(minus)365 :: Ground Rules

I'm a person who believes in the Golden Rule of Organization, "A place for everything and everything in it's place." Unfortunately, just believing doesn't make things magically happen & I've rarely been a person who has followed that rule. So while my organization systems are superb in my imagination, they are rarely implemented in my real world. And well, I just really fucking over that. Thus this project. And my closet-a-month project (closet makeover #1 starts today). I realize that this sort of change will take lots of time & energy, which is why I set these smaller spaced out goals for myself. My overall goals might be simplifying & getting organized but not having a realistic plan of action will leave me exactly where I started. Getting rid of everything you don't need sounds big & intimidating. Getting rid of one thing a day sounds reasonable.

One of the things I'm trying to do when I go through all the boxes & rooms is to immediately take things to where they will live permanently or at least put them with related items. Craft/art supplies go into a box in the room where I hope to eventually craft & art things. Gift wrap & supplies get piled together. Home improvement supplies & tools go down to the project room in the basement. Etc. My hope is that when I'm done going through things (or even during the process itself), that I will know where all the things I kept are. These things will still need further organization but at least I'll know what I have. And I think when trying to get organized, knowing what you have is the first place to start.

One place I'm already running into a problem is with the stuff I'm getting rid of... it's just sort of cluttering up my living room right now waiting for judgement day. So here are a few rules I'm setting to keep this problem in check:

• Immediately decide which catagory the object fits into: keep, trash, recycle, sell or donate
• Keep - Put it where it goes or will go. Keep related items together.
• Trash - Bag smaller items. Place larger items that are accepted at curb next to trash bins in garage.
• Recycle - Items accepted at curb go into bin. Electronics go into a box until I find programs to accept each item. Misc. items will be dealt w/on a item to item basis.
• Sell - Garage sale items go into designated area in basement storage room.
• Donate - Goodwill box in garage. Larger items next to box.
• Deal with items immediately or on schedule.
• Shred pile goes into box. Shred entire box weekly - Monday night.
• Take trash/recycling out weekly - Tuesday night.
• Empty boxes get broken down & added to recycling bin.
• On the last Sunday of each month, tag new garage sale items with price.
• Take donations to Goodwill on weekly trip to Dad's house - Saturday or Sunday.
• Everything that isn't sold or given away at the garage sale immediately goes to Goodwill.

They aren't much, but these little rules should help me along in my organization goals. Right now momentum is on my side but it'll wane, then pick back up, then wane again. The important thing is that I keep taking steps in the right direction... no matter how small the steps are.