apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Whoah. Loving both the 30 Rock love and the abolishment of the editorial "we"!

Haha! I'm actually guilty of having a drawer for all those extra buttons that come with clothes.

Regarding the buttons: I use a large square jar/canister for these buttons, and I love that it looks sculptural and colorful, and is ever changing. It doesn't have to be hidden away like so many other things.

I have a file folder for buttons, although I have to admit, I rarely have ever used any of the buttons.
I like the canister idea too.

Kenneth was so funny at the beginning of this episode asking Liz why she had all the little plastic boxes.

My clutter comes from buying those organizing boxes, then forgetting where the shiny pewter button is, and remembering I stashed some stray quarters somewhere.
Then the drawers are out of the boxes and the contents are my new carpet.
I vote for having 1 or 2 hidden areas of "big clutter" "fabric clutter" and "small object clutter" that way when you go crazy looking for something, you only have one organizing box to demolish, not 10.

design.is.good: that's a great idea! My grandmother did this, now that I think about it. I can't wait to go liberate mine from the tiny ziplocs they're currently in. I have the perfect jar too!

I have an oversized jewelry box... OK, it's really a silverware chest from a thrift store all painted and beautiful...

I collect costume jewelry, so I use a lot of the space for that, but the top level has several sections, one of which is where I toss all those pesky extra buttons. Another section is where I keep any coins I get that I think might be "worth something".

The first thing about clutter is to decide what you REALLY want to keep -- make the DECISION to keep things. Then store like with like.

I got some of those 3 drawer plastic units from Target that are the size to hold reams of paper, for a cupboard. One drawer is for batteries of all sizes that we use in the house. When the last 9 volt has been removed, we buy another one to put in the drawer so they are always on hand. Other drawers in these units hold pet stuff (nail clippers, medicine giving devices, catnip, etc.) and other small "category" items.

The biggest problem in my organizing of our household is tools. We have now got (my birthday present) one of those big rolling tool boxes for the garage. (Part 2 hasn't arrived yet, the smaller multi-drawer box for on top...) My domestic partner, however, wants tools at his fingertips. Going "Clear Out To The Garage" (you know, five steps past the kitchen door) is too much for him. So screwdrivers and wire cutters and things wander. Then he just leaves them the last place he used them and complains that he can't find them, like I am hiding them to be annoying! I'm trying to convince him how lovely it is to KNOW that they are always where they belong, easy to find, easy to put back!!! It's a losing battle.

I'm not the most perfect organizer but I did learn a lot from my Mom who did get things organized enough that we more or less knew where things were if they were put back in their rightful place to begin with.

When she used to sew, she had drawers labeled with the color of buttons, such as red, and a drawer for blue, didn't matter the shade if it was blue, it went in that drawer. All of her patterns were placed in inexpensive plastic dish pans on overhead bracket shelves, easy to find and to store. Today she uses those small plastic drawers found at Target and elsewhere with a label maker has a place for first aid stuff, makeup, office supplies and all that.

While I'm not quite to that stage I do have my system of organizing that keeps me mostly to the point that if I need something it is mostly where it should be.

My biggest weakness is I don't always put coats away, ties get stashed on top of the chest in the closet, sometimes my laundry sits for a week before I put it away and it usually is folded, but in the laundry basket on the floor One thing that I tend to get over run with is receipts, I try to just keep the current month and shred all previous months, that is until I know they have cleared the bank but I sometimes don't get to it for a month or 2 and currently I have a pile going on my landing strip in the living room and some in the bedroom. About time I pick things up, huh?

What is so hard about being organized and neat? I don't get it. Why would anyone let the folded laundry sit for a week before putting it away? Why is it hard to put away laundry? Or, hang up coats, fold sweaters and put them in drawers, keep buttons in a small box in a drawer, hang up a tie, etc? Who is so busy that they can't hang up a tie? It takes, what, 20 seconds?

After reading all the posts on AT about how messy and disorganized everyone is, I'm beginning to think we're a nation of people with such short attention spans and we're so easily distracted, that right in the middle of some small task we lose focus, go on to something else and leave the first task undone for days on end. And, after reading posts on AT, I imagine that people are up to their ankles in paper...receipts, bills, bank statements, junk mail, coupons...all crumpled up underfoot as folks shuffle around their apartment. And, it never occurs to anyone to pick them up.

Are people this disorganized at work, too? How does anyone ever complete tasks and finish projects at work? How is that different from completing tasks at home?

As always, people are a mystery to me.

Ms. Pea,

Being organized occurs in branches. Just because a particular part isn't very organized, it doesn't mean the tree isn't working. The fact that some people don't readily fold their laundry doesn't necessarily mean they're drowning in paper garbage.

There are people who are very organized at work, but let some things go at home. It depends on their level of comfort and time-management. It doesn't mean they have short attention spans.

Some people, like you, are gifted with micromanaging every aspect of their daily lives. Enjoy it and, teach by setting the example, instead of sighing and wishing the world were more homogeneous and possibly OCD.

Setting the example does rub off on people, even if it's not instantaneous.

My sentiments exactly Maroha.