Midterms hit me like a train this semester, and then took off as fast as they hit. In the wake, I felt like a bit of a mess. I also felt like I had no room to breathe. In a small space like a college dorm room, it's easy to feel both metaphorically and physically claustrophobic when you're extremely busy or under a lot of stress. These are the two rules I used to get my shit together:

1. If it's been sitting there for a week, do something about it. 

Approaching the first rule, I feel like the reason why I get very unorganized is because I leave things where they are. Take off a shirt? Leave it on my chair. Get a test back? Leave it on my desk. Wash a glass? Leave it on my bathroom counter. I can keep going. 

This fall break, my goal was to stop being lazy and actually put things in their rightful place instead of letting the mess build. Because if you keep telling yourself "eventually", soon its going to be too big a mess to clean at once.

This goes for non-literal items too. Emotions, studying, tasks. I let them sit until the mess becomes too much to handle. Proactivity is the easiest possible way to keeps messes to a minimum. Which is obviously easier to say than to follow. But just starting with a small goal such as always putting my clothes in the right spot can make a big difference.

2. If it hasn't been used in a month, get rid of it.

Now, as for the second rule, I think this one is just as important. I am a hoarder (not literally). But I like stuff. I promise you that there is a 1 in 1,000,000 chance that I will ever encounter a situation where I will say "damn, I wish I had taken that free promotional t-shirt from XYZ company that I don't even know what they do". And yet, I insist on taking one anyway. There is just no room in my life, though, for these trivial items.

I got rid of a lot of these types of items I was holding onto that were simply sucking up space. It felt really good to open up drawer space and have easier access to the items that I actually do use regularly. I also didn't need to keep 50 pens in my desk organizer. I need maybe 5 at the moment. So I packed up a lot and put stuff in storage containers that I shoved to the back of my closet. Yes, in the near future I will need to dig it out for the spare computer paper or tissue boxes, but for now it's out of my face and it feels so good to have room again. 

So start thinking about what you really need and what you can live with out. Then get cleaning. It's cathartic, I promise.