Journal queenofthe1ring's Journal: organizing 2
I have a complicated relationship with organizing. I enjoy sorting things. Whenever we buy something that has to be assembled, I hijack the little bags of parts and sort them all according to type, size, etc. I sorted my crayons by color so that they would be (more or less) in rainbow order. (I do this with my socks as well, periodically. Yes I am aware that is weird.)
So I have some sort of OCD fixation with organizing some things. And then you look at my every day life. Piles of randomness. I understand it, but no one else could. Basically everything is a mess. My computer is probably one of the best examples of the worst. I have hundreds of folders. I can't even keep one type of item in any particular folder. There is no unified system.
Basically I will start storing things on my desktop for my frequently used items. The problem is I stop using them and leave them there. So when the desktop gets too cluttered, I move everything not associated with a current project to the home folder. The problem with that is, I will ignore them (out of sight, out of mind) and now my home folder is overwhelmingly full. So then I start putting all the files into random folders that sort of relate to what the file is.
So I've ended up with lots of duplicate type files, miscategorized and/or lost files, and just general mayhem.
Husband has been harping on me for my various organizational disasters (digital and physical) and made me check out this organizing book from the library last week. I also read that "getting things done" book earlier in the year, to no avail. The problem with these books is that they assume you have some sort of overarching theme to your life, which I don't really have.
I've decided to try to make some sort of organization. I started with the linen closet shelves. They already had a system, it just needed straightening up. So voila, one project down. I still have to do the floor, which will be a more serious undertaking. The way I reorganize usually consists of spreading everything out, and thus making a bigger mess than I had to begin with, before I put everything back in neatly. I don't have time to do that with the closet before husband gets home, so it will have to wait until tomorrow, since I don't really feel like being yelled at for making a new mess.
My first personal project is reorganizing my computer files (which is why I mentioned it in depth). The current book suggested to start with an area that you see and use everyday, and my computer definitely qualifies. So far I've cleared all but 3 files off of my desktop (I know where those are going, but that folder in my home directory hasn't been organized yet, and I don't want to make that folder worse). I've eliminated lots of duplicates. I've created new folders so that I can better group items.
And most importantly: I found a folder full of photos that I had thought were gone forever! I actually thought I had accidentally deleted these photos in a purge earlier in the year. Honestly, I was about to delete them thinking they were duplicates (for some reason I don't like deleting duplicate files) when I noticed a specific picture that I remembered taking and couldn't find in f-spot. Huzzah! So I imported them into f-spot and moved that folder to the trash. I still haven't "permanently removed" them due to my duplicate obsession, but at least they aren't in the home folder anymore.
I feel pretty excited about the organizing, if for no other reason than I found those photos. Hopefully I'll actually finish this organizational attempt, and stick with it.
I have a similar problem.... (Score:1)
When I used to have a lot of CDs and they weren't all stored as MP3's, my issue was a lot more obvious. Not only did I have the bands arranged alphabetically, but also in order of their release. If I got really motivated, I'd organize them by genre as well, but sometimes my music genres blur together too much, so they never really stayed that way.
You wouldn't know that if you saw my c
Re: (Score:2)
I think that is part of what my problem is. The way I want to have things becomes too complicated and frustrating for me to maintain, so I cram things just where ever. Plus I inherited my dad's love for piles. We like to make stacks of things. It makes sense to us, but no one else.
I am finding more and more that I really need to have organization. My brain doesn't function the way it used to whenever I fell into my old organization patterns. So I need to find something new that will work out and