Clobbering Clutter

School's been in for what, 3 weeks now? Are the papers driving you crazy yet? Is your New And Improved School Organization System at the brink of failure? OR are you saying to yourself, now that we're in the swing of the school year, I guess it's time for me to get around to all that organizational stuff I kept putting off until school starts. Welcome to it, my little minx!

How can we Clobber Clutter? I have a few overall tips. But of course, dahling!

Aim Low
Realize that your goal should not be “Get Totally Organized”. Impossible. Overwhelming. Never gonna’ happen. Sorta’ like me saying, “Hey, I should drop 15 lbs., so I’m going off to climb Mt. Everest.” Not a chance of that ever coming to fruition. Completely wrong scale, here.

Pick your Poison
No one I know rubs his or her hands gleefully and says, “I can’t wait to get organized”. It’s more of a defeat-est thing. Like, “I can’t take it another minute. I can’t get anything done. Guess I should break down and do something about this clutter problem.” Whatever the impetus, break the problem down into small, do-able goals:

• Tackle the paper on every flat surface in the house
• Pick a room to organize
• Choose to start with your desk/ kitchen cabinets/ kids toys

Assign a Happy Home for the wayward items

• Get a wire basket for the mail and put it on the counter where you “land” when you come in the door
• Get a hook for each person in the family. Each person has a hook to hang their raincoat / jacket /backpack – preferably in a closet
• Tools belong in a toolbox. Tool boxes belong in places like a garage or basement or work room.
• Library books. Hang a tote bag on a door knob and keep the library books in it.
• CDs. Keep a small CD box (I have one with a lid that closes) near the CD player and put the ones you play the most in that.
• Toys. Well, that’s a stand-alone category. You may want to decide where toy zones are and organize from there. That is, unless you have particularly neat kids, and then, I probably can’t relate to you at all.

Well, there's more wisdom I can impart, but it's a holiday still and I have a little more cocktailing to do, so if you'll excuse me, I'll hit this weighty issue tomorrow, Scarlet!

Cheers!