Our team uses these 5 strategies in our own homes and have implemented them in the homes of 100’s of clients over the years.
Put them into place and you will be well on your way to forming good habits that will help you get (and keep) your home and family in order.
Thanks for allowing us to be your success partners as you get to The Heart of the Matter!
STORE BEDSHEETS IN THE PILLOWCASE
Store your complete sheet set in one of its pillowcases. This includes the fitted sheet, flat sheet and extra pillowcase. Everything is together and you don’t have to fuss with the hard to fold fitted sheets
If you are happy with the end result, take a picture and hang it on the inside of the door so that the model picture inspires the family to keep it that way!
MAKE THINGS EASY TO PUT AWAY
The foundational tip for organizing & decluttering is everything needs a home!
Try your very best to get this catch phrase stuck in your head. If everything in your house has a home then you always know where to put things away and where to find items when you need them.
The added bonus is less visual clutter!
Think about the things you spend time looking for. It usually means that they don’t have a designated home.
In order to help you create a home for things ask yourself these questions:
- What else is like this item?
- Where am I likely to want to use this item?
- How often will I use this item?
- How easy does it have to be to retrieve this item from its home?
When items are difficult to find, it can cause tension within the family!
Are there things that you never find in the same place twice? Items that are being stuck here, there and everywhere? These are the items that don’t have a designated home.
It is important when you are deciding on storage options that you make things easy to put away. Most of us are fairly lazy by nature, and if it isn’t easy to put it away, we won’t bother.
We often say that just because a bin comes with a lid doesn’t mean we need to use the lid. Put the lid underneath the container and then you can simply toss items in. A great example of this might be a storage bin on a closet shelf. If we need to take the bin down, remove the lid, put the item in and then put the lid back on……how likely are we to do that? On the other hand, if there is an open bin sitting on the shelf we are more liable to toss the item in to put it away.
Same can be said in a storage room. If we have sorted items and stored them in large rubbermaid tubs but then stacked them one on top of each rather than investing in some shelves we might also set ourselves up for failure. If we have an item that needs to be returned to the bottom bin in the stack how likely are we to unstack the bins and put the item away? Not very……more likely that we set the item on top of the stack or on the floor beside.
In turn if those tubs were sitting on shelves and we could simply lift the lid and tuck the item inside we’d be more liable to follow through and put things away.
Another area where we can set ourselves and our family up for success is to install hooks wherever we can. Entry ways, closets and bedrooms are particularly good spots. How much easier is it to hang your exercise clothing, around home clothes or sleepwear on a hook as opposed to folding it up each time and returning it to a drawer or hanging it on a hanger.
Give items such as your purse, keys and cell phone a home too. That way you can train yourself to put them away each time you come in the house. It will save you the last minute frustration of lost or misplaced items.
Keep the following in mind as well when you designate homes for items:
- Primary storage (Prime Real Estate) – things you use often need to be stored in easily accessible places
- Secondary storage – things you use less often can be stored on higher shelves, or in more “out of the way” spots
- Archival storage – old records and mementos can be stored in the attic or basement
REMEMBER….everything needs a home!
Years back we heard this catch phrase –
We thought it was brilliant then and we still do. This is one of the foundational steps in being organized.
Once every item in your house has a home the follow-up step is don’t put it down, put it away! Do your very best to get this catch phrase stuck in your head and repeat it over and over to your family members as well. It is the key to keeping clutter under control in your home!
Here is a funny Heart of the Matter story while we’re on the topic of Everything needs a home.
Here is a funny Heart of the Matter story while we’re on the topic of Everything needs a home.
We had a client a number of years ago who had this on the corner of her desk.
She was a sweet lady who really did add her used gum to this sculpture on the corner of her desk. We worked with her and she loved the idea of all the labels that we put into place as we organized her entire house. Her brothers came to visit her and put this tiny post-it note label “used gum” on her statue. They thought it was the only thing in the house that didn’t already have a label on it 🙂
ALLOW FOR MORE ROOM IN YOUR FILES
Here is a little trick of the trade. Did you ever notice those lines near the base of your file folders or at the base of your hanging files? There is a reason for those . If you fold along the lines you are able to create a file with more capacity. You can create a box bottom file. You can go out and buy specialty box bottom files but you will pay a lot more per box.
I am sure you have a filing cabinet that is filled with files that are SO full that you can’t see the file name. This little trick is a great way to accommodate some of your bulkier files in your drawer and still allow you to see your tabs.
REVERSE ON THE BAR TRICK
This is a quick & easy tip that will give you some real insight into what items in your closet you really wear on a regular basis.
Today…..go to your closet and switch all your hangers so that your clothing items are hanging backwards on the bar.
Then as you wear each item and return it to its hanger, switch the hanger and hang it the proper way. At the end of the year, or the end of season you’ll know that anything that is still hanging backwards you didn’t wear.
It can be very revealing……the stat is that we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time, and we know its true. We all have our favourites…..the most comfortable…..the things we look the best in.
I gave this a try last spring. I made sure that when I got my summer clothes out that all the items I hung up (backwards) were things that fit me and that I liked. It was amazing at the end of the season how many things were still hanging backwards. Things I liked, but just didn’t wear at all that season.
As women it is easy to look in our closet (or closets) and say ‘’‘yea – I wear all that stuff”. Try this backwards on the bar test. You might be surprised at the results.
Men……you aren’t off the hook for this one. In our business we see lots of closets and know that men can have quite a collection of clothing. Switch your hangers around too and a year from now if there are still things that are hanging backwards maybe you’ll decide to get together a bag to pass along as donations.
TAKE PHOTOS INSTEAD OF KEEPING THE ITEM
Do you have children/grandchildren that bring home their masterpieces on a regular basis? Do they like to build sculptures out of clay, lego, or cardboard?
Do you have antiques or boxes and boxes, from your parents or grandparents, filled with stuff that you will never use?
Our recommendation is to take pictures of those large masterpieces.
Take a picture of your child/grandchild with their 3D castle made out of toilet paper rolls.
Take a picture of the flower vase from Great Aunt Betty that you will never use.
We are not suggesting that you have to get rid of everything , but why not take a picture of those things that you are never going to use? Keep the picture in a photo album or scrapbook . . and then BLESS someone else by donating it to someone who will actually use it.
You could make a special remembrance album of some of Aunt Betty’s possessions.
You could make a scrapbook of your child’s preschool art . . and then it allows you to throw out or recycle those things that are much too large to keep.
Another idea . . . have you taken the time to clean out the games closet. and everything fits so nicely and it looks organized? Take a picture of it and post it on the inside of the closet door so that everyone knows where everything goes!!
We encourage you to put these into tips into place and you will be well on your way to forming good habits that will help you get (and keep) your home and family in order.
Thanks for allowing us to be your success partners as you get to The Heart of the Matter!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
