I invite you to an organizing challenge – with yourself!
Can you commit to doing 1 organizing task per day for 7 days to start a real change in your life?
You don't need to register for anything or be accountable to anyone but you. But tackling a single task a day for a short few days can help kickstart good habits.
Even if it doesn’t, you can accomplish something solid of which you can be proud.
Sometimes the thought of organizing is just downright daunting. You look around your home or apartment and think, “Where do I even start?” and so you sit down with a book or the remote control and avoid it.
But while you may not be able to organize your entire home in 7 days, you CAN make some changes that can shift your mindset and make your life easier.
And if nothing else, you will have 7 areas tidy and clean.
January is the traditional month to start new habits but you can start a New You anytime. You are missing out on 11 whole other months to make positive changes in your life if you keep it to only January.
So let’s get started!
Day #1: Clear out under your bathroom sink.
Choose this one small area of your home that is disorganized and straighten it out.
Empty the space. Sort things out, throw away junk/empties/products you don’t like, and rethink how you store things as you put them back.
If you need labels, Brothers P-Touch PT70BM label makers are a good price point for a home-use model.
Day #2: Sort out and reduce your kitchen cooking utensils.
This one can be done quickly.
Gather all your cooking utensils from wherever you keep them: various drawers, counter-top containers, the dishwasher, or the drying rack by the sink.
Sort them and reduce duplicates. For each type – say, wooden spoons – keep the best and a spare, and consider donating the rest.
Finally, rethink how you put them back in storage.
I bought these bamboo drawer dividers to divide our kitchen drawers.
Day #3: Cancel the junk mail.
This one takes a few minutes but is very satisfying.
Stop unsolicited mail, phone calls, and email by visiting the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information site here.
Work your way through each link and lessen the junk.
Day #4: Slim down your keychain.
Rethink how many keys you need to carry.
I used to carry too many things on my keychain. My weak point is to use souvenir or keepsake keychains for too long.
Reduce the extras and remove keys you don’t need to carry every day and label them with these.
Streamline your keychain to only those you really need.
Day #5: Free up your bedroom chair for sitting.
Piles of shirts worn once; jeans that are not quite dirty enough to wash; and extra bulky sweaters that don’t fit in your drawers. These can all get heaped on the chair (or the treadmill, or the dresser top, or the floor.)
Take back the space for its intended purpose.
It may build up again (don’t get discouraged!) but clear it now to enjoy the feeling of space.
Day #6: Start a returns bin.
Place a medium-sized cardboard box by the door you most frequently use to leave your home.
This is your new temporary hold-all for library books you have finished reading, things you borrowed from a neighbor, and clothing that needs to be returned unworn.
Spend a few days collecting these things in the box, and then take the box and return all the items.
Then, recycle the box.
Day #7: Use the sides of your furniture.
It is so easy to place removable hooks on the sides of kitchen cabinets to hang dish towels, or to hang your yoga mat in your workout space, or on the inside of the coat closet door to hang winter scarves.
If you prefer a more polished look, you can also install permanent hook racks in your kitchen to hang aprons and canvas reusable bags.
Let me know how it goes!
These 7 tasks may not all apply to you – and if so , consider it a day off.
But see if you can complete these in the next 7 days and see if your home feels easier to manage.
When you're ready to tackle your tough organization project, I am here to help you learn how.
Let's RETHINK organization together.
For more information, visit the RETHINK website today.
Mandy Thomas is a professional organizer fulfilling her lifelong passion for creating order out of chaos. She finds joy in helping people tackle their most overwhelming spaces and collections to create the optimal living space and enjoy their homes.
RETHINK organization is on a mission to help you develop long-term patterns of organization that you can maintain and feel good about long after our work together is done.
留言