Have you ever been guilty of keeping your home in better shape when company is coming over than when you’re living in it? This popular meme says it all:
Now cleaning is an entirely different subject than what we’re going to talk about today. Of course that’s a large part of having your home “company ready.” But when it comes to having your home decluttered, organized and presentable we want to offer you strategies to make it happen! Why? Because we think you deserve to enjoy your tidy home just as much as your company does!
So let’s get down to the four strategies we’ve got for you. By the way, we’ve got a quiz & brainstorming worksheet for you at the end so don’t miss out!
1. Personal Hall of Fame
Imagine walking through a Hall of Fame museum that featured YOU and your life. What would it contain? What are the things most memorable and that bookmarked important moments in your life?When you’re going through each category of items, think about creating your own personal hall of fame. It’s a fun way to really understand what to keep and what to discard.
Quick: What are five things that would go in your hall of fame right now?
This exercise helps you to consider not keeping stuff that isn’t the very best and most important to you. Why keep stuff that isn’t the best? That doesn’t really reflect you? That’s not in alignment with you?
2. Follow the Fork
If anyone in your family found a fork in your bathroom, they would all know it doesn’t belong there. Moreover, they would know where it was supposed to be. We want to apply that exact concept to all of your stuff. Everyone knows where it goes: this is the new rule of thumb for all of your stuff.
This does mean that everything you own has to have a home. It will also mean that stuff is stored with like stuff. Consider the silverware drawer for guidance. Forks aren’t in a different drawer than spoons-and this is what makes it easier to put things away. Likewise, you can keep ALL linens together, ALL umbrellas, ALL tape, All electronic cords, all paper etc.
The trick here is that in order to be able to give everything a home, you need to have space for that to happen. Does that mean you need to discard items?
We want things to have a home with plenty of space in order to help us achieve the next strategy.
3. Make it easy to put away
There are many strategies to use when you’re organizing your home and figuring out where everything will go. The most important thing to consider, however, is to make items quick & easy to put away. If you don’t, let’s face it, people are MUCH less likely to actually put things away.
Some key factors in making it easy to put away are:
- It has to be known by everyone
- Make sure everyone knows where it goes, don’t assume. Have a training session if needed!
- It has to have enough space
- If there is not enough room, people will give up. Yes, this little bit of resistance is what can keep you from keeping up your home as easily. Make sure everything has plenty of room when giving it a home. Don’t make it hard by requiring shoving or decision making in the moment.
- It has to not have to be several steps
- Do not make putting things away a game of Tetris. No, make your items as close to open container/cabinet/drawer, store and close as possible. The more steps it takes, the more people will avoid putting it away and the higher chances it’ll be put away incorrectly.
- There may be items that will require several steps to put away such as in the attic or the top corner shelf of a closet. Save these spaces for the things that get used least often but that you’ll be motivated to get out such as Christmas items.
4. Put it all the way away
This concept derived from my son when we lived in a two story house in a cold climate. He would dutifully take his boots off upon entering the house, as he should have. That’s when the system failed. The boots would remain by the door.
“Zach, put your boots away,” would commonly ring out from the kitchen.
Next, I’d notice his boots were on the foot of the steps. That’s closer, but not all the way away.
“Zach, put your boots away.”
Then the boots would move to his bedroom. Still closer, but not all the way away.
“Zach, put your boots away!”
Finally, if I had the diligence to get to this fourth step his boots would find their way to his shoe shelf inside of his closet. Yes, they were finally put all the way away.
Let’s work on creating the ease and discipline of putting things all the way away. Be a broken record. Don’t settle for hal put away. Train yourself and your family to put it all the way away the first time-it is much LESS work than returning to the task over and over and having the items haunt you with clutter until you do finally put them all the way away.
Listen to the podcast to hear about our bonus strategy: Your kids are only as disciplined as you are.
GET YOUR QUIZ & PLANNING WORKSHEET!
Hey, if you need help with this, you’re in luck. We have a FUN quiz and a helpful brainstorming worksheet just for you. Download it now!
PS: If any of this resonated with you, we’d love to work with you 1-on-1. We teach our clients how to build a body they love and change habits slowly to match their goals. In a world with fake quick fixes, we help them adapt a lifestyle that they’ll want to keep. If that resonates with you, please get in touch with the form below!
Ideal Balance is The Life Coaching Facility in Navarre, Florida that focuses on Fitness, Family & Finance. We help our clients create the discipline & habits they need to strip off what’s holding them back from living the life God created them to live. We work with clients in 1-on-1 sessions in person and virtually as well as in Small Groups in Personal Training sessions, workshops and other events. We’re on a mission to inject hope and empower our community one client at a time. Contact us if you’d like to find out more.
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