Inspiration for Organization

I've always loved organization.  But as I got into this wonderful world of having kids, I stopped being any more organized than I absolutely needed to be for survival.

Now that Bode is four and a half, I feel like this January has been my best ever.

And if you're in the mood to get organized, I'll share what has helped this crazy mother along.

First off for me was January's issue of Better Homes and Gardens.  I perused it during the Christmas break, and it made me itch to get back home and clean off my desk.

My desk has always been the thorn in my side.  I've never been able to stay on top of the paperwork.  It has certainly never stayed clean longer than a week.  And while this may not seem monumental to you, I am proud to say that it's been perfectly clean before bed, every night, for three weeks.  I sure hope I have turned over a new leaf.

I think the secret is that I've applied the Flylady's shiny kitchen sink theory to my desk.  It must have taken me three years to consistently get the kitchen sink clean before bed each night.  Prior to that I didn't try at all, due to the fact that I was nursing babies, changing diapers, not sleeping through the night, etc.  

Of course, the Flylady wouldn't quite approve of my sink.  Only the left half shines.  The right half usually has dishes from late night snacks, but I don't mind... as long as they're covered in a mound of Mrs. Meyer's honeysuckle dishsoap bubbles.  Somehow that makes it okay.

So applying the kitchen sink theory to my desk is simply this:  It must be clean before bed.  Every night.

To get things started, I put away all the stuff that I didn't really need (and probably should be filed, but I never got around to it) in a remote file drawer under my desk.  And only kept out the stuff that really matters.

I reclaimed a cute container from my gardening armoire to be my catch-all, and this is all I'm allowing myself to keep on my desk.  My desk, by the way, is one half of a country pine table.  It's roughly one quarter of the office that is shared by four or five of us, so I have to be content to keep my little corner of the world tidy.

I have a few active files on the side of my storage armoire.

And pretty new things always help me get organized.  I love these antique-looking butterfly file folders.

This is it.  It may not be much, but it's tidy and I'm happy.

I take care of paper work daily, instead of weekly, monthly or when I'm in trouble :-)

And you know how it goes... you organize one spot, and it leads to more!  You should see my bathroom.  And schoolroom!  I'm sure I'll keep it up... until gardening season starts.

Happy January!

P.S.  I can't help myself.  I have to post pictures of my bathroom.  Look at those cute bird stickers down below!