Order

If you were to look around my house or my desk at work, you might be led to wonder if I know what the word organization means.

This early in the school year, it isn't too bad. I haven't reached the overwhelming exhaustion that comes with trying to eat healthy, work out, and generally take care of oneself while also worrying about the well-being of the students under one's care.

But slowly, ever so slowly, things begin to get cluttered.

At least, that is what it looks like from the outside. If you were to peek inside my brain, however, you'd see that everything has its place.

Take my desk at work, for example. When I was a classroom teacher, my desk would frequently be littered with grading and planners and the random odds and ends confiscated from students during class. The only time that I would organize my desk would be either when I became overwhelmed, or when I was going to be out and a substitute would be using my desk.

As an interventionist, I don't have grading. However, I see multiple groups a day and very few of them overlap with the lessons that I have to teach them. So I will often have stacks of handouts, lessons, and other materials on my desk. It may seem unorganized to some, but I always know what is what. (I will point out that sticky notes are my friend.) And, of course, I will still collect things from students when they get distracted.

At home, everything has its place. However, I will point out that it doesn't always make sense to other people. I have hair products in three different places in my house, organized by how I use them; daily or almost daily products are on my vanity in my bedroom, like my refresher spray. Tools that require plugging in, such as my straight iron or my blow dryer, go under the bathroom sink. And tools that are only used when I feel like experimenting are in a storage tub beside my bed that also serves as a nightstand.

I learned when I began living alone that I had to find my own path to organization. Some methods I got from my parents; if there is a cabinet above the dishwasher, that is where the clean dishes go. The cabinet to the left of the stove is where the spices go. Some methods I got from friends and roommates; I hang my clothes first by type (skirts, shirts, dresses, pants) and then by color. However, the color part has somewhat gone by the wayside as I've gotten rid of and bought new clothes. And gotten a little lazy.

On my bookshelves, my books are organized by author's last name. If the books are a series, they'll be in order as well. But I'm not so particular that the authors within a specific letter, say, F, all must be in order within their letter. I had an argument one time with a roommate (one who wasn't particularly fond of books) who insisted that they needed to be organized by color to be more aesthetically pleasing. The thought of my books being so scrambled up almost gave me anxiety.

The thing is, there are levels to my organization. My mugs are on the same shelf in the cabinet, but they're not organized by size. My skirts aren't organized by length. My bathroom towels aren't organized by color. Even the folders on my computer are only loosely organized.

I've found that this is what works for me. If someone asks me to find something in my house or on my desk, I can find it. But I learned that not everyone can deal with my version of organization.

I can't even remember what it was, but I remember a roommate asking in frustration, "Doesn't this bother you?"

I shrugged. "If it bothers me, I'll do something about it."

Which is a phrase that I'm trying to use in all aspects of my life. Some things I just don't feel are that serious; I don't actually have the patience to organize my mugs, but my reusable glass containers are stacked according to size. I have ziplock bags with my puzzles in them, but they've all been tossed into a storage bin until I get a card table or something on which to do them (and time, that's important).

This method of organizing my life has been extremely helpful. When it's time to move in with someone in the future, I already know what kinds of things are non-negotiables and what things I can easily adapt to when it comes to observing someone else's organizational style. My more laid-back approach to organization might not be enough for someone else, so I'm sure I'll do some adjusting.

In the meantime, however, I'll continue to enjoy the contentment of organizing things the way I want.

It works for me.