Obsessive or just Very, Very Organized?

By Allison Berman
January 12, 2010

People who know me pretty well think I am somewhat obsessive about being organized. Those who know me really well know I am not.

I just happen to like the way things look when they are in order, I can't stand losing things, and I don't have the time to be a mess, so years and years ago I started creating elaborate systems to compensate for my laid-back tendencies. I drew on my childhood experience, growing up with a grocery shopping "system" that was so regimented that food shopping was done Fridays with few exceptions.

We'll never run out of food

There was a photocopied list of the items we used (by aisle). When any of us finished something, we took the backup (from a cabinet with shelves labeled, "Put new purchases to the sides and take the "older" products from the middle") and we marked what we took on "the list." If we wanted anything not on "the list," we marked that, too.

My house isn't run quite as efficiently, but I keep my house meticulously organized, putting things back where I found them, so I can find them again. And my pantry does look like shelves in a grocery store; products in rows with the oldest merchandise in front.

Sweaters stored by type, color
My husband and I share a huge master closet with two wire shelves, mismatched dressers, and an old bookcase from my parents. (We talk about finishing and utilizing the space, but it never seems to happen.) Even so, my clothes look like an "after shot" from Real Simple magazine. Everything is divided by season and formality, then category and sub-category. For example sweaters are sorted in nice neat piles of cardigans, turtlenecks, and crew necks. And of course everything is organized by color.

I also have a weakness for Excel that dates back to my days as an analyst. I keep elaborate spreadsheets for birthday parties including everyone's address - convenient when addressing thank-you notes. The next year, I just copy and paste the spreadsheet and modify the guest list accordingly. No trying to remember who was invited last year and no digging through my phone book for addresses all over again.

I keep detailed entertaining spreadsheets, too, including what food and beverages I serve, how much is leftover, and if I run out of something, so I can guestimate what I will need next time. I started doing this after my husband went out the morning of a barbecue to buy more rolls - he decided I didn't buy enough.

"What if everyone wants 2 hotdog rolls and 2 hamburger rolls?!" (We didn't go through half what I already had.) Now I can assuage his concerns, talking about actual past usage, not my "feeling."

I even started travel spreasheets. I visit my parents in Florida each year, and this way I know roughly what we need - so I don't forget things for the kids, and so my husband doesn't over-pack as badly as he would normally.

Hmmm, either I have become organized, or I have just gotten really good at faking it.

Allison Berman, an artist and mother of two, handpaints custom home accessories for interior designers and private customers. She works out of her home studio in Warwick, NY. See her collection at www.withlovealib.com. She can be reached at ali@withlovealib.com. Her column appears Tuesdays.