If you follow us on social media or have had us come help you, you will likely have heard us say “Don’t put it down, put it away”. So, what do we mean by that?
Clutter and disorganization are often the result of items coming into your home that do not have a designated space to be kept or stored. These “homeless” items end up just getting set down in random places or stuffed into a spot they don’t really fit or belong. The longer this pattern continues the worse the clutter gets and the more likely items get “lost” or repurchased. Individuals become frustrated at not being able to find things easily and spending money on items they know they already own.
So, the first step to being able to put items away is – declutter. Look at the items that you want homes for, go to those spaces and see what is currently there preventing more from coming in. Then make the decisions of what items will stay and what items need to go. Maybe there are items in this space that belong somewhere else. If so, move them to that space. ** At first, you may experience the “trickle down effect” – while one area gets less cluttered, other area’s may get more cluttered. Don’t worry, stick with the process and it will all get better.
Once you have completed the decluttering process and you have created space/homes for the items you want, it’s time to implement the “don’t put it down, put it away” rule. That is, when you bring items into the house, resist the urge to just throw it down somewhere and take a minute to go put the item in it’s proper place. The task of putting something away will seem a lot less daunting when you know where it goes. Not to mention, so much faster. In turn, finding items will be easier and reduce the chances of repurchasing items unnecessarily.
Just like any other habit, there are times that you won’t put items away immediately and that is ok… sometimes. To help you, create a drop bucket and empty it weekly. If you have children who are old enough, make them buckets and teach them about putting items away.
The key to decreasing the likelihood of clutter building up is and creating disorganization is;
- Make homes for all your items – if you run out of space, re-evaluate what you want to keep.
- Don’t Put It Down, Put it Away – make sure items end up back in their proper places.
If you need help creating those homes and trying to determine what items stay and what items are no longer needed, feel free to reach out and see how Just In Time Solutions can help you.
