An Entropic Woman's Guide To Organization

Someone once told me that there are two types of people, and although I'm more of a "shades of gray" thinker, there is definitely some value in their perspective. I digress, someone once told me that there are two types of people, those who try to control their external world because their inside world is in constant disarray and those in control of their inner world, who don't mind if the world around them is in continuous chaos. I would fall under the latter.

Those who need external control like to make lists, schedules, spreadsheets—the folks whose refrigerators have whiteboards with grocery lists on them or meticulously budget out every dime that flows through their accounts. Lists give me anxiety; budget sheets make my heart-rate reach stroke level. Schedules? Never. I much prefer to keep my to-do lists in my head.

If you are reading this and saying to yourself, "this is me," I have fantastic news! Here is an excellent method to keep track of things. It will help if you remember that you swallow things in pieces, not wholes. In terms of schedules, take it each day at a time—no need to commit your whole week to memory. Every night look at the next day, or for less busy people the next three days. To conquer the issue of lists, when you go to the store, the first things you put in your cart are those you came there for. This reduces the chances of your memory failing you. If we are talking about remembering things you need when you leave the house in the morning, I like to put these items in my bag as I think of them instead of forcing recall in the half-asleep shuffle I do at 5am. Now in the budgeting area, I don't think I'm in much of a position to advise as I have a set income and frugality tends to keep me safe from outspending it.

Another aspect of my personality that inhibits using standard organizational methods is my unnaturally short attention span. Maybe I'm dusting, but a dirty dish on the counter starts screaming my name, so I stop in the middle of what I'm doing to attend to it. While I'm washing the plate, I notice a streak on the stainless steel refrigerator—side note, whoever decided stainless steel was a trend must have been under the influence. So I bounce over to the refrigerator and take care of the streak. So on and so forth. This is how I clean.

If you too find yourself in a similar situation, I have the perfect prescription for your ailment. I once lived with an artist. Many nights I would sit at his side and watch him create his masterpieces. He would start in one corner, one or two lines with no definitive shape. Abruptly he would move to another corner and do the same. To someone watching, it seemed so chaotic. No form, no indication that these lines would one day converge to form a single image. Yet, over time you would begin to see the development of figures. It occurred to me that he saw the completed image detail for detail in his head before making his first pencil stroke.

What does this story have to do with keeping your house organized? I'll tell you. Saturday's are my cleaning days. I begin my work at 7am and finish just before 5pm. If you walked into my house around 11am or 2pm, you might consider it unorganized, just as I saw the artist's drawing as chaotic during his process. I embrace the attention deficit within myself, and I suggest you do the same. Like the artist, I do a little here and a little there. Wherever my attention draws me, I clean, not pressuring myself to complete one task at a time. Chip away at the whole. By 5pm Saturday, my house is a masterpiece!

On the topic of spring cleaning, I feel compelled to give you a little history. Years ago, I sold nearly everything I owned and spent a year living as a minimalist. Fast forward to the present, post procreation, and I have a house full of stuff. Some of this stuff is necessary to create a stable living environment, but an insane amount of this stuff is just the natural side effect of bringing a new human into the world. If you are anything like me, too much stuff feels heavy. Warm weather starts to blow in, and I always notice the no longer used things accumulating around my living space. The response to this clutter is a panic-induced purge.

A good rule of thumb is that if it hasn't been used within a year, get rid of it. There are consignment stores, the Facebook marketplace, and charities like Habitat for Humanity or Grace Works for the environmentally conscious. When it comes to everyone else, there's always the trash can: either way, no need to resign yourself to the notion of becoming a future hoarder.

What works for me may not work for you, but knowing how you operate is the first step to finding the perfect organizational routine. If you try to force yourself to use methods that don't work with your brain's way of processing and organizing information, you will find yourself frustrated and no closer to being organized than the day before.