I don't consider myself to be a particularly organized person, but I do like to alphabetize my books and CDs. Are you weirdly obsessive about anything like that?

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001

Answers

The filesystems on my computers have a rigid topical hierarchy, the catchall "Program Files" folder on windows machines drives me nuts. Ex: the root layer is Audio, Video, Dev, Text, Install, Util, and Net, and it gets more specific from there.

By the way, I think book and video stores probably start out alphabetized, but people tend to take media off the shelf, look at it while internally validating the quality of the movie, then put it back at a more or less random point on the shelf.

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001

I agree that video/book stores probably start out with their inventory fully alphabetized. But at the big chain stores, they typically stay that way despite the browsers, probably mostly because they have to report back to headquarters on their stock, but also because they can afford to hire 16-year old kids to perform the mind-numbing task of putting the shelves back in order. Independent stores probably don't have the accountability problem or the extra cash to hire drones.

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001

I am also slightly obsessive about organization - my files (as in old bills, old letters, old papers and whatnot) have to be oldest in front, newest in back, and the files themselves are in my own order that makes sense to me.

My underwear drawer is organized. That's sick.

I also have to have my website on my hard drive exactly as it is on my server. Exactly. Otherwise I can't play around and check html as it would appear without uploading first, which sucks. That took me an assload of time. A metric assload.

I live in the dorms right now, but I'm sure that when I have my own apartment with my own bookshelves and whatnot, my books will be organized. Not alphabetically, because that would make no sense to me, but in my own weird organizational pattern. *I* understand it, dammit, and that's all that counts.

PS: Congrats on the new domain, Jen. Love the name.

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001

I don't see anything unusual about organizing CD's, unless you go berserk or something when someone visiting carelessly puts one in the wrong place.

Books though -- usually have such unique sizes, colors, textures, that unless you have a great number of them (and maybe you do) -- can be located fairly quickly without specific organization.

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001

I _do_ have a lot of books, actually.

And as a testament to my lack of organization, I just realized a couple of hours ago that it's actually the 7th today and not the 6th, so the date of my latest entry is wrong. It's too much of a pain to move it, though, so I'll just let it go and maybe people won't notice. Incredibly, I think this is the first time I've ever used the wrong date for a diary entry.

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2001

My cds are organized by catagory and then in alphabetical order. My bills are organized oldest back, newest front. I fold my socks... And then everything else in my house is a mess. I'm just highly organized about certain things.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2001

I live as a blob and clutter gathers all around me perpetually.

however, when I go to my local video store, I also retch when I see it isn't alphabetized. when I expect someone to meet me @ 7pm, I can only tolerate 5 minutes off more or less. I only obsess about having my keys and wallet in side and ass pockets, respectively. I feel for them about 9 times/hr.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2001

I'm obsessive about having organizing *stuff* (dayrunners, files, notebooks)... but I can't translate that into being actually organized.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2001

No, I am not obsessively organized. I organize my books by size and my CDs by likely hood of me listening to them, that's about it.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2001

I remeber having organization forced upon me in the ways cory mentioned above. I still fold my towels so that all the edges match and they fold into nice little lower case 'e' shapes when looked at from the side. I used to try and make hospital corners with the brick at the foot of the bed but I gave that up long ago. Actually, without the slicion confines of computer software, I'm pretty disorganized and I fear my bills would never be paid on time. God bless Al Gore for inventing online bill pay. I'm not terribly good at organizing laundry either. I flunked out of home ec - something I've always regretted. If anywhere, it was most likely there that I would've found a good woman to do laundry, fix my supper and shore up my general shortcomings.

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2001

Awesome topic.

I use one drawer for my underwear and just toss them in, and a second drawer for all my socks (identical) in which I just lay them flat. I used to fold my socks but all that does is consume time.

My computer files are organized like "My Documents, My Pictures, My Sounds...", etc, so Explorer lines them up all together.

My keys and wallet constantly occupy two of the seven short term memory cells that most people have, as I MUST know where they at all times! I keep my keys in my right front pocket, and my wallet in my left, except at work where I place them in my book bag so they don't bother me.

I use an Excel spreadsheet to track goals and tasks.

Also, I track all the blood cells in my body.

"Cell 1,138,000 why aren't you at your post!?"

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2001

Err, well, okay since you asked - My PowerBook is very, very organized with sub-folders upon sub-folders. In fact, when I was having a problem several months ago with one of my newly installed browsers (IE), the tech person informed me that the amount alphabetized bookmarks (can't sue that other word) of sub-folders I had created taxed the limits of their browser. Cool, huh?

I have a drawer for black underwear, then one for other colors, all separated, by degree of lightness, of course. My socks are in only two drawers - light and dark - however, the dark are arranged by hue.

Although my CD's are NOT alphabetized - I prefer a heavy rotation pile, next a less-often played pile, then arranged on shelves by genre, of sorts.

Is this obsessive? Well, it doesn't keep me awake at night.

-- Anonymous, January 09, 2001

Because I am a capricorn, I should be an organization freak, but I am not. Sometimes I wish I was!!! Life would be soo much easier.

I must say I do like routine though. SO while my books may not be in alphabetical order, I will put them back in the same place each time. So maybe that is some sort of organization afterall.

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

i'm very organised when it comes to email but that's about as far as it goes. the rest of my life is not organised. i find email easy to prioritorise, deal with and categorise. even though i maintain 4/5 pretty active accounts which get plenty of mail each day.

and i mail stuff between accounts too when it seems i've received something i want to keep that would fit better in a folder i keep on another account. it would be difficult to explain the system to anyone else but it's instinctive to me, i know where to go when i want to find something.

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2001

Le Video rules, but never search for anything - I go straight to the clerks and ask for what I want. Otherwise you could be there for hours. They did put in a 'new releases' section, though - it's about time. New stuff used to just go into the general collection.

The only thing I organize is my MP3s.

-- Anonymous, January 11, 2001

Organized? Me? It's a good thing my wife is playing tennis right now (no, not outside, at an indoor court) 'cause she would be rolling on the floor laughing at such a thought.

I do try to keep canned goods organized... all the cans of peas together and the corn next to them, etc. and similar flavors of soup together... but I think that is about it...

Oh yeah, and twice a year I reorganize my t-shirts... I've been running in races since '82 and although some years I only run in a few races and other years in a lot, since many races have souvenir t- shirts I've accumulated a massive number of shirts over the years... and at the onset of winter weather and at the onset of summer weather I reorganize them... in the winter want long-sleeved t-shirts and sweatshirts easily available but in the summer they can go on the top shelf at the side of the closet... Okay, okay, so I don't really do it at the onset of the weather change, but several weeks later I get around to it....

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2001

I will alphabetize anything.

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2001

I'm not incredibly organized though I try to be. My best friend however is a freak, and all her storage space is impeccably well-kept. I love it, but I haven't been able to incorporate it into my own life as well. I once asked her what was in her desk drawer because I needed to set up my home office and I had no clue at what I may need. If you're interested in her reply, go to www.quirky.com/lists/drawer.txt She provided me with more than enough info.

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2001