-out of sight = out of mind, as in, if you canāt see it, you will forget it exists. Set up your space such that, when everything is put away, you can still see it all (remove closet doors, shallow shelves so nothing is behind anything else, etc.)
-one-step access. None of thisĀ āto get to this thing, I have to get a stool, remove the box in front of it, grab the thing i want, put the box back, put the stool back-ā nah. One step access. Not evenĀ āthis thing belongs behind this thingā. Open drawer. Is thing right there? good. Have to move other thing to get to it? bad. Multi-steps means youāll rarely use it, and when you do, it will NEVER GET PUT AWAY AGAIN. Multi-step access is for deep storage and the items that get the least frequent use.
-an itemās home is within armās reach of where you are most likely to use it/want to put it down.
-items can have multiple homes and thatās ok. I have three pencil/pen cans around my room, and like two or three places where IāmĀ āallowedā to place things like my wallet and keys (and I am NOT allowed to place them anywhere else, because then Iāll lose them forever).
-examine the mess on your floor and determine the categories, then ask why those things are on the floor.Ā
āWhy pile of clean clothes? because I didnāt want to fold them up. Solution: fuck folding clothes, clothes only get sorted into categories and then dumped into drawers or crates. Thatās fine and ok.Ā
āWhy pile of kinda-dirty-but-can-still-wear clothes? because I donāt want to put them away (i wore them once) but i donāt want to put them in the laundry basket (theyāre not really dirty yet). Solution: have a home forĀ ākinda dirtyā clothes. I drape mine over the edge of my hamper.Ā
ā- a bunch of trash on your floor? Because the trash can is all the way over there. Solution: put a bunch of trash cans all around your room.
ā- pile of papers on desk? because i need to put them in my files where theyāll eventually go. Solution: one of those cute magazine boxes on desk, specifically forĀ āto fileā papers.Ā
-permanent piles on surfaces go in cute little boxes exactly where they already were. e.g. pile on nightstand consisting of wallet, keys, meds, phone, etc??? cute little box right on the nightstand for all that stuff youāll grab every day. Pile on desk of shit that you need to take back out to the kitchen but havenāt yet? grab a little tray specifically to accumulate things youāll take back out to the kitchen at some point. box on nightstand forĀ āstuff that could/usually does go in purse, but isnāt there today for whatever reasonā. Lil box forĀ ārandom tiny shit that I should put away at some pointā like hair ties, safety pins, push pins, etc.
-itās ok for things toĀ āliveā in the place where youāll need them next, even if itās notĀ āawayā, so long as those things arenāt in your way. My pjs live on my bed, because Iām going to wear them again tonight. If Iām feeling fancy Iāll fold them and put them at the foot of the bed. Most days Iāll just yeet them on there and thatās where they Belong. My meds belong in a lil box on my nightstand, because thatās where Iāll set out my pills for the next day.
-Ā ādump stationā = right inside the door, where youāll divest yourself of everything automatically anyways. Hook for your purse, hook for workbag, a few hooks for coats etc (even though coatsĀ āliveā in the closet, itās ok for them to live here too), box/tray for wallet etc, place for shoes. Because Iām gonna dump them the moment I walk in the door anyway, and if theirĀ āplaceā isnāt right there, theyāre just gonna end up part of the mess
-beware the corner piles. Observe them, question them, solve them. Shit accumulates inĀ ādead spotsā on the floor where you donāt walk often. Watch those piles. What are those piles? Where are their homes? And why arenāt they there? Are their homes too inaccessible? Did I accidentally start a new hobby and none of the supplies for that have a home yet? Is it somethingĀ āin progressā that I still intend to work on/do something with?Ā
youāll still go through the cycles of accumulating mess and destroying it all in one go, but the mess accumulated will be so much less and so much easier to deal with.
blakekathryn
romaincrisis
pixelskylines
amandla
