Clutter around your home can be much more of a problem than just being displeasing to the eye. It can really add to the clutter in your mind and add to your day-to-day stress. If you begin to employ four easy steps today, you can start to make a lot of progress on that outer clutter around your house.
Use the “One Minute” Rule
Any time that something can be picked up, put away, or cleaned in one minute or less, don’t hesitate to do it. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to take care of these little tasks right away, and not have to worry about them later. For example, hang up your coat, throw away that piece of trash, and wipe up that spilled coffee. Don’t put off these little tasks.
Clean Up the Front Door and Make Space
Things that need to leave the house every day should live by your front door. Things like backpacks, coats, shoes, keys, and anything else you regularly don’t want to forget should always be in this station. Also, create a place for things you need occasionally and don’t want to forget such as a library book that’s due or a package you need to ship.
Anything that is not used in your home regularly doesn’t need to be crowding this space. Try storing extra coats and shoes in a box. You may even want to consider a storage unit for the bigger items in your house that you are using, like the ones offered by Tysons Self Storage.
Put All Incoming Papers in One Place
Everything that comes into your house should also have its own place. As long as it’s not urgent, all mail, permission slips, or anything else you need to go over should go into this container or basket. Then, once a week, sit down and go through all of it. This will help clear all paper clutter and keep you much more organized with your bills and other incoming mail.
Clean for Fifteen Each Evening
Each evening, set your kitchen timer for 15 minutes and do a quick clean. Set up your morning the night before by loading and running the dishwasher, wiping down the kitchen sink, getting your morning coffee ready to go, and anything else you can get done before the timer goes off.
Don’t let the clutter in your home sit around and bother you for days, weeks, or even years. Start small, and just tackle a little bit every day. Tasks you can get done quickly and objects that now have a specific place in your home will really start making a huge difference in the organization in your home, as well as your life.