Baby Steps - Organization That Works

If you have problems organizing your home or keeping it organized chances are at some point you've tried a major overhaul of you spaces and/or methods. Most of the time major changes do not last because you have not really thought through how to maintain the change once it has happened. If you change things using "baby steps" change is much more maintainable. I mentioned flylady last week. Using a site and system like Flylady works because it is about slow gradual change with visible results. If the idea of flylady is overwhelming or a bit silly to you it's easy to use some of the same methods yourself w/o signing up for reminder emails. Start with decluttering for 15 minutes a day. Set your timer and work from room to room. As you declutter think about how you use your spaces. Are things in logical places and grouped together according to how they are used. If things have a place they belong that is defined it is easier to remember to put them away and get other family members to do the same instead of just throwing them in a drawer or closet.

When a room is decluttered don't move on until what you have defined as not being clutter has been considered. Take the entry for instance. What do you want to do in the entry. Will it be a place to take off shoes or would you really rather not have any shoes in the entry. Where should they go? Is there an entry table that seems to collect mail and odds and ends? If you don't want it to collect mail where should the mail go when it's brought in (actually it is best to sort mail as it comes in and not put it down). Where should your purse and keys go? After you have those things defined keeping the space clutter free is so much easier.