How to be COMPLETELY messy while being PERFECTLY organized?

Note this article is for those of us that put in minimal effort to keep ourselves organized. If you're a neat freak, don't read this, it will only make you angry.

If you walk into my living space (I say living space because it includes my playroom as well as my bedroom) you might trip over some clothes, or a bundle of wires. In my room you'll notice my bed in on the ground but I still have a broken frame that takes up a quarter of the room size. You'll also notice I don't hang up or fold any of my clothes, they're all on the ground. If you walk over to my computer space you'll see papers sprawled across the desk, random CDs , books, empty coffee cups and bottles, etc, etc. All this mess yet I consider myself to be organized?

If you take all things into consideration, being organized is pointless. Unless you're a neat freak and must have everything in a certain place, organization is mostly for presentation. I don't allow friends to go in my room and my family resides in other parts of the house-my space is myspace(.com). Why do you make your bed every morning? You're only going to get right back into it the next night and presumably make another mess out of your sheets. Why do you put your clothes in drawer? I have a lot of shirts, so it would actually take more time to grab a shit that's all the way at the bottom of my deep drawers rather than pick it up out of a hanger or off the floor. If anything, I hang my shirts and t-shirts that have been dry cleaned. Those also happen to be the shirts that I wear the least, maybe once a month.

So how do you do it? Just think about it. What are the most essential objects that you use on a daily basis. For me it would be: my cell phone, wallet, chapstick, remote control, lotion/deoderant, my ipod(if I still had it) and maybe one or two other things. If you notice people usually miss place the same things over and over again. I used to walk out the door with out my cell phone or ipod all the time. I would go back in, grab my phone, and then realize I forgot something else. The solution to this problem? Isolate your essential personal items like your wallet and cell phone to one defined area. The best method for doing this is by using some sort of box or basket-I used a small brown box. The next step is key, place your box/basket closest to your door. I'm lucky because I have a closet right next to where I enter/exit. This will allow you to grab your items as you leave, or as needed. Place all objects in the box anytime they're not being used.

Creating your box will solve half of your problems. The next thing you will need to do is define what I call "zones" in your living space. I have about 3 or 4 zones; my sleeping zone, my work zone and my entertainment zone. My work zone and entertainment zone sort of merge together but that fine, I also have sub zones but those aren't worth mentioning. The whole idea behind zones is, if you group similar items together, it will be easier to find them when you need them. For example, don't mix your clothes with you electronics. Clothes should be grouped with like items like shoes, toiletries, towels, sheets, etc. I have those items in my room, around my bed, on the floor or a chair. You have to get comfortable with your zones and use common sense to find items. I know that if I'm at my computer for an hour or so, everything I need will be with in an arms reach.

I just want to make it clear, this method is not a substitute for hygiene. I'm obsessed with keeping things clean but not organized. I don't bring food up to my living space and if I do, I dispose of it ASAP. My floors stay clean because I don't wear shoes around my living space. Something I suggest everyone does is hire someone to clean your bathroom/living space once or twice a week. I'm lucky because I live with my parents and we have someone clean the house twice a week. I let the person vacuum my room, and clean my bathroom but she always ends up reorganizing my room. I know you might think you can't afford someone to clean your room-I disagree. I bet you could find someone to atleast clean your bathroom for 30-60 bucks twice a week. The amount of time that they would spend cleaning would be less than an hour so you would probably be paying them more than they would make elsewhere. Note, this step is not essential to achieving organizational success, it's merely and additive that some people might accept.

To conclude, how do I know this system works for me? I know because every time my room gets "cleaned" I misplace things more frequently. When people move my electronics from my electronic zone, it takes me longer to find them. When people go in my room and try to do my laundry, I can't find articles of clothing. When I leave my clothes on the floor and do my laundry once a week, I have no problem finding anything. This method wont work for everyone, that's fine, but everyone can at least benefit from the "essentials box". I didn't cover everything in this article so if you have additional questions or comments, email me @ tgiffilms@gmail.com.

officially,

the POPular GURU