We’re always looking for that magic bullet, right? That little habit that you kick yourself later for not realizing or not implementing sooner. Though there’s truly no 1 magic bullet for organizing, there are some organizing habits and mindsets to adopt that will, undoubtedly, contribute to a less cluttered environment and mind. I call them the Three “Ones”.
1. 1-in-1-Out Rule
For every one item that comes into your house, move one thing out. The reason behind this boils down to simple math. Clutter = stuff. And when stuff accumulates, that means we’re bringing more in to our space than we’re moving out of our space (or it means things don’t have a home or get put back in their home). This baseline can be adjusted to meet your specific needs.
Current State:
Decluttered – If you’re already decluttered and happy with the amount of items in your home, 1-in-1-out should work well. You’ll remain item neutral. This is a great practice to adopt for maintaining all that hard work you’ve done decluttering.
Cluttered – If you currently have a cluttered environment, or too much for your space, I’d recommend 1-in-3 out or 1-in-5 out. It’s really not as hard as it sounds to find 3-5 things to get rid. Promise! And, it should take no longer than 5 minutes.
So how does this work?
1. Awareness. So many things come into our home without us consciously realizing it. Gift bags from birthday parties, school paperwork, mail, clothing, any mail order purchase we make. Think about all those amazon packages you (may or may not) be bringing in! Increasing your awareness is the trigger that prompts you to find the items to remove from your home, leading us to….
2. Follow through. This is the part that usually trips us up! Find the 1 thing, the 3 things or the 5 things. Anything that doesn’t belong in your house is fair game – even old papers that need throwing away. Aim to do it right when the new thing comes into the home (remember – that’s your trigger!)
Or, if you don’t have a few minutes, put an entry on your calendar for later that evening that says “find 1 thing” or “find 3 things”. Then, when you get a minute that evening (after the rush of dinner or bustle of kid bedtimes, etc), find the things, put them in your car or wherever you keep donations, or in the trash can.
Benefits:
Teaches kids about choices. There have been several times when I’ve been shopping with my kids and they’ve asked to buy something. When I asked them if they could think of something they would be willing to part with if they brought this new item in, they said, “I’d rather keep my current things”. And they happily let the new thing go. Often it was just something that caught their eye in the aisle/an impulse, just like when you grocery shop hungry and suddenly need everything! This isn’t about deprivation – just prioritization and learning responsible buying habits.
Makes maintaining organization easier. You’re guarding yourself against those overwhelming organization projects that loom over our heads – just too overwhelming to tackle.
2. 1 Minute Rule
What is it? It’s the habit of handling something right away if it will take less than one minute. Think of it as avoiding the accumulation of chore “clutter” just like the 1-in-1-out rule guards against the accumulation of physical clutter. When one minute tasks pile up, they become overwhelming. It’s always easier to find one minute multiple times a day than it is to carve out a 30 minute chunk of time to handle the same amount of work.
If you’re tempted to toss the clothes on the back of the chair out of habit, stop yourself, ask if will take less than a minute to put them away (it will). Then, just do it right away. If it seems like you’ll always be running around doing little chores, you won’t! They’ll be so habitual, you won’t even think about them as chores. Think of it as just being responsible for your own things and space, doing your part to maintain your home, and showing your kids how to do the same.
3. 1 Day at a Time
Getting and staying organized becomes much more feasible when it’s accompanied by the mindset that progress happens a little at a time. Start small and think about what you can accomplish right now/today, instead of being overwhelmed by the enormity of an entire house that needs attention.
Break each large project down into a series of more manageable tasks. Celebrate the little wins! And, recognize your accomplishments for what they are….legitimate progress that is making a dent in that larger goal. And, if today wasn’t all that productive? That’s ok. We all have those days. And, tomorrow is another day – full of promise.