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Advice pls for 'going through my stuff' 1st time
kenzi | Apr 5 2006
I can't put it off any longer and must go through my stuff. I can't move forward with GTD until I do this, but it still feels like a monumental task to me. I am going to start this weekend, and take Monday off to do it. I would greatly welcome any advice you all can give me to help me through this, especially stuff that the book didn't tell you but you wish you knew before you did it. Here is some background: the place where 95% of my stuff is, is my home office/home. I have a job that pays the rent, but it's not an issue with respect to GTD except as an action item: go to work. I run a small business out of my home (I import handicrafts from Morocco and sell them on my website kenzi.com, plus I am a henna artist taking clients at home but also doing house calls. My home office/store is about 40% of my home; I work on my computer, store my inventory, process orders, welcome clients, etc. all at home. I also work on some creative projects, some of them for the business and some just for pleasure. A lot of my business stuff is mixed in with my home stuff, plus I have boxes that I haven't unpacked since I moved 4 years ago, boxes with work stuff in them. I have mapped out my home showing where there are piles of papers (my main organizational nemesis) and also boxes of stuff to go through. I also plan to deal with the personal/home stuff as well as the work stuff since the overall disorganization of my home/home office is making me crazy. I live in a loft with NO closets (though working on buying armoires) and only open space. I have a lot bookshelves and one filing cabinet. I think that I should buy another filing cabinet. I think that is sufficient background, but feel free to ask me any questions. I really welcome any suggestions you may have. 35 Comments
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 I did my kitchen last...Submitted by kenzi on April 6, 2006 - 3:27pm.
I did my kitchen last year (with labels and everything...my husband says it looks like a kitchen in a day care center) and it was actually fun. I hate throwing away food, but in the interest of saving space, it felt good to throw things away. I did the clean-out as part of painting my kitchen, so the end result was a BIG change on the outside and the inside...very gratifying. I think that kitchens are easy to organize because there is a logic to them: dishes in one place, food in another, spices near the stove, cooking implements also near the stove, silverware near the dishes, serving stuff also near the dishes, turkey roasting pan (and other 2-3x year items) above the fridge or in the basement (somewhere not too far away and still accessible, but not in your face). The thing I had trouble with was all my "tupperware" stuff..that ends up being a big pile of plastic crap. That is a good argument for buying one of those sets because everything is made to fit together and store easily. It's also a good argument for not getting take-out, or at least recycling the containers. I finally managed to nest all the round stuff together, and all the square stuff together, and I used a plastic bin to store all the lids. All the suggestions are great...I need those practical bits of advice from people who have gone through this. Also helpful is the knowledge that there is "the other side", that it's all worth it. I think I have hit bottom (my sign was that I had to got buy a scale because I couldn't find the one I usually use in the mess...I may find it in this sweep, but I like the new one better) so I know that I have to push through this. Keep your suggestions coming....I still have 2 days until I start. » POSTED IN:
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