Organizing, Anytime, All the Time

With the dreaded spring forward fast approaching and the weather getting steadily warmer, cleaning may or may not be on the brain. I know with COVID many of us have had an opportunity to basically do a deep dive into re-organizing and downsizing so hey, maybe it’s good to take a break for a year. Some of us have decided to live more consciously as we’ve evaluated our belongings. That unfortunate saying – “what you own owns you” comes to mind.

We have all become familiar with Japanese home organization superstar Marie Kondo. She is petite and known for certain rules of thumb. I agree that accumulating things or holding onto things that detract from life is not helpful. But since I’ve been organizing since I was barely 3 when I started with beads and puzzle pieces, I think I know a thing or several. I’m somewhat known for my ability to keep large datasets and files organized in my workplace, so yes, I’m arrogant enough to believe that Marie Kondo has nothing on me.

Speaking for myself, spring cleaning typically comes before the Lunar New Year. The idea is that in cleaning before the new year, we’re sweeping out bad luck and creating space for positive energy to come in. Now, Lunar New Year has already come and gone this year, which means I can consider cleaning again. Never clean during the New Year, as that would sweep out good luck and make room for bad.

This year I decided to instead be progressive and careful. I downsized when I moved during COVID, and I’m quickly approaching yet another move. I’m being aware each time I wear a piece of clothing or a bag about how worn it is, if it’s a struggle for me to even want to wear it, if I like how it fits – and then I’ll either keep, donate, or trash the said item.

I’ve always had a tendency towards organizing, and re-organizing things until I’m satisfied with them. Surprisingly, I did not end up ever considering supply chain management as a career choice, but I do practice FIFO/FEFO (first-in, first-out; first-expired, first-out) with my medical supplies and foods. Saves a lot of money and ensures that I’m not wasting anything. Organizing my fridge and medical supplies becomes simple that way. The type of item might dictate where it goes – fruit, vegetable, eggs, tofu, condiments, long-acting insulin, short acting insulin, lancets, test strips, pen needles, and syringes – but always organized by date. My cabinets/pantry space are always in somewhat of an ordered disarray, simply because there’s several different varieties of carbohydrates from which to choose – salty, sweet, bland. Still FIFO/FEFO, but never is an opened item in the back where I’d never consume it and end up needing to toss it out due to staleness. Naturally, living in a small apartment, I’ve had to be creative about the limited storage space – items do end up in larger pots and pans, but doing so in groupings helps me be aware that they exist.

My alcohol is a much more interesting experience as I’m expanding my ability to mix up different drinks. I’ve grouped the types of alcohol but let’s use vodka as an example. There’s no real reason for me to have more than a single bottle of a single flavor by the same maker. These are all organized instead by the group type, and then the bottle size – big in the back, small up front. An important exception here is the alcohol I’ve regretted buying, which goes in a separate area for consumption with my small COVID bubble (I feel no shame in admitting this, I know you do it too), or whenever I don’t want to touch the good stuff.

My books are where I am in direct contradiction with Marie Kondo. Her rules don’t work for those of us who love to enjoy the smell, feel, and action of reading a physical book as opposed to consistently adventuring out with both our bodies and our minds. For me, I love to continue adventuring with my mind when my body is tired. I was an avid reader and book collector until I started college in 2009. I don’t want to let go of my books because I fully intend to read, re-read, and complete all of these series, and expand into others. My goal is to have an at-home library, wine, cellar, and bar by the time I retire. Letting go of these in favor of those asinine Nooks or Fire tablets would be very counterproductive. I organize my books first by hardcover/softcover, and then by size. Usually, the softcovers will go on top of the hardcovers so all my books can be easily accessed and the space maximized. I haven’t bought many books since my time was conquered by adult life – work, chores, exercise, repeat – but I am determined that there will be many places for my mind to wander while my body rests. I don’t have much use for organizing my books by alphabet or author per se. Since I tend towards series, the series goes in order from left to right, which automatically means that there’s an author organization element. It may or may not also surprise you to find that many authors tend to use the same publishing house, so their books are always printed in the same size hardcover or softcover. There is a slight uncomfortable decision moment when I have both softcovers and hardcovers in a series – but the softcovers go on top.

This brings me to the next big organization area – clothing. I’ve been more or less the same size clothing for since I was 16. This means that I do in fact have clothing that is more than a decade old but not out of style nor worn out – it’s just not made anymore. Clothing I arrange by work or pleasure, then by the season. Working in a scientific lab means that the only thing that is guaranteed is that I’ll always be wearing pants and closed toed shoes. I’ve got some work shirts – T-shirts/short sleeves first, then long sleeves in progressive order of how nice they are. Since I use my closet to store many things, my dresses get grouped where there’s space for the long fabric to hang, and all the shorter items like shorts above the taller cabinets. I’m not particularly trend conscious – I wholeheartedly believe that what looks good on me will look good on me no matter what. Dressers are an interesting experience – I just group by the clothing item. Sometimes newer items or older ones will end up in different areas as the default of finding a good deal perhaps a little before it’d be ideal.

Now, you may be familiar with the practice of putting coats and winter boots, clothes, hats, gloves, et cetera away during the warm season. Please, for the love of all things good, never put them in an attic unless it’s climate controlled and checked on semi-regularly. Especially if when living somewhere that gets blazing hot, like south Texas for example. I’ve seen so many people have to toss out these items because they get damaged by the heat, termites, or other critters. For myself – I do put these items up on the high shelves where they’re out of the way, and then bring them down when it’s cold again.

Here comes the dreaded bathroom. I’ve never had a good method for this. Usually shampoo, soap, conditioner, incense, and candles go under the sink. Cleaning supplies I keep under my kitchen sink instead. I keep makeup in a caddy by type, and perfume with my jewelry. I so miss wearing lipstick. Linens are in the closet, neatly stacked by type.

Organizing physical items are so, so much easier than organizing electronic files and e-mails. There’s folders for the e-mails – banks, personal, school, work. Bank and work both have subfolders for type and project respectively. Electronic files are similarly organized by the course material/project, and date. Then backed up not once but 3 times. Thankfully, unlike physical items there’s that handy little search bar for easy access.

I’ll leave this with a few words of wisdom: organize by creating groups and categories. Sort by some criteria – size or date are good ones. Make sure you are removing items that make you feel bad unless they serve a purpose. Removing items does not mean that they need to be replaced. Keep doing the things that make you feel good – whether it’s plants, pets, clothes, books, or another hobby – if those items don’t drag you down and you feel at home surrounded by them, Marie Kondo is utterly wrong. We all need our happy place(s). If that is a library at home, or out somewhere in a park, have at it.