Three simple systems to stay organised
We are all looking for simple solutions to get a clutter free home. Whilst most homes need a big push to get fully orjenised (I do intense six hour sessions for Clients) there are simple ways to make your house more clutter free on a day to day basis.
Here I take you through my concepts of Fresh Eyes, Three Simple Rules to stay on top of things and the concept of One Job. If you follow these each week then your house and sanity should see the benefits.
Fresh Eyes
My invention Fresh Eyes is one of my favourite things to keep a home organised. Although my house is organised (of course!) I do this regularly at my own house as it’s so easy to miss things that have been popped down. I have a habit of leaving things in my office to do later so this is a great time for me to revisit those items.
A guide to Fresh Eyes around the home -
Set a timer, I think that the sweet spot is 10 minutes. Making a game out of decluttering is key to keep it fun and quick.
Walk around your home and grab anything that is out of place.
Put it all into a central point (I use my kitchen countertop or desk) and then work out where it should be.
Often this includes rubbish and washing up which is an easy quick win. Get rid of those cardboard boxes and envelopes as soon as possible.
If you see the same things over and over when doing this it may be that the item does not yet have a ‘home’. If there are lots and lots of things everything may need a home so call me!
Three Simple Rules for Staying Clutter Free
As well as fresh eyes there are three simple rules that can help you stay on top of things at home. I try to follow these myself, particularly the laundry one as that can easily get out of hand and with the weather we are having can be hard to dry.
When you are home for the day or afternoon put some laundry on. One of my most asked questions by families is how to get on top of laundry. Basically we cannot win with laundry, even if the baskets empty they will start to fill up again the same day.
It is really important to not let a backlog start. So as a general rule if you are home then pop a wash on. I also have days for washing towels and bedding which means I don’t suddenly end up with a foisty, smelly towel one day.
Take out the recycling when you leave the house. It is easy to let a huge pile of recycling start to form, especially if your bin is not easy to pop out to or your kitchen is upstairs. If you are heading towards the bin on the way out, try to take a bit with you each time. It stops a big backlog building up or worse still missing bin day.
Open your post. I go to a lot of homes where post is not opened. It then piles up and becomes a long, boring job. Try to open the post when it comes, recycle junk mail and envelopes, action the things you need to do and file the papers away only if you absolutely need it. If you are still getting bills why not log on and go paperless to stop it at the source.
If you incorporate these simple rules into your routines you should start to see a change over the weeks.
One Job - how to stop pausing tasks
Another great rule is to see things as one job. For example, opening the mail, recycling and filing. Or making the bed, this includes stripping the old sheets, then putting the new ones onto the bed and putting the dirty sheets in the laundry basket.
Often what happens is that the first half of a job is done, then a pause happens. Meaning that the second half is forgotten about and left. So you go to bed and the sheets are not on the bed or the mail that involves ringing someone has been popped on the side to be found in a few weeks.
A classic thing to see as ‘one job’ is opening parcels. I open parcels when I have chance to check the item is good (by trying it on or having a good look at it) and then if it needs to go back I do the return there and then. Otherwise, like a lot of my Clients, I would forget about the item and find it later on (often after the deadline for returning the item has passed).
So why not try these simple systems for a more clutter free existence. Let me know if you do and how it worked for you.