Do you wish you were more organized and not living in constant clutter? A lot of us do, and while we can’t all be Marie Kondo, we can learn a lot from the habits of those more organized than us. These are a few things organized people don’t do and how they do things instead.
- Don’t: Dump your mail. It’s easy to toss it all on the counter when you first walk in the door, where it sits in piles, raising the risk you’ll miss something important. Instead, file and review mail by the door, using an organizer to help sort it out and store it.
- Don’t: Put things away without a plan. If your solution for random stuff like batteries, pencils, paper clips and such is to stash it in an already overcrowded junk drawer, it’s time to change that up. Instead, find a home and a solution for those items, like using an upcycled egg carton to organize the drawer.
- Don’t: Try to keep counters clear. It’s practically impossible to keep your countertops totally cleared off for long, and you shouldn’t try to hide the things you use all the time. Instead, corral items together and try to make them look orderly and neat. Use a tray or a canister for the highly used items to make the counters look less cluttered.
- Don’t: Buy containers to organize a mess. Filling bins with all the stuff may seem like a good idea, but you’re really just moving the mess into a plastic tub. Organized people start with a donation basket and decluttering, then once they’ve pared down, they find storage space for the items they keep.
- Don’t: Use random baskets as a catchall. The problem is that they’ll end up full of everything and quickly get out of control. Organized types know that each basket should have a singular mission and a label that shows what should be kept in it, instead of collecting a random mess.
- Don’t: Make your entryway a dumping ground. Things can get out of control quickly when your entryway becomes the catchall for the family. A table, some containers for things like keys and sunglasses, as well as hooks for coats and bags, can really help to organize the space.
- Don’t: Pack your shelves completely. Overstuffed shelves aren’t just unattractive to look at, they’re also unorganized. Instead, create some breathing room, so the shelf looks as good as it functions.
- Don’t try to do it all in a day. Getting your home organized isn’t something you can easily do in a day, it’s better to break it up and do a little at a time. And staying organized is a habit, so you’ll have to keep spending time doing it to maintain it.
Source: CNN
Scott's Thoughts:
- If any of these organized people want to come to declutter my house, the door is always open!
- I have tried to be more organized but the desire to do so fades with time.
- I feel like if I could start over with a brand new house with brand new stuff, I would be organized.