ORGANIZING ...OR NOT ORGANIZING?

Are you a Plopper, A Pile Maker, or just a Plain Procrastinator?

IF YOU ARE A PLOPPER, YOU:

Plop what's in your hand on the nearest counter?
Plop your keys down anywhere?
Put your stuff over what someone else plopped before you came home.

A GREAT SOLUTION TO CONSIDER:

Have a small container of some sort, preferably a lovely one, labeled with your name, and keep it near the door. PLOP your stuff in there. The container can be an old dressed up tissue box, a shoe box, a purse that stands up, or any container. If you can, set up a small bench by the door so everyone in the family can have a set up, as well.

This helps gathering your stuff up for sorting without having to dig for it.
Keeps the clutter to a minimum.
No one can say you moved their stuff and now they can't find it.
After you have sorted your stuff, remember to put the container back for tomorrow.

IF YOU ARE A PILE MAKER, YOU:

Write lists of things that need to be done but you can't find the lists in the pile.
Keep small torn pieces of paper with reminders, phone numbers without names, or a "note to self." These small pieces inevitably get lost in the pile long enough that you don't remember why you wrote them in the first place.
Keep the pile going until it falls over and then you try to reconstruct it and discover many things, prompting you to say: "Oh! That's where that is!"

SOLUTIONS TO CONSIDER:

If you have a smart phone, use it! As soon as you get some piece of information, put in the appropriate place: Notes-in which you can build in folders for similar topics-To Do, Contacts, Calendar, etc. If you can, sync your phone to your computer to have another convenient place for reminders.
If you don't have a smart phone or if it's too much for you to deal with, keep a notebook with you to mark down all the important things of the day.
Personally, I think a plain daily "To Do List", page by page, is easiest. But you can make the notebook to your liking, either dividing it into sections based on the task, chronologically according to priority and deadline. When you finish a task cross it off the list with the date it was done.
If you have a designated desk area, keep a small bulletin board for instant reminders.

IF YOU ARE A PROCRASTINOR, YOU:

Plop your stuff down.
Pile up your papers.
Put off things off.

SOLUTIONS TO CONSIDER:

Decide things have to change...even just a little.
Read all of the above suggestions and pick ONE that you can take on.
Set aside a time to tend to those annoying tasks, even one task.
Congratulate yourself when you've made some headway and point it out to your family.