Organized or messy?

[Bay]

I am generally well organized because I hate to waste time looking for things, it makes me all stressed and frantic. But papers are my downfall, I never know what to do with them. I have stacks of papers on my desk, as though they will somehow sort themselves out for me. I need to come up with a better system than THAT

 

[epath13]

But papers are my downfall, I never know what to do with them. I have stacks of papers on my desk, as though they will somehow sort themselves out for me. I need to come up with a better system than THAT

I know what you mean me neither ideally I wouldn't put almost anything on paper, but sometimes it can't be avoided. I have hard time deciding what I need them for and if I need them.

 

[epath13]

things I wouldn't like to have to keep myself (and the whole family) organized

check out it's full functionality here: Saving Space: Storage-Filled Sofa has Secret Compartments | Designs & Ideas on Dornob

wouldn't work for a desktop though

I don't know... I think this is a little crazy

 

[King_Oni]

In general I like those ways of keeping things organized, but I would prefer everything to be like that, as well as other people to be like that.

It requires only a little irregularity to crumble organisation, while you can't really break apart a mess. It's something I was talking about with a friend last year when a local supermarket redid their entire shelves, cooling, freezers and lay-out. It looked really neat and clean on day one, and I told him "with this cleanliness it takes one product in the entire store to be placed wrong to make it look like a mess"... and obviously in supermarkets, people do not care to pick up a product and put it back perfectly aligned (or even on the same shelf even), so it took a few hours to make it look like a mess again.

 

[Gomendosi]

That last picture must be Bear Grylls lounge?

For those of you who don’t know who Bear Grylls is, he is the host of a TV program on survival and how to do it, survival that is, he teaches you to!… survive I mean ; ]

 

[Zo.]

What I think is organized, others think is messy. Not to sound cliche, but an "organized mess", if you will.

 

[GhettoButterFly]

What I think is organized, others think is messy. Not to sound cliche, but an "organized mess", if you will.

Shoot, you beat me to what I was going to say. I'm what you would called an "organized mess". Even though my area may look messy, at least I can find everything that is there. lol

 

[Kelly]

I'm both. Example I picked up a new storage chest for my daughter's room yesterday so I sat and sorted her whole room out, put everything where it should be, threw all the bits of papers out etc. It looks very very tidy but guaranteed by Monday it will be slightly messy, by next weekend it will be terrible and it wont bother me. It gets to a point where I just can't take it anymore and I have to clean, I'm like that with everything, the bathroom will be a complete state and then I kind of snap and get all the cleaning stuff out, clear out all the almost empty bottles, used razors, stack everything neatly etc. When I'm like that everything has to be just so, I'll put my daughter's books and dvd's in alphabetical order, I'll stack things up in size order, everything has it's place and I get really annoyed if it's not done right.....then it all turns into a mess again within days and I don't bother for a few weeks again. The only thing I do every single day is wash the dishes, I can't stand dirty dishes, I HAVE to clean them (or my husband does). When it's messy it's an organized mess, so even though there is a stack of papers on the computer desk I can locate any single letter, drawing or message easily as I know at what point in the pile they are and which pile they are in.

I was the same as a child I'd have cleaning frenzy's where I would tidy my room up very neatly (alphabetical ordering, size ordering, colour grouping etc) and then I would have times when it was so messy I had to make a path through all the clutter on the floor to get to my bed.

 

[epath13]

I believe organization has to be functional, when all the items placed accordingly to it's use. I think one of the reasons why organization fails is that logic behind it does reflect logic behind the use of space, the second reason would be - people don't put things back where they took them from I think if there's a consistency in use of things, organization will fall into place...so to speak. Clutter usually is mess maker, things we don't use often... or am I wrong?

 

[arthurfakaya]

I'm not particularly tidy, but I spend a lot of time organising myself and my day, preparing for as many eventualities as possible. If an idea comes to me I must write it down, or I know I will forget it (perhaps as soon as the next thought comes along). Then I will make a more permanent record of it on my laptop and/or phone in case I accidentally toss out the paper record. I'm forever writing lists and crossing things off when they are done. Is this OCD? Anyway, I'm organised but also messy. I don't require my living environment to be clean and tidy, just my schedule to be logical and organised, and my mind to be tidy with not too much clutter.:wacko:

 

[Bay]

I believe organization has to be functional, when all the items placed accordingly to it's use. I think one of the reasons why organization fails is that logic behind it does reflect logic behind the use of space, the second reason would be - people don't put things back where they took them from I think if there's a consistency in use of things, organization will fall into place...so to speak. Clutter usually is mess maker, things we don't use often... or am I wrong?

I agree. I have to be able to find things, damn it. It really makes me nuts when I cannot perform a simple task because something has been "misplaced" (usually that means an item was put down with little thought of how it impacts others. This is a big pet peeve of mine--can you tell?)

 

[FishyEnthusiest]

It's a little of both for me. I am very organized at work, and I am organized when it comes to appointments and finances but my house is messy. I have paperwork stacked up on my ottoman and on the stand next to my sofa. I am not very good at keeping up on the dishes or other household chores. I guess it is because I don't have much interest in those things and I feel like there are better things to do with my time.

 

[2010Dolby]

My Firebird: ALWAYS clean on the inside, ALWAYS clean on the outside.

My truck: Always clean on the inside, usually so much mud on the outside that I can't see my paintjob

My home: A disaster site of recklessly thrown power saws, knives, ammunition for my shotgun and .357, and parts for my truck. Except my bed room. My bed room is always spotless.

 

[Csutelan]

I tend to be very neat and reasonably well organized. As a child, I kept a very neat room. I also helped clean and straighten around the house including vacuuming, dusting, mopping, etc. Now that I have my own family it has become more difficult because they don't share my desire for extreme neatness. I am continually going behind my wife and kids straightening up. I know they get annoyed with me because I have to have things so straight. I find myself often making all the beds in the morning, emptying the dishwasher, collecting the trash and even vacuuming and dusting their rooms. It is more difficult with my wife because I really think she resents my push to keep things straight and then I end up resenting her for contributing to an environment that I find stressful and unpleasant. Not quite sure what the solution is. I have tried to create "clutter free" zones around the house but then I find myself avoiding other areas that the family just can't keep neat. I wish it didn't bother me so much but I just can't seem to escape it and a after 40+ years it has become increasingly unlikely that I ever will.

 

[Cerulean]

I can live and work in either environment. If I'm at work, I don't care if it's messy as long as I know the system. What drives me crazy is when it's messy, someone thinks they're doing me a favor by tidying up, and then I can't find anything. I can't tell you how many times as a kid my well-meaning mom would move my shoes or something and I'd spend 30 minutes looking for them only to eventually find them where they actually belong.

 

[Soup]

My husband & I are both clean/neat freaks on our home & our bodies as well. I can't stand a disorganized cluttered junk ridden mess. I like knowing everything I have & exactly where it is. It works well that we share this trait otherwise it would be a situation where we resented each other for trying to do things our own way & squabbling over it. We both like minimalism so we don't have heaps of souvenirs, paintings & photos all over the place, clothes we never wear, stuff that needs to be discarded or repaired etc.

I'm one of those spotless people who always smells like soap & so is he. His extreme cleanliness & hygiene is something that attracted me to him in the first place.

 

[Geordie]

I confess (Mess or neatness person):

I am a messy person.

My clothes are always stained, my shoes are always dirty, my tables are always black because if it's white, it's covered by newsprint anyway (I love reading newspapers). In addition, my books are always randomly arranged and I can't even find things!

However, things do change - I feel that I am less messy when I have more time and more space to myself, when I can leave some space and energy for myself to clean things. This is after full days of sleeping, big meals and lots of books and music. I need to feel ready psychologically.

Don't be scared of me when you see me! I'll try my best to present myself in a clean slate. I understand some Aspies are really order and cleanliness freaks, and I understand this.

Otherwise, I'm too busy to care.

 

[RubenX]

I am always thinking of ways to get more organized. When I'm not organized, I can't think. I can't even fill out an online job application if I'm not organized. I need to *know* where everything is, as opposed to have to *search* around when I need something.

My favorite organizational tool for the home is plastic drawers like this. I have lots of them and I label them and organize them by colors and it's wonderful.

Sadly, my girlfriend thinks that so many plastic drawers are an eyesore and I placed the drawers on the attic. The stuff that was on the drawers is now in boxes, like a jigsaw puzzle... takes forever to find anything. Needless to say, the house is in complete disarray. I'm not washing dishes, I'm not mopping, I'm not doing laundry, I'm not doing anything... I can't do anything. If I want to open a bag of hot dogs, and I need the scissors... can't find them... If I want to write a note, need a pen, can't find it... I tell you, if people don't let me organize my stuff my way, I become useless.

 

[Simply a Bibliophile]

I'm fairly bipolar about organization. I'll be fine if my room is sloppy for months, but one day I might just be sitting on my bed and freak out because it's too messy. Inevitably I switch on my iPod and go on an insane several-hour cleaning binge.

Anything school-related must always be impeccable, like my locker, book bag, and most recently my computer.

 

[Forest Cat]

Does anyone have some good tips about getting organized and tidying up? Maybe tips about some good getting organized sites or blogs? My home is not really messy but things have been piling up a little for a while because of renovations and other things and I have some problems finding a natural place for things. I end up standing in the middle of a room scratching my head wondering where to begin and where to store things. I have space for it, I just have problems organizing things now.

And I'm not happy about my kitchen, the kitchen is tidy but things are not where they should be I think. I need to reorganize the cupboards and drawers but right now it's seems like it would be easier to climb Mount Everest. I'm just not getting anywhere when I try to fix it.