1. Organizing Your Life

2. Organization Assessment
If you answered “false” to three or more of the questions above, you need to pay
close attention to the following Scholars lesson on organizing your life.

3. Myths About Organization
Myth: Organizing is the same as being neat.
Fact: Organizing is not about how a space looks, but how it functions

4. Myths About Organization
Myth: Organizing is a talent you’re either born with or not.
Fact: Organizing is a learnable skill.

5. Myths About Organization
Myth: Organizing is about throwing things away.
Fact: You can keep everything you want and still get organized.

6. Symptoms of a Disorganized Person
You never put things back in the same place twice
You have new things that you do not have a place for
You have too many things to do and not enough time

7. The Cost of Disorganization
If you plan on storing items, for a basic 10 foot by 20 foot storage unit you'll pay approximately $60 a month. This doesn't seem like much, but it works out to $720 a year, and if you rent a space at this rate for 3 years, you'll spend a grand total of $2,160. Most people don't think about the total cost of long-term storage, and when they really stop to consider what they've spent after renting a storage unit, they realize they could have purchased new items with the money wasted on storing the old ones.

8. The #1 Rule of Organization
“A place for everything and everything in its place.”

9. The #2 Rule of Organization
“Out of sight, out of mind.”
I don’t have to worry anymore about all of that junk in my closet. It is now at the Salvation Army
I can’t remember where I put that sweater. I guess I’ll just have to buy a new one.
Organized
Disorganized

10. The #3 Rule of Organization
“Travel light”

11. The #4 Rule of Organization
“If you don’t use it, lose it!”

12. The #5 Something In – Something Out
“If you bring something new into a full space, something must go.”
Something In
Something Out

13. Quick Sort Pull everything out of your closet or work space.
Sort everything from your closet into 4 piles.
If you haven’t worn or used it in a year, it goes in the TRASH or DONATE pile.
KEEP
MOVE
TRASH
DONATE

14. Remove 2 Piles From Your Room
Remove the trash
Bag up the items you wish to donate. Get them out of your room.
TRASH
DONATE

15. Keep Pile Focus only on the KEEP pile.
Set the MOVE pile outside your room for now.
KEEP

16. Find a Place For Other Items
Sort the MOVE pile.
Find a specific and logical place for each item. For example, your keys could hang on a hook by the door.

17. Part II: Organizing Your Desk Or Study Area

18. Sort
Sort the KEEP pile left into 2 more piles
Office Supplies
Paper

19. Organize Purchase an organizer to handle the small items
Choose a specific location for all other items that will be put back into your desk.

20. Sort
Sort papers by topics. Throw away any non-essential papers that you have not used in 1 or more years.
Misc.
9th Grade Essays
Receipts
Biology
Paper
MLA Format
Phone Numbers

21. File Purchase hanging files. Label folders to match your piles.
Bonus Tip: Transfer your notes from your binder into file folders after each test.
Go through your files 2 times per year.
MLA
Phone #s
Biology
Receipts
Essays

22. Filing System Options
MLA
Phone #s
Biology
Receipts
Essays

23. Strive for a Clean Desktop Each Day
“It’s a miracle the way he keeps his desk so clean!”

24. Strive for a Clean Desktop Each Day

25. 3 Tiered Files on Desktop
Top file – High priority (on to do list)
Middle file – Low priority (on to do list)
Bottom file – Needs to be filed or may be needed in the near future

26. Organize Your Study Space

27. Create Your Own Study Space
Get a piece of blank, unlined paper.
Choose an area in your home that can become your study space if you do not already have one.
Start with a drawing of how the area looks now. Be detailed!
Below the picture describe in detail what the area looks like now, before organizing.

28. Create Your Own Study Space
Now on the other side of the paper:
Draw an after photo of your space.
Show in detail what you want your “ideal” study space to look like.
Draw details and show where you are putting things so you can have a clean study space each day.