So I am trying to get organized little by little my place is going from disorganized to extremely organized ( keeping it organized is another job in itself lets not go there)

What I am having trouble organizing and keeping organized stems from 3 areas

1) papers i.e bills , important documents , research stuff ,...etc I never know when I should safe and when not to. I am assuming it is better to save when in doubt.
This leads 99% of the time to me having to go thru tons of papers....
But my question is I was planning on going to a local store like staples but I don't know what the best thing to get for long term storage and easy access.
Main area is to organize my bills , recites ,...etc ( there is alot of choices and alot of good ones but I am think long term I don't want to run out of space or if I do I would like the ability to easily add on storage that matches and fits into the most economical spaces. (not being a heavy object is another thing I want to consider as well )
As well as the easiest one to keep organized and find stuff when needed in sort time.

2) Always have trouble keeping clothes organized is there some simple storage thing I can buy to do this. Which one do you recommend / do you think is the best.
I have been organizing by types of clothes though I have so many it gets hard to store. And I unintentionally disorganize them since I am constantly pulling thing out pushing things in, throwing things on top of ,...etc

3) electronics and computer stuff like wires/cableing , devices , small connectors ,...etc I always have trouble finding what I need even if I put them in boxes... since I tend to pull them out and when I do I disorganize little by little the other items in the box/storage area. I am looking for something that would easilly store and keep track of wires , cd/dvd'd , electronic components , and tools for the most part.
But I have so many things in this area that it is hard to find a storage area to cover this board area.

I think this all hinders on sometimes me being alittle lazy but there still must be better ways to organizes.

Your guys/girls thoughts

 

sounds like you have a problem staying organized... I have similar issue (I believe it is procrastination

for clothes, I have a bamboo stand with several drawers which is cheap and works well because I can shove it in my closet. Obviously drawers separate out the clothes. I also try to keep as much as I can on hangers as it is the easiest for neatness.

there are a lot of things for components, you have to learn to keep it organized, maybe set a day every week to put things back in order? (which I myself never do, but I do not have a lot of things...)

 

I'm a slob. I have no idea why I haven't been written up for the condition of my work area. My wife stays perpetually pissed off at me for leaving things where she thinks they don't go. I have always been this way. It was the cause of 90% of the beatings I received as a child. Momma couldn't beat it out of me. I'm also scatterbrained and forgetful and a procrastinator. Through the years I've bought all kinds of gadgets that were intended to help me stay organized and on task. Drawers, boxes, totes, pegboards, organizers, day planners, calendars, PDA, etc. They never work. My drawers get stuff piled up on top of them (stuff that's supposed to be on the pegboard) and I forget to write the stuff down in my planner, but that's inconsequential because I forget to read the damn thing too. I really made efforts in this area but never seemed to improve. I gave up, but you can't really tell, because there was never anything to show for trying. I don't buy silly things like that anymore, waste of money and space for me. I just keep my crap at home in the garage, my designated area for doing things other than eating & sleeping. Nobody is allowed to whine about my mess there because its MY friggin area.

 

For those who have a cluttered desk, Albert Einstein addressed the issue ... http://voices.yahoo.com/albert-einstein-questions-meaning-uncluttered-10664307.html


After all, a cluttered desk is a sign of a busy mind. What sign is illustrated by an empty desk?

As far as the OP goes, scan your documents and file them in a folders like you would file in a filing cabinate. The main directory would be Year ... then document type .... et al. You can go as many levels as you want. Don't get carried away with his resolution graphics, but 150 dpi would suffice as the max. If your saving stuff for tax records, I would keep them organized. The IRS, if your in the states, allows electronic documentation.

Happy scanning.

 

well , maybe doomed to be disorganized , procrastinator , scatter.brain..etc for life

But is there any way to optimize my organizational abilities and keep it optimized or cop-able.

You gave me nice organizational storage ideas but what about the mind set of an organized person is there anyway to switch mine over to the way the think a little bit.
Can this be improved for long term... is there any brain exercises for the mind to train it to stay organized ?

Also for question 1
to what extend to you save papers bills ,...etc would you shred the utility bills or keep them after paying , (need you only save statements from your job or bank / once in awhile recites from big purchases ...etc)
Or would you save everything and keep saving it for all of time. ( or maybe just 5years back ...duno ? what is save for the irs and other billing things ,...etc )

 

The most sucessful engineer I ever knew had an office so cluttered, that if one struck a match in there, the whole thing would go up in flames in just seconds.

 

well , maybe doomed to be disorganized , procrastinator , scatter.brain..etc for life

But is there any way to optimize my organizational abilities and keep it optimized or cop-able.

You gave me nice organizational storage ideas but what about the mind set of an organized person is there anyway to switch mine over to the way the think a little bit.
Can this be improved for long term... is there any brain exercises for the mind to train it to stay organized ?

Also for question 1
to what extend to you save papers bills ,...etc would you shred the utility bills or keep them after paying , (need you only save statements from your job or bank / once in awhile recites from big purchases ...etc)
Or would you save everything and keep saving it for all of time. ( or maybe just 5years back ...duno ? what is save for the irs and other billing things ,...etc )

if I ever find a way to make myself think like an organized person, I'll let you know. From where I sit, I say you might just be doomed.

As for bills and stuff, I keep them until I run out of room, and then I throw away half the stack, from the bottom down. But you probably don't want advice from me...

 

I have a small accordian file with 12 slots in it, one for each month. I put all the bills for a month in it's slot, after marking the bill as paid wiht the chech number, etc. At the end of the year, I take out all the bills, in the same order as they were in the file, wrap a big rubber-band around the whole mess, label the year and throw in into a box. Then I take out the bundle that's >5 years old and shread it.

 

Brown out I like your idea about the paper fileing

Seems if I add on to your idea and get labels for the months / years for these accordion binder this could make it easy I think I will try something like that some day

To see if it works for me

Thanks for the tip