Home organization can seem a daunting task, especially in our increasingly fast paced world. There never seems to be enough time to really buckle down and get the job done all at once, so we’ve put together a list of quick tasks that can be done every day. Before you know it, everything in your home will be put in its place.
Throw one thing away from your kitchen every day: The kitchen is one room in a home where things tend to be left–and never removed. Every day, make it a goal to throw one thing out that you no longer need, use, or want. Old spices in the back of the pantry, cracked or chipped dishes that never get used, miscellaneous gadgets collecting dust in drawers, all of those items that you know you won’t use but can never seem to part with—throw them out! Use this mindset when shopping as well to prevent future clutter. If it is something that in three months will be your daily toss, don’t buy it.
Find a permanent home for one thing every day: We all have them, those “things” around the home that never seem to be in the same place from day to day. Whether it’s the TV remote, an extra throw blanket, footstools, jackets—even small things like a pair of scissors—all of them need a permanent home. Choose one item each day and decide on a permanent resting place for it. An important element to ensuring that it remains in place is to make sure that everyone else knows “this belongs here!” It may take a few reminders, but if you stick with it eventually everything will have a home, and yours will be a much neater place to live.
Toss one thing from your closet every day: This rule can apply to any closet in your home—the bedroom closet that’s filled with clothes that you may wear again someday under the right circumstances, the hall closet hiding broken umbrellas and ancient jackets, or even the child’s closet that is bursting with forgotten toys. No matter how much you like the color, or the memory or the possibility of future use, every day find one thing that you can finally let go of until your left with only the things that you actually use. You’ll start to notice that trips to the closet are more pleasant when you’re not dreading having to weed through a sea of unwanted items to get to what you actually need.
Organize one drawer or shelf in your home every day: It’s inevitable that at least one drawer will become a junk drawer. It’s just so easy to toss those spare keys or match books or paper clips into a drawer and then forget about them until you need them and they are no where to be found. Target one of these thing-magnet drawers a day (or a week if your drawers are large enough to warrant more than one day of organizing) and develop some system of organization. Whether you use full drawer organizers, smaller individual containers or a unique method of your creation, choose a means of organization and stick with it for every drawer. It may even be beneficial to assign specific types of things to different drawers, which will make it easier to find things quickly.
File 10 papers or pieces of mail every day: It is extremely important to develop some kind of organizational system for mail and other important paperwork. It is easy to open a piece of mail, set it on a table and forget about it—that is until your water is shut off because the bill is buried on the kitchen table, or you miss that holiday party because the invitation was forgotten about. Whether you use a filing cabinet, assign a drawer or have a bulletin board, know where your mail will go once it is opened so it won’t be forgotten or lost. Start small by choosing a set number of pieces (such as 10) to file in the new system every day. In time you will have a routine for opening the mail and you won’t forget a bill or event ever again!