Ahhh, Miss Carolyn, Trust you to put things in perspective. Some things are control issues. I don't carry currency anymore because that which I cannot help but do is not control. It is indeed unhealthy. Now I use a debit card. Criminy, I even feel the need to organize the currency in others wallets. Organization on the other hand is good. I wish I were as organized as Miss Barb.
One of my customer. She asked me to clean table. Never wanted me for over 6 months. Paper work 3 feet high. But not get papers out of (order). Got 6 Big boxes. labeled them middle Pile Right Side,etc. Took to office area. Right next to shredder :?:
I refer to myself as anal and OCD all the time. Psychologically speaking, I'm neither. I do not have an anal retentive disorder, nor an obsessive/compulsive disorder. I AM however extremely fastidious and meticulous, I abhor both dirt and clutter, and cleanliness and organization are a priority for me. I poke fun at myself because sometimes my attention to the details that make MY life pleasant really can look quite ridiculous to others. Here.....this is the kind of thing I mean. You KNOW you've GOT to be anal when........... ..........the "L" and "R" symbols on your contact lens case don't line up exactly, and it bugs you so much that you go back into the bathroom after you've taken your contacts out and stored them, to adjust the caps on the cases so the symbols line up. ..........the font style of the labels on your storage bins HAS to match. ..........and speaking of matching, so does the color of your beverage bottle and lunch tote. ..........there has to be a visual balance between all the folders on your desktop or you find yourself tilting your head one way or the other to balance things out. ..........the colors in the directions sent out with your daughter's baby sprinkle invitation had to match the colors in the invitation itself. ..........you make a note on you calendar of every time you color your hair, trim the dogs' nails, change out the fragrance holders, buy a new bag of dog food, change out your contacts, put the bleach tab in the toilet, get a haircut etc. That's in addition to other, normal things like birthdays, the dogs' Heartgard schedule, appointments. ..........you have a box of tissues in every room which must match the color and decor of the room. ..........you have a pair of sunglasses that you only wear on vacation. ..........you have many different colored pens so that the ink will match the color of the greeting cards you send out. ..........you've carefully counted the number of dots before each of these statements to make sure the ellipses are even.
OK Barb, what do you mean that's not you?? YOU'RE the one with a thousand tablecloths! How is that NOT anal?
Oh you are sooooo funny Barb and Ronni! I am being inspired to clean out my old and unused clothes today. Not normally a Sunday job, but a yearly job once the garden is cleaned up for the year and I unload my "rags" that I have been wearing all Summer. Then go shopping again (most likely at goodwill for my next batch of gardening wear). It always helps to have the things you don't want need or care about out of the house so you aren't cleaning around them (if I clean much, anyway, but I am not as meticuluos as Ronni by ANY stretch of the imagination... I wish I was more so, but I am not. Ronni, maybe you should do a "how-to" for organizing and staying organized with your system. I need all the help I can get to make it easier.
I'd be happy to help you, it's actually what I do for a living. My primary organizational philosophy is that everyone is different, therefore the same "system" won't work for everyone. Everyone has their own organizational style, and the trick to being an organizer is to find the style that works for the person being organized. The first organizational rule is (and you've heard it so many times it's hackneyed and cliched to death, but it's still absolutely true!) "A place for everything, and everything in its place." An organizational system is only as good as it can be maintained. And maintenance is dependent upon establishing places for things, AND THEN PUTTING THEM BACK THERE! The first organizational step, based on the above rule, is getting rid of stuff. 99% of people I organize just have too much stuff for the space it's in, and most of the time, much of that stuff is no longer used, so it just isn't needed anymore, but is still taking up space. This applies whether it's clothes, office stuff, gardening supplies, Christmas decorations...it doesn't matter what it is, most always a lot of it, or some of it, or half of it can be gotten rid of because it's not used/needed/wanted anymore. I can organize anyone. The trick is to a) get them to get rid of stuff, and b) find the system that works for them, so that they can maintain it once I'm gone. Once the system is established by me, it's up to the client to maintain it, so it's important to find the right "fit" for the client so that they will.
