need to get tidy and organised asap

[ultimate]

I am terrible at this.... help!

I need some tips. I only have my bedroom to use as office and personal space.
I got tons of books!
I got work paperwork!
I got dvd's!
Electronic devises!
Clothes (I think I have to throw some away)

So many files and stuff on informational topics on computer hard drive + external drives. all mostly unorganised. Probably dont need it all either

Ahhh I just find it really hard to get organised/tidy and keep it that way!

I probably have too many books!

[Holistic Star]

Well if you want another book, one I would recommend is called 'Why am I so disorganised?'

It helps you look at repeating patterns of thought and behaviour that make you disorganised.

but if you want to start now here are you three things to do:

1. Find 27 things to throw away now. Don't think about it - just put them into the rubbish bin now.
2. Sort out 1 drawer, or shelf until it is tidy.
3. Pick up something at random, deal with it. (Either do it there and then, delegate it to someone else, or dump it in the bin). Rinse and repeat for 30 mins.

bonus action. Work out 1 thing that would help you feel more organised. For me it is having a clear desk, and aim to do that every day.

[Ravenna]

Star: Was that a FlyLady reference?

[Holistic Star]

The 27 thing fling is pure flylady!

The clear one drawer is from a clutter clearing book I have which says start small!

The pick one thing at random is something my boss and I used to do when the overwhelm kicked in.

The pick the one thing that makes you feel organised is something that came out of a coaching session I had and is also referenced from the book I mentioned too.

[CoolBee]

After doing what HS suggests, consider - What is the one 'sort of thing' that gives you the most visual clutter.

Maybe your bed is normally a jumble - promise yourself from this day forth that you will make your bed every day and keep it clear. Just having a nice flat space in your room can really make you feel better.

Then just pick one thing to start with - say books.

How many books do you have roughly?
What storage do you have for books?
Do all your books need to be easily accessible and/or with titles on view?
Are all your books relevant to your life today (eg do you have 'nursery' books from when you were a kid or manuals relating to out of date software or kit?)
No idea? It's all too much?

Say you have 1000 books and you want to deal with them over, say, 30 days - that's 35 books a day for 28 days, and 20 books on day 29 or 30 with a day off for good behaviour.

"Dealing with" = deciding whether to keep them, if so what category (and make no more than 10 categories to suit yourself eg 'ready to hand constantly' 'light reading to fall asleep with' 'might need once a week' or whatever), or whether to give away.

Clear an area or box to start putting the 'dealt' ones in - use piles with big bits of paper to separate them if you haven't got enough space to have separate boxes or shelves. Books can lie down, they don't have to stand up.

If you have a problem with books in that you can't get rid of them - many 'intellectual' types consider it sacrilege to contemplate eliminating a book from their lives - but you know there are a lot you should - just make 1 decision a day. I did that for 16 weeks once and got rid of 112 books. After I had done that, it became a lot lot easier and I ended up getting rid of about 3000 over 3 years.

You can apply the same methodology to clothes or whatever.

Another hint - filing doesn't have to be neatly in folders. In fact, once I decided that I did not have to have the perfect folder and hole-punch the papers in most cases, my filing got done a lot more effectively. I have some categories and put paper in date order in them, unpunched. I have also set a deadline on filing of 7 years - except for items which absolutely MUST be kept eg title deeds or insurance policies or whatever - and now cull my folders each year and present my mother with an ample supply of kindling for her living room fire