Home Organization: My Very Best Clutter-Busting Tip

Home Organization: My Very Best, Life-Changing, Tip For A Clutter-Free HouseIf you make this simple change to your daily habits, your home will achieve neatness nirvana – and stay there.

Seriously, this one strategy will rock your world, if you use it.

Are you ready? Here it is…

 

 

 

 

My Very Best Clutter-Busting Tip

Include cleaning up as part of every single task.

Think of it as expanding your task definition. Whatever you use, take out, or work on, you put away as part of that activity.

What this means is that ‘cleaning up’ is not a separate action to be done later.

Rather, each task expands to include whatever is needed to restore order to the space.

As a result, you leave everything at least as tidy as you found it.

Here Are Some Examples:

  • Having dinner? That includes stacking the dishwasher when you’re done.
  • Working on a craft? Returning your craft supplies to their home is part of the project.
  • Watching a DVD? Put all remotes, DVDs and cases back where they belong before you move on.
  • Getting home from work? Include as ‘getting home’ the acts of hanging up your coat, placing keys on the hall table and putting your purse or briefcase in the study (or wherever they live).
  • Wrapping a gift? Replace the sticky tape and gift wrap, and put the gift in a spot that will prompt you to take it to the party.
  • Getting ready to go out? Return discarded outfits to the closet and put away make-up, hair products and the hairdryer.
  • Waking up? Open blinds and windows, make the bed, and leave the bedroom looking tranquil.

You get the idea.

This Works For The Kids, Too:

  • Playing with toys? Playing includes returning every toy to the toybox, bin or drawer where it belongs.
  • Changing out of school clothes? That means putting new clothes on and placing old clothes in the hamper or wherever they need to go.
  • Doing homework? Return books, pencil cases and school stuff to the backpack as part of the homework. (Bonus: This one might help avoid the dreaded homework-left-at-home drama, too.)

Home Organization Is Easier Than You Think

If your home is in a disorganized state right now, this lifestyle change will not only help you avoid new clutter, it will also help to reduce existing clutter.

How? As you pick up after yourself you’ll pick up bits that aren’t related to the present task as well as those that are.

Over time, the clutter will lessen. It’s the opposite of entropy.

Of course, you could always start with a nice clutter-free home by

and then use My Very Best Clutter-Busting Tip to maintain the lovely order you create.

Try this organizing strategy for a week and your home will start to become transformed.

Will you give it a go?

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/higashitori/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Michele | Get Organized Gal

Michele is into writing, books, simplicity, love, TV, productivity, and staying thin in a world of chocolate.

20 thoughts on “Home Organization: My Very Best Clutter-Busting Tip”

  2. Michele Connolly says:

    @Betsy: This idea will change your life! Just remember that everything will take a little longer now. Keep doing it, and soon you’ll have a habit under your belt that will make everything easier. 🙂

  3. Betsy says:

    Thanks Michele! I have been working on organizing for a few years now and I never had heard of or thought of this concept, it is really helping me that I no longer have to search for time in my schedule to clean up, it’s just built right in to the task. Very similiar to learning that every appointment simply needs an extra 15 minutes up front to account for traffic, a forgotten paper, etc.

  8. Tammy Skipper says:

    it’s so funny to me how I do this in so many areas (like every time I get out of my car, I take any trash/purchases) but for other areas I don’t (crafts, paperwork).

  10. Janine Adams says:

    I love this! Expand your definition of a task to include cleaning up. Brilliant! I think I’ll blog about this in the near future and point my blog readers to this post.

    Michele, are you going to be at the AAPO conference? I’ll be there and would love to meet you.

    Janine

  12. Dave Coates says:

    Love it! 🙂 I generally try my best to do it. of course there are always those times where we (or “I”) get a bit lazy … 😛

    Your tips rock! Thanks ! 😀

    Dave

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