Find a Place for Every Item – It helps keep you organised
How often do you come inside and just dump your bag and “stuff” on the bench or dining room table. The mail, handbag, the kids’ stuff. It all just goes on the bench. Before long, it becomes known as the “official dumping ground”, full of clutter and stuff. It then becomes habit for everyone else to put their stuff their too. You need to have a place for every item and you need to get into the habit of putting the items in their correct place straight away. Don’t double handle items.
Get Some Home Organisation “Containers”
Buy some small clear plastic containers (with lids), and use them to create kits where you can store all the items you need for a particular task. For instance, you could create a shoeshine kit, a bill-paying kit (think In-tray) and a container for all your batteries and so on. That way, you can easily find the things you need to accomplish your everyday tasks. By keeping things grouped together and organised it will save you time as you won’t need to spend time searching for missing items.
Dump Duplicates – and rid yourself of clutter
Why have two nonstick spatulas when one is enough? Why have three hairbrushes or 3 colanders. Throwing out duplicates is one of the easiest ways to stop clutter. A good rule to apply is “one in, one out”. When you get something new, it’s the perfect opportunity to get rid of something old. Before you bring home that big new flat-screen TV, figure out what you’re going to do with the current TV you already have. Having done this recently, I was surprised at just how hard it was to donate my old TV. It worked perfectly and I really didn’t want to put it into land fill. Often finding an organisation that can benefit from your items is good for two reasons. Firstly, you know it’s going to a good home and secondly it’s not going into land fill so it’s easier to get rid of things knowing this. So if you want to be organised you need to clear the clutter first.
Lost Keys
Are you always wasting time looking for your keys. I have done this for lots of clients and they love it. Put a hook right inside your front door. Every time you come home you hang your keys on the hook. It might take you a bit to remember to put the keys there every time you come in, but in no time it will become habit and best of all, you will always know where your keys are. You can also get some lovely hooks, so it does not have to become an eye sore.
Write a “to- do- list”
In a recent blog article, I wrote about the benefits of writing a to-do list.
They help us stay organized, get the most out of our day and ensure we complete everything that needs to be done. Here are the key tips that I mentioned:
- Write a “to–do” list the night before.
- Once on paper, you can plan, prioritise and get a system in place for managing your day.
- Make it achievable.
- Stick to your list.
- Tick off tasks when they are completed.
- Don’t procrastinate and allow yourself to get side tracked.
- Be time specific when you are writing your list and make sure you have a time frame as to when your tasks must be completed by.
- Get into the habit of writing a list every day. Once you are in the habit, you are half way there.
Until next time, happy organising.
Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser.
