From Laura’s Desk – 17 August 2016
Quote of the Week
For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned. —Anonymous
Musings – My 5 Organization Resolutions
I’ve been thinking a lot about organization lately. It started with Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up*. It’s an amazing and thorough system, and it has brought about some pretty big changes in my life.
But once any organization system is in place, it has to be maintained. And so I have made some resolutions to help.
1. Throw it out
I have a hard time letting go of things I think I can save. They might be stained or ripped or pretty or whatever. But they sit around and I do nothing about them. Not a good thing.
So my first resolution is to get into the “throw it out” mode. If I can’t use it right now as it is, out it goes.
2. Put it away
One of the hardest habits for me to break as far as tidying is the “I’ll just put this down and put it away later.” Except later never comes, and then there are piles cascading around my feet and it looks like a tornado went through.
My second resolution is to put things away as soon as I am done with them. That means scissors, pens, paper, laundry, mail…all of it gets put away. And if I am consistently running across the house to put an item away, I have to consider if where I am keeping it is the best spot.
3. Everything goes in the system
No longer can I write things down on scraps of paper or index cards. I do this because I don’t have the notebook or phone handy. This simply leads to chaos, because I forget about things (even though I have them written down) or I lose the bits of paper and spend time looking for it.
My third resolution is to make sure that I have either the notebook or phone to enter things. If I am driving, I can use Siri, or have my daughter write things for me.
4. Get rid of the excess
I have a lot of excess in the house. Particularly in the office and kitchen. Dozens of pens, pans, containers, papers, folders…it all sits and waits for me to open the closet or cabinet or drawer, and then it will spring out at me.
My fourth resolution is to get rid of the excess. Instead of dumping the pens and pencils that bred in my work bag into the kitchen drawer, I put them directly in the giveaway bag. When I replace cookie sheets, the old ones get recycled. No more excess.
5. Keep the giveaway bag handy
Sometimes I would not tidy or declutter or organize because I had no place to put the stuff I needed to donate. (Talk about excuses!) I had various solutions, but only one has worked.
I finally found a use for the ginormous IKEA blue bag. It sits in my dining room, and I fill it up. When it is full, I put it in the bag provided by my local women’s shelter (they were nice enough to provide me with a stockpile). Three bags and I call for pickup.
My fifth resolution is to keep that giveaway bag in sight. The IKEA bag has handles and I can tuck it away if we need to use the dining room for non-family members. But having it there means I see it every time I come in through the front door, reminding me of my mission to get rid of things.
Over to you
If you had to make resolutions with regard to organizing, what would they be? Share below, or email me (laura@lauraearnest.com) and let me know.
That’s about it for this week’s edition. We’ll see what next week brings. Until then, be productive, be peaceful, and keep your balance.
