Sometimes when I’m shopping I have random thoughts like, “Everyone in this store made a choice about what to wear today.” For some, it was a painstaking decision due to an abundance of options or, it was based on the events of the day. For others, the choice was determined by what was clean or on top of the pile. I admit sometimes thinking, “Hmm, that was an interesting choice.”
It strikes me how, as different as we all are, we have many commonalities when it comes to daily living and the challenges thereof.
Today’s Timely Tips focus on four things we all do, and ways to streamline them. Similar to the diversity of humankind, there are many methods of organizing, so please don’t consider any of these the one right way.
If your method is working for you, don’t fix what’s not broken. If your peace and productivity could be enhanced by a little organization, consider implementing one or more of these Timely Tips.
Timely Tips - for streamlining daily living
1. Getting Dressed - If you’re scrambling to get out the door and choosing what to wear is slowing you down, try categorizing your clothes.
Remove sizes and styles you're not currently wearing.
Place off-season clothes to the far side of the closet or containerize them on a shelf, or under the bed.
Divide the in-season clothes into work, play, and special occasion sections.
Color code each section.
If you’re retired, clear out the career clothes and donate them to someone who currently needs them.
You'll notice a big difference when you're no longer sifting through combined seasons, sizes, and work/play clothes. Extra space is the reward for removing what's not needed.
Processing Mail— Before your paper pile gets shoved into a drawer (again), create homes and routines for the mail and other papers. Since you can’t see anything but the top of a paper pile, think vertical is visible, and horizontal is hidden.
Place a wall-mount or table-top file holder in the hub of your home.
Create folders for Action Items, Bills to Pay, Events, etc.
Daily sort the incoming mail and papers into your folders and immediately put the recyclables into a nearby receptacle.
This will keep your flat surfaces clear and allow you to easily find your papers when you need them. No more late fees due to lost bills!
Laundry— Whether you’re a “do a load a day” person, or one that likes to do a week’s worth on one day, the challenge is to get the clean laundry to its home. If its default home is a pile on the bed, or the couch, or worse yet gets moved to the floor, it’s a constant visual of more work yet to be done. This can be more draining that actually taking care of it.
As the laundry comes out of the dryer place it on a large flat surface, like the bed.
Sort it into categories—shirts, pants, undies, towels, etc.
Create sub-categories as needed for various family members.
Bring hangers to your laundry station and hang/fold the various categories.
You can also distribute the categories to individual family members for the final step.
Complete the process with each load as it comes out of the dryer. It’s much less overwhelming than dealing with a mountain of clean laundry.
In ‘n Out— We all have stuff that comes and goes with us. Finding your keys, purse, or wallet, can be a stressful chore when you’re trying to head out the door.
Attach some decorative hooks to the wall near the door for keys, purses, and backpacks. Or, use a practical system as pictured.
Designate a nearby drawer or tray for wallets and pocket contents.
Place a decorative basket by the door for the reusable grocery bags, library books, dry cleaning, and other items that need to go out with you.
Routines-- Essential to your success with any of these tips is using the systems routinely. None of us do it perfectly, but as Joanna Weaver says, “Consistency doesn’t mean perfection; it simply means not giving up.”