I want to be organized NOW!

So I have this dream..the dream to be organized. I don't ever feel organized. Sometimes I'll go through these spurts where I will be really, really organized and I know where things are and I don't have piles of paper in my room that needs to be filed. I found a really cool website that I also get an e-mail newsletter from. Get Organized Now has great tips on little things you can do to get organized and they have a blog now as well. You would think that I would be less of a packrat and more able to find things that I need with all this help. But no..I'm not. If you were to see my closet you would probably die. I guess its not as bad as it could be but I still have this need to feel more organized.

A friend of mine also shares my need to be organized but laments that its expensive to be organized in a way that doesn't look like you're still a poor, starving college student in your 30's. Form and function along with beauty. I guess it takes more than just buying totes at Target and I guess its a lifestyle change that I haven't quite perfected yet. I have to believe that someday I will..before marriage and before kids. What if I don't and my life gets more complicated as more people are added to it? Goodness. I don't even want to think about the possibilities.

I also have this problem of being a severe packrat and I want/need to keep everything. I also say to myself "Self, do you really need to keep all of these things?" And my subconscious says.."Yes of course I need each and everyone of these things that are in a plastic tote from Target in the Mini-barn in the backyard that I haven't looked at in forever". Sometimes I am tempted to pull it all out, take pictures for a scrapbook and then donate the items to goodwill or sell them on e-bay. I also think about what if I need something someday or my kids want to see it? What if I don't just want a picture but I want to actually hold it and see it and make sure that I still have it. I think part of this comes from being a grandchild of someone who lived during the depression. My grandparents kept EVERYTHING. Mostly I am sure it is just me. I like having things even if I don't use them.

I don't know what the solution is. Maybe I need more willpower or someone with enough willpower to make me do what is necessary to de-clutter and organize my life. Maybe turning 30 will make a difference. I guess we will see what tomorrow brings..until then the pack rat lives on!