Organizing Solutions – Finally Remove That Clutter!

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 Have you tried to get organized only to fail again and again? You want so desperately to have things neat and tidy but for some reason, you just can’t stick with it?  Have you looked for organizing solutions only to find none that fit your home and your personality?

I am sure you have seen books and magazines in stores promising to help you organize your entire home in a weekend and even blog posts that will remove all your clutter in 24 hours.

 

All those promises that seem just too good to be true.

The problem is……they are.

They show pictures of neat and orderly rooms and bookshelves full of pretty boxes all adorned with neatly typed labels stacked so perfectly in a row.

Sure they look pretty, they are MEANT to look pretty.

You think, if my home could just look like that then my life would be perfect.

And that is where the problem lies.

The solution to a clutter problem for some of us will not be found in a stack of pretty boxes.

Those boxes are simply not functional but that is what a clutter bug needs. Specific organizing solutions that are meant to solve a particular clutter problem.

The issue is when you do a quick purge and a fast declutter it never seems to stick. The baskets and boxes do work for a short while but before you know it you are back to your old ways more frustrated than you were before you started.

For most clutter bugs organizing solutions need to be kept simple. If you add in too many steps things become too much effort to complete.

Keep those organizing solutions simple so they get done.

Listen, we are busy and we all wear quite a few hats during our days and if things are difficult to do, guess what? We are not going to do them.

It’s just as simple as that.

 

So how did I fix it?

You need to think of your home as a business.  A business you are the CEO of.

In order to run any business effectively and efficiently, you need systems.

What that means is, for every single thing you do in your home you need to have a method or procedure set in place.

A series of steps you perform each and every time you complete a task.

A task such as doing the laundry or paying the bills.

By having things mapped out and completed the same way each time, you will have an organizing solution set up that will keep clutter at bay.

Yes, I am a systems girl.  And if this sounds a lot like you, then you are a systems girl too.  Well, unless you are a guy, then you are systems guy. 🙂

 

And guess what?  If you implement a system that works, the organizing will take care of itself.

Let me explain.

When you cook dinner, what are the steps you take each time you cook?

Organizing solutions to curb Dinner Time Chaos.

1. Decide what to make
2. See if you have the ingredients
3. Gather your supplies
4. Defrost ingredients needed for dinner
5. Cook dinner
6. Prepare the table
7. Put dinner on the table
8. Eat dinner
9. Clear the table
10. Package up leftovers
11. Clean the kitchen

This, my friends, is your system, your organizing solution. If you do these same steps every single time you cook a meal, your kitchen should and always will be neat.

So, what if it’s not?

Then you are missing systems in other areas.

Let’s stay in the kitchen.

Look around and identify the clutter.

Are there papers on the counter?  Then you need a paper system.

Are there dirty dishes in the sink?  Then you need a meal prep system.

Clothing in your kitchen?  Then you need a laundry system.

Is there food left out?  Then you need a meal prep system.

Just like in a business established systems and procedures are the key to a solid foundation. As you begin to treat your home more and more like a business you will find that the systems you have set in place will keep clutter from showing up.

Soon your thinking about the things around you will begin to change.

Rather than things they are now tools needed to complete a system.

And all those extra things? You will no longer struggle to let them go because they provide no value and take up precious space.

The same thing applies to your home. As you implement more systems your home will become more organized.

Why?

Because you will learn to only keep the tools you need to perform a system in that room and that will keep most of the clutter put away.

So, for example, your toaster is always found in your kitchen, right? Well, that is because your system for making toast requires you to have that toaster there at all times.

It sounds silly, yes, but you get the point.

Systems and efficiency go hand in hand.

Tools must be kept in the rooms where they are used and nowhere else.

Bills always get paid in the office so bills should never be found on the kitchen table where they run the risk of getting buried,  forgotten and ultimately not paid.

As you learn to think in this way it will become much easier to implement.

Let’s look at this a bit deeper.

Dinner prep system:

1. Check dinner menu for the evening meal.
2. Gather all the ingredients.
3. Cook dinner.
4. Prepare and set the table.
5. Put dinner out and enjoy.
6. Clean up dishes.
7. Pack lunches with leftovers.
8. Check the menu for the next day meal and remove freezer items if necessary.

As you begin a new system, you will learn to simplify so the steps are not only fewer but will cover other systems as well.

For example, my dinner system allows me to cook dinner and prepare lunches for the next day all in one task. Only one mess is made yet two rather large chores are completed all at the same time helping me to have more time to spend with family.

Also, when you being a new system you will want to follow it specifically step by step. I have found that each time I deviate from my dinner system, my kitchen ultimately ends up cluttered and messy.

If I stick to my system, my kitchen is neat and organized, tidy and efficient.

So what’s next?

Try to be more conscious as you go about your day. Find areas where implementing a system will help things run easier and more efficiently.

When you do, take a few minutes to write up a list of steps that you can use to complete your task with little effort.

As you begin using your new system, you will see that removing some of the clutter will allow you to complete tasks quickly and easily. The trick of the best organizing systems is to get from point A to point B with as little distraction as possible.

And yes, clutter is a distraction.

Has organizing been a dream of yours but you have never been able to stick with it?  You too may be a systems person.

Learn to think of your home differently and run things like a CEO.  You will be amazed at how your house will be transformed.