On Organization

 I  find I am most creative when the ordinary things do not take much of my time and my mind. This usually involves some sort of order or routine, which may be done automatically almost. I am not, however, one for minimalism, so no Marie Kondo for me (does this object bring you joy? Yeah! That’s why I have it. Otherwise, it would be thrown out).

I am also not one for uniforms. I seldom wear the same style during a week, not to mention my entire life. I vacillate between sporty, casual to straight up glam. But the common thread here is easy, simple, straight-lined.

I found some things, call them hacks if you wish, that work for me.

1. Have a drawer with all the chargers, batteries, cables for all your electronics. Don’t leave them in the box the gadget usually came with: you will forget where you put the box. Have the drawer section for each type of device. I have one part for cameras, another for phone cables. When I leave for a trip, I just gather from the drawer what I need and when I return, it goes straight back there.


2. Have a binder (like this one or this one) for all the bills for a year. The trick is to organize it like this:

a. Write on the back of the cover the frequency of the bill: for instance: phone: monthly, water: quarterly. 

b. Have separators for each type of utility. 

c. In each separated section have the exact number of plastic sheets needed: e,g,, 12 for phone and 4 for water. 

d. Write on each plastic sheet the month in which it is supposed to come. 

e. When a bill is paid, it is put inside the corresponding plastic sheet, alongside the receipt. 

f. At the end of the year, all the contents of the folder go into a large envelope, and the binder is good to go for another year. 

3. Scan all your relevant documents and email them to you, save them in the cloud, have them on your computer. I have all my diplomas, insurance policies, car documents, house documents, etc.


4. Have copies of all your necessary documents. I went to a print shop and spent an hour or so making 2 copies of each document. Have more copies of the stuff that you know will need more (for instance, in Romania, they ask for a copy of your ID card, so I had more of these done).


5. Have all your essential documents in an easily reachable, preferably resistant to fire and waterproof, bag. Here you have some other valuable tips about what to do in case of emergency.


6. Put down in your agenda (I use Google calendar) the dates of expiration for essential things (insurance policies, car documents, etc.).


7. Buy neutral cards in bulk (like this or this). I bought a pack of 50 (including the envelopes) from Jysk (They don’t seem to have them on the website) and had used them for all events. It saves a lot of time trying to find a proper card, and I don’t have to run to the bookstore/supermarket every time I need to go to a birthday party or wedding.


8. If you are on medication (including vitamins) make a note of the dates until you have the pills (how long the current batch will last); for instance, my vitamin D batch will last until February 5. Keep the list somewhere visible ((it may be in your task list, on your phone – I keep it in my vitamin pack, so I can check it daily, see what I’m running out of)


9. If you are on medication or your significant other, parents, kids, etc., learn from hospitals, and make a list of medicine, dosage, and frequency, placed in an easily reachable spot, that everyone knows. Like this, in case of emergency, everyone, including the first responders, has an idea about what to do. I have my lists on the back of a drawer door.


10. Invest in sous-vide bags or vacuum sealer bags (like these or these) to use with your vacuum. I store all the things I don’t wear throughout the year in them, as well as my comforter, which takes a lot of place during the summer.

There it goes. The first ten things that keep me organized that I could think of for now. There are some others, but where is the fun in listing more than 10?

What are yours? Any good hacks to share?

Photo source: Pixabay (Karolyn83)