The Zen of Getting Organized

Sometimes, I'm afraid I'm turning into my aunt Johnny. My aunt Evelyn (inexplicably nicknamed "Johnny") was a school teacher, and a hoarder. I didn't know her very well; the last time I really remember seeing her was a long time ago when I won the county spelling bee. Yes, I was the first ever Columbia County, New York spelling bee champion! It was held at a school where Johnny taught, so she was there to witness my triumph!

My Dad always says, "you should put that on your writer's resume, along with the junior high essay contest you won." I won a school contest, went up to Albany, attended a banquet, and met the then Governor of NY. (I even had my work published in the New York State Library...but I don't think that's the kind of credentials Conde Nast Traveler is looking for?)

I lost at the state wide bee in Syracuse that summer. I confess, studying the dictionary on my summer vacation wasn't very exciting, and I folded like a house of cards in the first round of the spelling bee. I never saw Johnny much after that, but she was the stuff of family legend. "Don't get like Johnny!" my mother would warn me, when my clutter would start to rise. I'm told that when Johnny would have too much stuff, she'd simply rent an apartment to warehouse it. She even BOUGHT a house just to hold it all!

When Johnny died, I'm not sure what her poor daughter did with all that stuff. As Johnny got older, she would clean her Mom out, then the clutter would mysteriously reappear. As I've been focusing on writing, I seem to gather more and more research--magazines, articles from magazines, notes, clips, and all sorts of stuff. If you're a writer, I'm sure you can relate to having lots of research.

But what to do with it all? And do all the piles of clutter, have an effect on the writing? Can it really hold you back creatively? I can only answer that for me, clutter was holding me back in my writing. I'm not talking about grand scale clutter like Johnny's (or maybe the legendary Collier Brothers?)

My clutter is on a smaller scale, but pernicious just the same. About two weeks ago, I decided to go right into the belly of the beast. Attack the piles. I felt really stressed doing so. Letting things build up, them going through it all, deciding what to keep, what to toss, what to file and where to file it, was a bit nerve racking and overwhelming. But on the other side, there has been a feeling of peace and calm I wouldn't trade for anything. I know that getting more organized has definitely helped my writing this month.

I've stayed organized for these two weeks. No new piles, no new clutter. I've had to be really diligent not to let myself slip back into old ways, of gathering things and piling them up.

It's been worth it though. I was able to edit an article I wrote a while ago and submit it to the travel site Bootsnall. I started researching and writing something else, too. And I created an online portfolio at AuthorsDen. I had been feeling a little blocked when surrounded by clutter, but after the cleanout, I felt clearer, with a renewed sense of energy and purpose.

I really like Cheryl Richardson's book, "Take Time For Your Life," which I read last January. In the book, she talks about "energy drains." We all have an inner barometer, with so much energy available to live our life. It's like deposits and withdrawals to a bank account. We all, as human beings, have only just so many precious reserves. Negative things we do, like accumulating clutter, draw down on our energy reserves and make us unproductive and unwell. Positive things we do for ourselves physically and emotionally, make our energy levels rise. This seems like a pretty basic concept but one a lot of people don't think about. For me, cleaning out my clutter removed a layer of static in my life, allowing me to see what needed to be done, giving me the energy to reach my goals.

If you have a severe clutter problem, consider The National Association of Professional Organizers. Go to their website and plug your zip code into their search engine, and find a professional organizer in your area. Go to the library or browse online booksellers for some books on how to get organized. Me, I'm a do-it-yourselfer. How did I vanquish my clutter? Somewhere (and I honestly can't recall where) I remember hearing the phrase "SPACE" which stands for:

*SORT
*PURGE
*ASSIGN
*CONTAINERIZE
*EQUALIZE

First, go mano-a-mano with your clutter, sorting it all out (music or TV, will keep you company in this lengthy, often tedious, even maddening process.) Throw out stuff you don't need, be strict with yourself too (my mantra: when in doubt throw it out!) Make up categories for what you want to keep (this is called assigning) and places to hold it all (the containerizing step.) Finally, "equalize" by staying vigilant to new clutter. On a weekly basis (or daily if you're a hardcore packrat, you know who you are!) weed out the new clutter and file away new or existing items in their containers.

With these steps I have saved myself from a life like the poor Collier Brothers (tunneling through my clutter with a hardhat and a flashlight.) Getting more organized has made me a whole lot more peaceful, I feel more creative and without the energy drains of my clutter, I feel more productive. Give clutter busting a try, and see how it affects your writing.