairs tools (workshop tools in the basement), things to take when you go to the beach, toys with little pieces, winter sports gear, craft and art supplies (seperate from office supplies), and any other functional grouping. Just be sure you define what goes in each and that the category is a logical place for you to look for something you put in it.

Okay, so now you’ve sorted your piles into a whole lot of smaller piles, the trash can is full, your shelves and drawers and closets are empty — You did include them in the sort, didn’t you? — and you’ve pulled out everything under the beds and behind the doors. Now what?

STEP 2 – Capture
Now that you have all those piles of like things, it’s time to capture each pile and find a place you can dedicate to that category and only that category –a drawer, a closet, a specific section of your basement, storage shelves. The capture challenge is finding ways to keep like things together and still have them be accessible. Maybe a drawer just for socks, a games cabinet (with small bins for little pieces), trays for different categories of papers, a bin for yarn, bins for holiday decorations and, of course, the absolutely necessary drawer for parts to unknown things.

And, most importantly . . . .
STEP 3 – LABEL
Label everything — side, top and front. Labels increase the likelihood that things get put back with the other things in its category. Labels make it easier to find things. Labels keep you honest — there’s just no excuse for putting a hammer in the drawer labeled ’socks.’

So there you are, everything with a place. The rest is all about maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. You’ve just got to make yourself put things away and no system, not matter how good it is, is going to do it for you. Go to it!

If you’re smart, at the beginning of the year, you set up a tray, drawer or a section in your files dedicated to this year’s — and only this year’s — tax-related stuff. Most of the year, there won’t be much to toss into it. Maybe some donations records or a reminder to include a particular expense or miscellaneous income or an article about a new tax law. When, in January, the tax documents start coming, you can just toss them in the tray until you’re ready to actually do your taxes.

If you really want to be ahead of the game, now is also the time to start chucking all those records and documents you no longer need. Given our growing concern with identity theft, the best and easiest way to dispose of them is shredding.

Piles too big? Don’t own a shredder? Hold it! Don’t bag it all up and stash it in the basement with all the piles from previous years. Instead, let the professionals do it for you. More and more, banks and office supply stores are offering shredding services, some free, some at a price that is well worth the peace of mind you’ll have knowing your important papers are sliced up beyond recognition and sent securely off to the recycling plant.

In your local area, look for announcements by local banks for shredding events, such as a free, on-site community shred day. Also, check out which office supply stores have in-store shredders. In my area, Whalens Office Supply in Northampton has a wonderful strip cutter that takes twenty sheets at a time, a separate credit card
shredder and low DIY rates. Or they’ll do it for you, including unfolding bulky statements and removing all the paper clips — well worth the cost, not to mention the savings in time.

Other ways to find shredding events – www.filestoreshred.com lists shredding events all over the country by region and, in Massachussetts, www.massrecycle.org puts up an on-line events calendar, usually in the fall.

Here’s an extra for those of you who like to see how things work – some recycling facilities give tours. I plan to go on one in the spring at the Springfield, MA,Materials Recycling Facility. Did you know that much of the work of separating the recyclables is done by hand? What a job!!!!!

What is the problem? Why is it every time I approach the project every bone in my body shouts: “Run! Not today.” I just know it will suck me into a quagmire of confusion, dead ends and frustration that will take unbelievable hunks of time out of an already overscheduled life.

This is where productive procrastination kicks in. Hurrah for avoidance! Not doing the project leaves so much time to do the eight hundred other things I’ve been meaning to do “when I get time.” Avoiding going in one direction sends me flying in others. Avoidance is so motivating. I’ll do anything to justify not doing what I know I should. Guilt drives me to do something productive – something worthy, something needed, something I can tick off the Someday list.

Once in productive procrastination mode, I cheerfully change burnt out light bulbs, email long overdue thank you notes, weed the garden, vacuum the car, clean up my desk and to-file tray (Yes, even I get buried in paper.), and re-pot the scraggly coleus. I sew on buttons, iron that which no person has ever ironed before, repack the heater I need to return, return the heater, sweep the garage, put up the rack for lawn tools I bought three years ago. clean up my email, and take the mountainous give-away pile to the Survival Center. It feels so good. I’ve accomplished so much and I can see what a difference it makes. I’m taking care of business! I’m productive!!!

Meanwhile, I edge up to that which I am so carefully avoiding. One day I collect relevant papers and the phone number for the bureaucratic call and put them in a tray. A few days later, I skim the papers and a few days after that I make myself review it all and make a plan of attack. Maybe a week later, I get brave, eat a bunch of chocolate and make the call – which of course puts me on hold: “Your wait time is six minutes.” Waiting but mobile – blessings upon cordless phones with headsets – I now have six glorious minutes to dust my desk, fold laundry, serf the web or just stare vacantly out the window and contemplate the universe. Six minutes later, when the representative comes on the phone, I know that no matter how frustrating or disappointing the call may turn out to be, I can balance it out by looking at all I’ve accomplished in the process of avoiding it.

However, being disorganized can certainly make life more difficult and keep you from doing the things you really want to do. It’s twenty times as hard to move forward if you’re forever tripping over mounds of stuff or frantically trying to crawl out of the archeological dig you call your office or home.

The point: Being organized, getting your chaos under control is not the goal. Being organized is a tool that sets you up to succeed. It helps you make your current endeavors progress smoothly and, equally important, makes it possible for you to move effectively in new and exciting directions. And I’m here to help you!

I’m also here to turn you on to whatever strikes me as interesting and worth passing on to you. So, check out my Links page and see what you can find that interests you, too.