The JUNK Drawer

In the house of my childhood, there was such a thing as a "junk" drawer.  It was always called a "junk" drawer though it actually had assigned contents.  The things that belonged there were scissors, tape, string, and small hand-held household tools.  But, the fact that it was called the "junk" drawer meant that anyone and everyone felt free to put pretty much anything else in there.  Therefore, it always looked rather junky. 

I swore that I'd never have a junk drawer at my house.  Truth be known, there is no such drawer in my kitchen.  Each drawer in the kitchen has an assigned purpose and assigned belongings.  Yet, there are  drawers in our sideboard in the dining room, and those drawers tend to fill the role that our old kitchen junk drawer filled.  Today, those drawers are under attack!

Here they are.  The left one is full of miscellaneous things.  And, oh, look... so is the right one.  The right one has built in dividers.  As I looked at these two drawers, I figured that those compartments could be assigned and that would help organize them.

So, I took both drawers out and put them on the floor in my living room and sat done with the dear things.  I first went through and took out anything that was trash or didn't belong in the room at all.  I made two piles of those things.  The trash was the biggest pile!

Then, I decided what ought to go in those compartments in the right drawer.  I assigned one for gift wrapping supplies, one for office supplies and one for Steve's things.  I suppose that's only fair since all the drawer space is otherwise mine!  The compartment in the back has seldom used items. 

Then I took a couple of sticky notes and made temporary labels for the compartments.  It doesn't help to put things away if you don't know where they go.  And, thus far, no one in this home can read my mind about where things should go.  Here's a large picture so you can check it out.

 The other drawer received a less glamorous makeover.  I already had the white tray and so I took out pens that didn't work and put pencils, pens and highlighters into the tray.  Everything else is simply neatly arranged.  I will need to get a few more trays.  These drawers are quite shallow (about 2 inches deep) and when you open them quickly, everything goes sliding around.  A few more trays will help corral the items.

In the end, the main thing about junk drawers, or any drawers for that matter, is that they need a little attention from time to time.  It is well worth the little bit of time to cull the unwanted items, rearrange the things that you want, and enjoy a nice neat drawer until, well, until the next time they look like a mini-tornado went through them.

Facing the post-holiday clutter

The holidays are over.  What a rush of concerts, programs, shopping, eating, celebrating, loving and living!  I can hardly believe that I haven't even thought about writing a blog entry during all of this hubbub.

But now...oh, but now... the post-holiday clutter has come to my home.  As I sit happily drinking coffee (from my brand new Keurig coffee maker!  Thank you, wonderful husband and children!) at my dining room table, I can see across the dining room, into the living room and just to my left, into the kitchen.

I'm happy to say that my kitchen survived the holidays the best.  I can still see cleaned off counters, and since I already have done up the breakfast dishes, I could easily spend the rest of my day in my kitchen where it is peace and calm.

BUT, oh no!  (Or, as my dear son would say, oh noes!  Multiple.  Plural.)  The gift wrapping clutter still exists in the dining room.  The holiday gifts are still lingering in the living room.  Not a single decoration has been packed away yet.  Signs of children home from school and college exist everywhere.

Now, I do not wish to rush Christmas away, nor do I wish to hide the fact that my sons still live here.  But, the time has come to face the clutter.  Today is the day.  Here I go!

Facing the dumping zone

My house is filled with dumping zones -- places where people conveniently drop things when they come into the house.  It seems that every room has some kind of drop spot.  This is not-so-organized behavior.

Today, I am facing one of those rooms -- our music/office room.  Right now it is filled with clutter!  I'm going to tackle it and make it the lovely, usable room that it ought to be... instead of the room with the closed doors and fear of something escaping from it!

My to-do list:

1) Make a plan -- there's nothing quite so aggravating as getting into a project and then realizing that you don't know where you're going with it!  And, that is par for the course for the not-so-organized!  I have thought through where the major pieces of furniture will go and what will be stored in them.

2) Take action -- here's my steps for the day:

• Take out the trash!  Grab a grocery sack, or a kitchen garbage bag, or even a bigger one if you need to, and start tossing the things that you know need to get OUT of the room right now!  I'm going to focus on the floor and the horizontal surfaces.
• Move the small things out of the way.  For me, that means hauling them into the next room, which happens to be my living room.  I'm prepared for the reality of this -- my living room is going to be a disaster for a few hours!  It's OK.... there is a higher purpose.  Just don't leave it there overnight, or it might put down roots!!
• Move the big furniture into place.
• Replace the things you want to have in there.  Everything should go to a) Goodwill or other charity, b) the trash, or c) the room where it actually belongs.  I will be taking some of my music things to school, and that will clear some space.

We lucked out and found two bookcases (with cabinets on the bottom) that matched our current bookcase.  Ours was a little smaller, but we just put it in the middle to make it symmetrical.  It worked like a charm.  We purchased the bookcases at our local re-sale shop for a fraction of their original price.  Here is a glimpse of the end result.  (Note: my dear husband secured the cabinets together and also secured them to the wall.  They won't fall over unless the house falls down!)

3) Finish-up -- I'm not quite sure what all this means, but today I think it will mean making sure that my poor living room doesn't become the next dumping zone and that things are dusted and put back into place.

For the not-so-organized, this was a big day.  I'm imagining that I'll have more projects that have to do with keeping this room humming along nicely.  Thanks for joining me.  Good luck with your spare room project!  Let me know how it goes for you!

One thing at a time...

Part of the problem of the not-so-naturally organized is that we are:

1. flexible -- we easily go from one thing to the next.
2. smart -- we multi-task with grace
3. industrious -- we often have many projects going at once

Here's a challenge for the day.  Start something... and finish it.  Clear off your work space (even if you have to pile it on the floor) and put one thing on it.  Then, attack it and finish it.


I really want to finish my Office Notebook.  I did get started on it, but as I mentioned yesterday, other things got piled on top.  Today I made sure that nothing else got piled on!  My Office Notebook is out and available for me to work on.  But, truthfully, my schedule was pretty full today.  I didn't get that one thing done.


Here's the truth.  It is very difficult to do just one thing, isn't it?  This is a new skill that we need to develop.  Too many things just pop up that demand attention.  I believe that getting focused on one thing is a key to getting organized.  If I figure out how to do it, you'll be the first to know.

The best of intentions...

My piling system -- how did it work for all of you?

It worked imperfectly for me. Part of the issue is having enough dedicated time to work on something until it is finished. Is that how it is for you? So, I had a good start, but then a little something called "life" took over. I guess that's why getting and staying organized is so challenging for me -- for us.

It is also why I'm recommending today that we take things in very small bites. Unless it is the weekend, I don't have that dedicated time required. Even on certain weekends, though, it is still hard to find time.

Now, back to the paper chaos. I was cleaning off my desk. What were you working on? Did you finish? Are you feeling proud? Or, are you, like me, wondering how there are still things stacked there on the corner where there was momentarily a clear space?

I'm attacking it again.

• Put all pencils in pencil holder. Done. 
• Throw away all tiny pieces of paper and scraps and stickies that I don't need any more. Done.
• Put folders back into folder holder.  Done.

Oh look! There's the binder that is supposed to hold my weekly items -- my "household" binder. Since I'm at my work office, I need to come up with something better than "household." I'll go with "office organizer." Bottom line.... this is going to take daily effort. I'm taking a wild guess here, but I'm imagining that the naturally organized do not find themselves un-piling just mere days after clearing off a space.

But, the good news is that it didn't take nearly as long as the first time.  That's real progress for the not-so-naturally organized.

Tomorrow's blog -- One Thing at a Time!

And, here's a link to a site that is working on having an organized Christmas.  It looks ever-so-lovely to me.  I hope you enjoy!  An Organized Christmas

Paper Chaos Challenge Continues!

If you're like me, the not-so-naturally organized, one day of facing the paper chaos did not do the trick.  Here's what I accomplished...

1) I did get things sorted into my suggested piles.
2) I did get my daily tasks all together into one folder.  But... no, I didn't get them all done!
3) I did get my weekly folders stuffed into my vertical file.  Upon doing so, I noticed that there are some other things in there that need clearing out.
4) Now I have a pile of things on my floor that need to have a little attention!

It does feel good to be working in a focused way on facing the paper chaos, even if it takes me longer than I feel it should.  Progress, not perfection.  I've heard that said many times, and it is a quote that I am learning to embrace.

Therefore, I am extending my Paper Chaos challenge for at least one more day.  In my case, it may take even more days.  After all, there are many other things to do in a day!

Happy sorting!  Keep me updated on how you're doing.

Challenge of the Day -- Paper Chaos

One of my biggest challenges is dealing with paper clutter.  I stack.  I pile.  I sort.  I re-pile.  I file.  I lose.  I dig.

Well, you are getting the drift!  This morning I am sitting in my office wondering what it would be like to have a clear desk.  Now, I don't think that a clear desk is necessarily a sign of conquered chaos, but I do think that having a mess and not hardly being able to work is a clear sign of CHAOS!

Today's challenge has to do with the Paper Chaos.  Pick one area in your space (office, den, kitchen) where there is paper clutter.  Take a good hard look at it.  Now, how are we going to manage it?

Here's what we are going to try to do:

1. Pick up the paper.  Decide:

• Do I need to deal with it today.  If yes, start a new pile! Yes, I actually mean this.  This is how the mind of not-so-naturally organized works.
• Do I need access to it every day?  If yes, start a another pile.
• If you don't need access to it every day, decided whether you need it weekly, or longer than that.

2. Do step one for all the papers in the area you are conquering today!  You will now have four "neat" piles.  OK, in my case, it might be 4 messy piles, but that doesn't matter.

• Do today
• Use every day (reference papers, like phone directories, calendars, shopping lists, etc.)
• Use weekly
• Use less frequently than weekly

3. Grab a file folder and write "Do Today" on it.  Put all the papers in the 1st pile in it.  If you don't have a file folder handy, and let's face it, if we are dealing with chaos, we might not have all the supplies we need, then paperclip or rubber band them together.  The DO TODAY folder is your new friend.  Don't put anything in there unless you really mean to deal with it today, OK?  By the time your day is over, it should be empty.

4. Now, dealing with these other three piles.  Here's what I'm hoping to do.  I have a basket on my desk that holds files in a vertical position.  Mine happens to be a Longaberger basket that I've had for many years.  The plan is to put my DO TODAY folder in the front of that basket and then create folders for those things I need weekly and put behind it.  Examples for me:

• Faculty meeting folder
• Music staff paper
• Invoices to pay
• Papers to grade
• Papers to return

The challenge for me will be resisting the urge to stick other things in there!

5. Now, for those things that we use every day, I believe setting up some kind of command central would be helpful.  I found a clever organizer who has excellent instructions on setting up a command central notebook. Household Binder

I believe you should have one for home and one for your workplace.  I am planning to set one up for my workplace -- at least I'll start today!

6. Long term storage (filing!) is going to need to be the subject for a future blog.  Filing is an animal of its own kind -- at least for us who are not-so-natural organizers.

Pictures will come in the future.  Since I am not-so-naturally organized, I do not have my camera with me today.  (Hmm... note to self, where should I put reminders and notes to myself?)

Let me know how this works for you, and I'll do the same.

Ready, set, CHALLENGE!