One of the things that I love to do and am pretty good at, is organizing inside and outside my home. I have found simple ways to simplify my day, I clear out the clutter and purge my home of things I no longer want or need, I've found a handful of cleaning tricks when I am short on time, and I have found effective ways to organize my children's toys to keep it neat and tidy and relatively toy free. With all these ways of dealing with clutter and organizing systems in place, you would think that my house does not have a problem with clutter, but you would be wrong! I have found that no matter how neat and tidy you are, clutter still has a way of happening.
I'm been thinking recently on clutter and how it can build up quickly. It all starts with 1 thing being out of place then, another on top of that, than another thing and it keeps on building from there. Or it happens because you do not have a proper home for something. I do not like clutter and love to stay organized, but lets face it - that's not real life 100% of the time. As I was thinking about this problem, I noticed that clutter happens in usually the same locations. I've got 3 or 4 locations that will become a drop zone for things and these are the areas that I have to keep a close eye on.
1. The counter in the laundry room - this is right next to the garage door and the very 1st surface right inside the house. If my hands are full, I'll usually drop a few items there and get the rest of the stuff from the car
2. My dresser - In my last house, I put all receipts and papers to file on top of my desk since it was right there. But in this house, my desk is in an out of the way spot, so it has been replaced by my dresser. Don't ask my why! All I know is that I turn around and the surface is covered with all kinds of papers, receipts, my to-do list, and things that need to find a home!
3. The kitchen table or counter - This one is tricky. Sometimes, it's both (like on grocery shopping days) and other times its just one of the two.
So now that I've located my clutter "hotspots" I can use that to my advantage. If I know that these 3 locations are prone to be "a stuff landing spot" than I know to look at each of the 3 areas at least once a day to make sure they stay cleared off. If not, I feel like my house is a complete disaster and I get all worked up and feel overwhelmed.
- First, investigate and find your clutter hotspots. I'm sure that you have the same couple of places that clutter tends to build up at.
- Ask yourself why? Why is it that these spots are the dumping ground for stuff?
- Make sure to check these "hotspots" once a day to clear the clutter. It will only take 5 mins max to file and/or toss papers/receipts and to find a home for miscellaneous items. By doing this, you are stopping a small problem from developing into a big problem that will take a lot more time to clean up later on.
/ / See my other cleaning tips here / /
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