The Guide to Organization

from August 2021

Delta Variant

By Thejo Tattala & Samita Pandit, Edited by Arushi Patil, Taruni Manam, & Cindy Zhang, Layout by Inchara J, Art by Sahithi Lingampalli, & Blogged by Taruni Manam

Organization is an essential part of our daily lives. Whether you spend most of your time at work, home, or school, it is important to have a neat, orderly, and disciplined environment to work in.

For the majority of the country, the back-to-school season starts in August and September. After the pandemic, this year’s back-to-school season happens to be the first month of full in-person learning for many schools across the country. After 2 years of online learning and a chaotic school year, it can be very hard to switch to a physical learning environment. So to be organized for the start of a new school year, it is best to follow a few essential tips and tricks.

Firstly, make sure that you sort out your information by subject. Have different folders (or pockets within a folder) for each subject (math, english, science, history, etc.) to hold your information. Store all the handouts, papers, pamphlets, and flyers that you receive in your folders. This technique helps to prevent confusion and mix-ups. While it is not required to color-code your belongings, labeling them helps. Make sure that you label your notebooks and folders according to subject in easy-to-see large, bold letters. It is also helpful to add your name and a method of contacting you (phone number, email, etc.) in case you lose any of your possessions. It is also helpful to have a miscellaneous folder for when your school gives you information not directly relevant to your classes. This method makes sure you have all your important information in one place, separate from papers for other classes.

Next, make sure that you organize your school supplies neatly and efficiently. It is preferable to have a compact, medium-sized pencil pouch with 2-3 pencils of your choice (wooden or mechanical), 3 pens of different colors (red, black, blue), a couple of highlighters of different colors (yellow shows best), a large eraser, and a small binding tool (glue stick/small roll of tape/mini stapler with staples). Be sure to add in a small hand-held sharpener if you are using wooden pencils or extra lead if using mechanical ones. If your classes recommend any unique supplies (math sets, paintbrush sets, etc.), then it is helpful to group them in a smaller pouch to prevent you from losing or breaking any materials. This is just a suggested list, but be sure to adjust it to suit your needs.

Additionally, your backpack is a very important tool to help you get through your day. It is essential that your backpack is big enough to hold everything, including a water bottle, but is compact enough that it can fit in your locker and is easy to carry. You will be holding your notebooks, folder, pencil pouch, valuables, lunch, and water bottle in your backpack. To make sure that you can find your possessions easily, organize your backpack by pocket. In the back pocket, place all your academic materials (notebooks, folders, books, pencil pouch). In the front pocket, place your lunch and water bottle (and if you do not have one, that pocket remains empty for now). Make sure that your lunchbox is tightly sealed and that the lid of your water bottle is fully closed to avoid any leaks. In the smaller pockets, place your valuables, such as money, jewelry, ID cards, etc. Make sure you put these valuable items in a safe place, where people cannot easily take them when you are not looking. Placing small items in smaller pockets helps isolate them. You can also store your pencil pouch in a separate pocket if it is more convenient.

At home, you have to manage storing many objects in separate spaces. To organize these, you have to use the trick called classification. When you are storing your clothes, it is best to hang them vertically so that they take up less space. Classify your clothes by casual, formal, and jackets beforehand so that you do not have to spend hours looking for the perfect outfit for school. When you are storing your shoes, it is best to store them beneath your clothes in pairs, separated from each other. Shoes can also be classified by “formal”, “casual”, “exercise”, and other categories of your choice. Handbags can go on the top racks, or on a separate shelf, spaced out evenly. Finally, accessories can be organized in drawers. It is best to classify them by type (ie: headbands, hair ties, hairpins, etc). You can have these accessories in smaller boxes within the drawers. Finally, you can organize your jewelry (necklaces, bracelets, earrings, etc) in jewelry boxes (put in a very safe place).