Confessions of an obsessaholic No. 13: Hootsuite

I’m in love with HootSuite. What’s hot about Hoot? Glad you asked. HootSuite allows Twitter users to manage multiple Twitter profiles (I have seven) from one easy-to-use interface. You guys know how I love being able to organize and plan things. Hoot allows me to do this. I can send tweets, retweet, schedule tweets, direct message, and set up searches (and believe me I have many) for all kinds of things.

For example, I have my personal accounts (@Buffy_Andrews, @Grandma_Dorothy), my work related accounts (@Ydrbooks, @Smartmamapa; @Flipside, @YDR, @Letseatpa). I can tweet from one account and then retweet that tweet from other accounts all without having to log out and in.

I also love the ability to search for specific things. For example, I have a tab set up for Writing, under which are numerous columns each for a separate search that has to do with writing (ie. #pubtips, #Yalitchat; #Litchat; #Kidlitchat, etc.).

I have a tab for brands (with columns of different brands I follow, like Harley Davidson), a tab for people (separated by group, such as work friends, publishing friends, etc.), a tab for sports, fun stuff, publishing, news media and journalism all of which have their own columns for very specific searches.

As I said, I’m in love with this application because it allows me to organize and compartmentalize and keep everything in order. Just another example of my crazy self, I know.

Confessions of an Obsessaholic No. 12: Refrigerator

So when I opened the refrigerator to put the ketchup away, what did I find but condiments and dressings and toppings all out of place. Ugh! The mustard was sandwiched between two bottles of salad dressing, the mayo beside the A1, which was beside the strawberry jelly. No. No. No, people. Let’s get this right. The salad dressings all go together, the jellies all go together, the mustard and ketchup and mayo go together, the chocolate syrup and bottles of whipped topping go together. NOT everything just thrown in the side of the refrigerator wherever it fits. So, of course, I take the time to move this and that to their proper place. Just another example of my crazy (but lovable, I hope) self.

Confessions of an Obsessaholic No. 11: Check-out

So I went to the grocery store, parking right next to the cart return rack (see Confessions of an Obsessaholic No. 5) like I usually do. I snake through the store tossing this and that into the cart, ending up with far more than I had planned buying (no big surprise there). I finally get to check-out and I load the groceries onto the belt, organizing the items.
Frozen and cold food together.
Cans together.
Boxes together.
Vegetables together.
Bread and rolls together.
Paper goods together.
And, to be honest, it looked pretty – all neat and lined up and separated with barcodes, if possible, visible at first glance.
“I wish everyone was as organized as you,” the cashier said. “It makes it so much easier. Some people, they just dump everything on and then they get mad if something gets squished.”
Oh yeah, I’m thinkin’. Finally found someone who appreciates my obsessive self. And, like, that was way cool.
So are you a dumper-on-topper or an arranger like me?

Confessions of an obsessaholic No. 10: Curtains and basket liners

I love Longaberger baskets. I’ve even coordinated basket liners with curtains in particular rooms. For example, I have Longaberger Lilac Rose curtains in my dining room and the baskets in this room have coordinating liners. Ditto for the Fruit Medley curtains and basket liners in the kitchen, the Orchard Park Plaid curtains and basket liners in the family room and the Traditional Red curtains and basket liners in the living room. Just another example of my crazy self. I could be a poster child for the company!

Confessions of an obsessaholic No. 9: Dish detergents and handsoaps

How weird is this? My kitchen curtains are red and green and purple and blue. Sounds garish, but they are really pretty.

Anyway, I like to buy dish detergent and hand soap that complement the curtains. For example, from Palmolive’s Spring Sensations Collection (which I like best) I buy Fresh Green Apple (a green), Lavender and Ylang Ylang (a purple) or Crisp Cucumber Melon (a red).

I pair these Palmolive dish detergents with Dial Complete Pump Foaming Soaps, either Fresh Pear (a green) or Cool Plum (a purple) or Cranberry (a red). Now I don’t pair two reds and two greens and two purples, I mix and match. So I might pair the green dish detergent with the cranberry hand soap or the purple dish detergent with a green hand soap.

I’m sure no one even notices this quirky thing, but it’s makes my obsessive self happy. How many of you coordinate this sort of thing?

Confessions of an obsessaholic No. 8: Lists

I’m a list person. I love making to-do lists then crossing off items as I accomplish them. For example, a typical to-do list might look something like this:

Drop Kakita at groomers

Target (Vanilla latte?)

Grocery store

Pick up Kakita

Golf

Borders

Kohl’s

Write

Of course, this list contains items that would have individual lists, like a list of items I’m buying at Target or the grocery store. And, here’s a confession: Sometimes when something isn’t on the list and I accomplish it, I put it on just so I can cross it off.

I won’t even try to explain the list on my desk at work, which changes constantly as reporters file stories, I edit and return for revisions, they make changes and file again, I edit again – just describing this process makes me dizzy. But, trust me, it works. The notations on my list tell me what stage a particular story is in.

Are you a list maker or do you keep it all in your head?

Confessions of an obsessaholic No. 7: File folders

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I love organizing things. I’m in love with manila folders. Oh how they bring me joy. I fill them with all sorts of things – like store receipts and school newsletters and birthday cards and toy instructions and report cards and millions and millions of other items flat enough to fit. If it can go into a manila folder, it does.

When it comes to organizing my work e-mail, I have tons of folders under the save tab. I have a folder for every person I work with (and some that I don’t but frequently e-mail). One for each project I’m working on or for each group I’m involved with. Some folders have sub folders. For example, I have a letters folder under which can be found a good letter folder and a bad letter folder. When I get a letter from a reader praising me for something (which rarely happens), I put it in the good letter folder. When I get a letter blasting me for something that only a complete idiot would do (like eliminate a particular Sunday comic) I put that in my bad letter folder. And, some folders that have sub folders that have sub folders. Try to figure that one out. Just my normal crazy self.

Confessions of an obsessaholic No. 6: A place for everything

My brother-in-law Frank drives me crazy (As if I’m not crazy enough!). So he comes to my house and has fun moving things and swapping things and hiding things and messing up things because he knows that after he leaves I will spend hours putting everything back where it belongs. For example, he’ll swap the basket on the fireplace mantel with the one on the end table or he’ll move the rag doll perched on my quilt rack to the back of the sofa. He drives me insane – ON PURPOSE. He knows that I like everything in its place, and he gets his laughs at my expense. I’m like so glad when he leaves. I love him dearly, just don’t like the way he screws with my head. But he does wash and wax and clean the inside of my car for free, so I guess we’re even.

Confessions of an obsessaholic No. 5: Grocery cart

When I go to the supermarket I strategically park near the cart return. Why? you ask. (Or maybe you’re secretly hoping that I will just go away.) It’s about being efficient. I park near the rack so I don’t have too far to walk after loading the groceries into my car. I’ve thought a great deal about this (like 2 seconds) and it makes complete sense to me.

My husband, on the other hand, parks about 200 miles away. “You say you need to get more exercise,” he says. “Well, here you go.” I tell him that trekking hundreds of miles to the store door from the wilderness of the parking lot (making sure that I don’t step on sticky gum or yellow lines or pebbles big enough to twist my ankle) doesn’t count. Running seven miles uphill (winks) counts. He just looks at me and shakes his head and I’m like, well, you married me you fool. Now you have to put up with my crazy self. LOL

Confessions of an obsessaholic No. 4: Odd numbers

I hate odd numbers. Stupid, I know. I mean, it’s not like they’re slimy and slithery like snakes, which I hate, or those creepy crawlers with millions of matching legs that scurry across the floor like they’re headed to some great party behind the baseboard.

But there’s just something about an odd number that I don’t like.

So if I’m on the treadmill and I’m about dead, struggling to take another breath, needing water like a bubble eye goldfish who’s been out of his tank too long and I look down and see that I’m on lap 13 – TOO BAD!

I can’t stop.

Gotta go to 14.

Or when I buy bananas at the grocery store I buy a bunch with a even number. Now I know what you’re thinking (besides this chick is crazy), when I eat a banana the number will then be odd. But for some reason that doesn’t bother me (Thank, God). We all have quirky things like this. What is your’s?

Confessions of an obsessaholic No. 3: Smelly stuff

I like things to smell good – my clothes, my hair, my house, everything. I mean, who likes smelly things, right? So anyway, I started buying deodorizers for my house. But I liked the idea of coordinating the scent to the room. So, for instance, I have the clean linen scent in the laundry room and the apple-cinnamon scent in the kitchen and the ocean blue scent in the boys’ rooms and the sweet pea & lilac scent in the powder room and the lavender vanilla scent in the master bedroom and the jasmine and white rose in the library. I like being able to customize my smelling experience. Just another one of the many quirky things I do.

Confessions of an obsessaholic No. 2: Linen closet

I drive my husband nuts. Like the other day, I opened the linen closet and what do I find? Towels. Nothing unusual about that, I know. But the pink towels were mixed up with the yellow towels, which were mixed up with the blue towels, which were mixed up with the striped towels, which were mixed up with the green towels. No. No. No. That’s not how I do it. The pinks go together and the yellows go together and the blues go together and the stripes go together and the greens go together. So I reorganize them. All the while my husband’s telling me that he’ll never put the towels away ever again. And I’m like, “OK. Sounds good to me, because I’d rather do it myself anyway.” Just another example of my obsessiveness about things that have no relevance. Poor husband. He really is a saint for loving my crazy self.

Confessions of an obsessaholic No. 1: Closet

OK. I admit it. I obsess just a teeny-tiny bit about things. But I wouldn’t be my crazy self if I didn’t. And I sort of like who I am. Anyway, the other day I was looking at my closet, feeling pretty good about it. It’s organized and neat. Then I opened my husband’s closet to put some shirts away and let me tell you folks, his closet is nothing like mine. Made me itch just looking at it.

In my closet, everything is arranged first by item (sweaters, pants, shirts, etc.) and then by color (or prints) followed by sleeve length. For example, suppose it’s really hot and I want to wear a short-sleeve white shirt. I know just where to find it. Ditto for a long-sleeve black shirt or a stripped sweater or a pair of black pants or a brown mock turtleneck or a red regular turtleneck (Yes, even turtlenecks are arranged by mock and regular) or a summer dress or a winter dress – well, you get the picture. Pure bliss.

To me, it makes perfect sense and is efficient. To my husband, it’s just another example of my quirkiness that he has come to accept (and I think love).

How do you arrange your closet?