How can I find time to organize when I can't even keep up with daily tasks?

I received a question from a listener, Alasa. She asked

“How can I find time to organize when I can’t even keep up with daily tasks?” 

Alasa asked me this question and is receiving customized recommendations back through email. She initiated our conversation and my free support and you can too by going to www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com and clicking the Ask Me Anything link.

How can I find time to organize when I can’t even keep up with daily tasks?

There is a lot wrapped up in this question. She shared with me a list of about 20 things. Some of which pertain to organizing physical spaces like the bedroom, basement and garage, but the main theme in everything she told me is that her house feels messy. She says everywhere she goes in the house it feels like a mess. She said she feels like there should be a place for everything and everything should be put in its place. They have enough space but the process of deciding where to put all the things is daunting and a struggle for her. I think we all find this a challenge because much of what lays around the house doesn’t belong to us, right?!

The area she talked about most is the kitchen. Her family eats dinner around 7:30pm which leaves little time afterward to clean up. Currently they’re getting the food put away but pretty much nothing else is getting done. Then when she gets up, the mess starts her day off on the wrong foot.

To share recommendations to everything would be one really, really long episode and I know that doesn’t work for you or for me. Instead in each episode I share a microscopic home organizing topic. That just means it’s something you can implement today, from start to finish, if you so choose.

Today’s microscopic home organizing topic is how to make your home feel less messy. Yes, less messy. I don’t want to make a promise that in a few simple steps you can make your entire home feel organized and impeccable. That isn’t reality. But you can make it feel less messy in a few steps. And this is a starting point.

As someone who is or feels like they’re just starting their home organizing journey you want to be set up for lasting home organizing solutions, right?  In order to make that happen you’ll have to do something different than you’ve done before or what society tells us.

Instead of holding yourself to an impossible standard that you don’t have time for, you can focus on making small areas of your home less messy so that you make progress, build momentum and keep moving forward in your home organizing journey. In this episode I’ll share some encouragement, what the problem is that prevents progress and the steps you can follow to make your home feel less messy.

ENCOURAGEMENT

Managing all the things in our homes is not a one and done thing. It’s a daily practice. A daily practice that requires modifications as our seasons of life change and even as the seasons change!

I want to start by encouraging you. Your organizing skills are exactly what they should be right now. You are more than capable of learning new skills so that you can make desired changes within your home, whether it’s getting your kitchen clean-up process going or completely revamping your bedroom closet organization. You CAN learn how to make it happen.

THE PROBLEM THAT PREVENTS PROGRESS

Part of the problem Alasa has is holding herself to standards that she sees or hears about elsewhere. Such as the old saying ‘a place for everything and everything in its place.’ There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get to that point, but that’s a very big organizing project. It requires development of processes to follow so that every time something new comes into your home or a package size of something you regularly buy and store changes (think cereal) you need a process to deal with it right away.

We’ve all done this, right? Where we see that someone else has their home so clean and organized, but we don’t see what’s behind closed doors. We may not see the real mess. Or if there isn’t a mess, we don’t know how much time is spent on keeping it all clean and organized. Maybe that person that you're thinking of right now has parted with 75% of what they owned, but is now distraught over the fact that she got rid of a family heirloom even though she never used it.

THE STEPS TO MAKE YOUR HOME FEEL LESS MESSY

1. Start small. Select a very small space or small task where you can be successful in making it less messy. This could be a counter in your kitchen, a portion of a counter, a shelf in your office or even a task such as loading the dishwasher. It’s ok to even start microscopic, super duper small. What you select will become part of an overall process, but right now you can’t focus on the entire process because you are trying to make things less messy. When you have success at one thing you make progress and build momentum. This makes you want to continue moving forward in your home organizing journey. 
2. Sort through the things in that space and make decisions on what to do with them. If it’s a task, sort through the steps that are needed to complete the task. For stuff on the counter in your kitchen, if it’s not yours, put it in that person’s bedroom or in a space that is theirs. (husband’s favorite seat in front of the TV). For loading the dishwasher - take dirty dishes off table; place in dishwasher; take dirty dishes out of sink; place in dishwasher; start dishwasher.
3. Document what you are expecting to keep the area less messy or do get the task done. This is the step most people miss. Write down, type up and post visibly what you are expecting. In shared areas of your home everyone needs to pitch in. To keep the counter less messy, you are expecting others to keep their things off of the counter or for them to clear it every night. Or, just a thought, you put a basket, box or bin on the counter for everyone to put their stuff in. At least it’s less messy and all the stuff is containerized! For loading the dishwasher; you are expecting everyone to load their dishes right after dinner. Again, it’s a starting point and not the full process - if the dishwasher hasn’t been unloaded this will cause a hiccup.

• When you are confident and have seen success in keeping a small area less messy, move onto the next area or task and repeat the steps!

To make things less messy you have to let go of expecting perfection.

Let go of thinking your kids care what the house looks like. Let go of thinking you shouldn’t have to remind others what to do.

It is human nature to want to do things once and not have to come back to it again. I think that’s only possible if we aren’t actually living life in our homes, but we are. And life is constantly changing. 

Do you feel like this is a lot to take in right now? Let me help. Go to www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com and click the Ask Me Anything link. Share with me your home organizing woes. Let’s get your home organized together!