I Never Fold My Underwear

I often hear Organization Bloggers (is that a thing?!?) talk about all the steps that they take to stay organized and to save time. Mostly, it's probably good advice for the masses. After all, if you organize your dishes in pretty piles, you are more likely to keep them that way. Right?

That said, I have several problems with this holier-than-thou attitude about organizing. (Or some unrepressed jealousy, perhaps? :) )

1. I am lazy. Seriously, who does all that organizing when there is a Netflix marathon of Orange is the New Black in the queue?

2. I'm not into "pretty." Pretty takes a lot of effort. I do think that appearances count, but if your house is fairly neat, clean enough to prevent Mouse from visiting {eye roll}, and comfortable, who cares about pretty? Pretty, my Loyal Readers, is something I will never find time to create.

3. Speaking of time, I don't have any. Time is reserved for my family, my friends, going to Mass (which I readily admit that I don't do enough), volunteering to make the world better, and doing fun stuff, like blogging. Who has time to do all the things that Org Bloggers accomplish? Not me!

(Okay, I totally read and enjoy their blogs. It's my guilty pleasure, along with Planner Porn. But still...)

So, for your own reading pleasure, here is a list of things that I never do. (Well, almost never. Never say "never" and all that.)

I never...fold my underwear. I just toss it in the underwear drawer. No one is going to look in there anyway and if they do, they deserve whatever they happen to see.

I never...fold my towels. Kitchen towels go in a basket. {Revised due to Mouse droppings} - kitchen towels go in a sealed cookie jar on the kitchen counter.

I never...draft blogs. Sometimes, I jot a couple of notes or ideas, but mostly I just type what I think.

I never...alphabetize. Okay, my physical files in my file cabinet are alphabetized. But my planner pages are not, since an index lets me add things so easily. I guess an index is a little like alphabetizing, but without the headache. (Please. You know you can never remember whether g or i comes first.)

I never...sort by color or color-code. It is nice for retrieval, but it takes too much time on the front end. I do sort by type or size. (For example, pants go with pants in my closet. All types of rice - saffron, white, and brown - go together in my pantry.)

I never...leave the room without bringing something with me that belongs elsewhere and putting it there.

I never...write it in my planner if it takes less time to do it than to write it. See all the blank space?

I never...prewash dishes. I just throw them in the dishwasher.

I never...recopy a task in my planner that I can get up and do quickly instead of recopying.

I never...use a cup at home. I use a water bottle and just keep refilling it. This really cuts down on dirty dishes.

I never...buy bottled water. I bring my water bottle with me.

I never...slice a tomato. I eat it like an apple. (I do sometimes chop one when cooking, though.)

I never...wear shoes in my house (unless it's really cold).

I never...put away shoes that I will be wearing again. I have designated zones for them.

I never...do homework for my kids. Homework is their job; doing it for them is cheating.

I never...wait to boil water. If dinner requires pasta or boiled potatoes, I start the boiling water first and then get on with cooking. So what if the water boils for an extra ten minutes while I'm chopping veggies or browning meat?

I never...make less than three cups of rice. I freeze any leftovers for meals in the future.

I never...chop only half the veggies. I chop them all and throw half in the freezer. (I got a new chest freezer today. Squee!)

I never...freeze family size servings of leftovers. I only freeze enough for one or two people. It's quicker to defrost three small servings than one large serving. Also, if I just need lunch or one person doesn't eat whatever I am serving, I can just pop one serving in the microwave.

I never...fold blankets. I just stuff things in the ottoman.

I never...clip coupons for stuff that we never buy.

I never...file away paper work for appliances. I just hang it from the appliances. This picture is of paperwork and a scraper for the new freezer, hung with a Command hook and a safety pin. (The stuff is hanging behind the freezer, out of sight.)

I never...dirty a spoon when making coffee. I just put in the cream and sweetener before pouring the coffee.

I never...go grocery shopping midweek. Knowing that I will only shop once a week motivates me to make a good grocery list, have a meal plan, and use up things in the freezer and pantry.

I never...buy cleaning supplies. I use vinegar and dish soap instead.

I never...avoid writing it down. If I am not doing it NOW, it goes in my planner. Period.

I never...hang on to stuff that I never use. Well, mostly never. I *might* have a couple five or six planners hanging around. :/

Please share the things you never do in the comments! I'd love some more ideas.

Etcetera.