How To Organize Your Home Once And For All - Part 3
Tidying is like cleaning and laundry and cooking - it is a task that needs to be done almost daily! Tidying is the act of putting items back in their designated homes. So, if you’ve decluttered and designated a home for everything in your house, but then fail to put items back in their designated homes after you use them … you will quickly see your space become disorganized again!
Determining systems is the third key step to achieving an organized home!
If you do not have a system to maintain the organization you set up, your house will not stay organized!
A mindset and habit shift will be in order for this last crucial part of having an organized and tidy home. Tidying is a skill and habit - it can be learned! Keep telling yourself that, because everyone can develop tidy habits. You are not a messy, disorganized person! Those are not actually character traits, they are behaviors and habits.
(I highly, highly recommend reading the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. He takes a deep dive into the science behind habits - adding, changing, and stopping them!)
I like to think of my tidying Maintenance systems as three separate buckets:
Daily Reset - for your most used spaces
Weekly Reset - to prevent clutter creep
Seasonal Reset - for seasonal decor and clothing
DAILY RESET
1.Think through your day and when each space get used and when it is done being used.
2. Determine what you want that space to look like.
Take a picture and hang it there when you’re just starting your tidying system habits! It will be a reminder of what the space should look like every day to prevent the dreaded clutter creep!
3. Choose the time of day that works best to do a reset in each space.
4. Map out a system (assign roles if necessary) and then DO IT!
A reset in each space should take no more than 10-15 minutes if you really make it a habit and do it daily!
Don’t just say you’ll reset a space … actually write down the steps you’ll take and who will do them. If you have small, specific, actionable tasks to get to your larger goal of “resetting a space” you will be more likely to do it!
EXAMPLE of a daily reset system
ENTRYWAY DAILY RESET
Think through day: Our entryway gets used the hardest before school and after school, but after school is when the things enter our home, so that’s when the reset should occur.
What I want: I want the floor to be clear, the entryway tabletop to the clear, and everything to be put away.
When: I reset our entryway every afternoon when the kids come home from school.
Tidy System:
Kids take their water bottles out of their backpacks and put them next to the sink.
I grab paperwork from backpack and put it in our “school-work” area (my kids will do this when older).
Kids put their backpacks in the front closet.
Kids put their shoes in the shoe cabinet
Kids put their coats away.
WEEKLY RESET
A weekly reset allows you to tackle the other areas of your home that you want to keep tidy, but aren’t necessarily your priorities for a daily reset. These might be your bedroom, laundry room, car (it can almost be a second home, right!), living room, dining room, etc.
It is almost impossible to reset every area of your home every day. You want to choose the spaces that get used the hardest and need the most frequent upkeep - usually kitchens, entryways, and/or playrooms.
The system does not need to be as formalized as a daily reset. For a weekly reset, you simply need to make sure everything in that space is back in its home. If there are piles of clutter (things that don’t have homes) forming, declutter the pile and designate homes for everything.
If you find that a certain type of items is piling up often or a certain surface is collecting a lot of piles, it may be time to create a system for that space or item.
SEASONAL RESET
This is mainly a chance to go through seasonal clothing, seasonal decorations, or spaces that are used differently based on the season (ie: sheds or garages).
Do a declutter and make sure everything has a home and is in its home.
If you and your family are struggling with creating systems that you can maintain - reach out for help! Investing in your home and making it function for you is a form of self-care that will help make your life more simple and smooth!