Helpful Home Organization Ideas in a Busy World
Helpful Steps to a Tidier Home
Juggling our many commitments within today’s ever busy schedules is more than a struggle. It’s hard to manage one's time effectively, let alone keep on top of the organized mess that we create around us.
Whether you live on your own or have a family to look after, the piling clutter surrounding us often becomes just another lower priority item to push back on our mental to do list. Papers get stacked, clothes get tossed in random drawers and cleaning supplies pile up in cupboards unused until the mess becomes too much to bear.
Of course, we usually do the bare minimum to keep our homes in line and hygienic so it’s not a complete embarrassment if someone unexpectedly pops by for a visit. Still, it all feels like a chore that we don't ever really have time for or do begrudgingly so as not to appear, if just to ourselves, that we haven’t lost complete control.
Sound familiar? If not then I have to say well done to you.
But for the rest of us who are always playing catch up on the chores, we’ve put together a few ideas that could help you stay on top of at least some of the chaos. With any luck, by implementing these few tips, you might be able to snag a little me time every now and then.
Lists
Like them or not, lists are a must if you are going to effectively manage the time in your day. When you have a bunch of things to do and the day has barely started it’s often tempting to give up on it all and remain in bed.
Just getting started on the first thing can be a daunting task. However, if you create a list, then the feeling you get every time you cross something off will encourage you to complete more. Plus, by writing everything down you are less likely to forget that all-important task.
Nowadays lists are made even easier by handy apps such as Google Tasks or Todoist so you don’t even have to scramble for the pen and paper. An added bonus is that in today’s world we all keep close to our phones so your list will be easy to access throughout the day.
Compartmentalize and Prioritize
Often we look around and there’s seemingly so much to organize we don’t know where to start. This is often when we find ourselves giving up at the first hurdle. The real trick here is to approach one job at a time starting with the most important first. So if your cleaning cupboard is a mess then that’s where you begin, because how are you going to clean anything else if you can’t find the tools to do the job?
A great tip here is to organize your cleaning materials into a tool box or caddie so that you can carry all that you need as you need it. Trash bags can be hung on rolls attached to the wall of your cupboard so you can easily pull one off when you need it.
These organizational techniques such as the toolbox can be carried through to the rest of the house. Old papers can be sorted and placed into folders if they need to be referred to regularly; otherwise they can be thrown out or boxed away depending on their importance.
Containers, shoe racks and coat stands all help to de-clutter the place and keep things in their designated area.
However, remember to be ruthless — don’t just keep things around because you might wear it or you may refer to it in the future. If you haven’t looked at it or worn it in the past year and it’s not important to your life, get rid of it. It’s only adding to your frustrations.
To recap: compartmentalize by creating organized storage for items, prioritize so that you don’t become overwhelmed by it all, and tackle one job at a time.
Mind Over Matter
Don’t worry, this is not a suggestion that you go to therapy to deal with your organizational bad habits. This is merely a method of reminding yourself that most of these tasks aren’t as bad or don’t take as long as you think.
This is especially effective on chores or tasks that you really can’t stand to do. I personally really dislike washing dishes, so in order to motivate myself to do it I first imagine what a mess it would look like if I let them pile up.
I then remind myself how long it will take now after one meal, which is usually 10 to 15 minutes at the most, and then I compare that time to how long a couple of days washing up would take. The thoughts of the dishes piling up and the time it would take to fix that mess is usually all the convincing I need.
If you’re still struggling with motivation after considering the time and the consequences of not doing it, then try the carrot on a stick approach. By the carrot on a stick approach, I mean dangle something you enjoy in front of yourself and tell yourself that you can only have that glass of wine or piece of chocolate once the task at hand is finished.
Believe me, it might sound childish but it works.
While these tips may seem arduous to implement at first, after doing them for a while they become second nature. Who knows, you may even surprise yourself. Plus the more organized you are, the more time is available for the things you truly love.
