10 Small Habits to Improve Your Organization & Your Life
I need to hit you with a cold, hard truth. I am not magic. I cannot come into your home and implement organizing systems and suddenly you have no trouble keeping your home tidy and running efficiently. I would love for that to be the case, but no matter what, it’s going to take some changes from you and your household.
But wait! Don’t panic and run away just yet. I have some good news too. The changes you make do NOT have to be massive. Even a few small tweaks to your household routines can make a huge difference in how you feel and how you function. I’ve assembled a list of 10 small changes you can make, starting today, that I promise can create a new sense of calm and order.
1. Sort mail as soon as it comes into your house.
One of the top sources of clutter I see in client homes comes in the form of paper mail. I get it. You grab the mail on the way into the house after work, go inside, throw it on the counter and get to work emptying your lunch bag, hanging up your coat and bags, getting dinner started. Before you know it, the night is over and you’re heading to bed with plans to tackle the mail pile tomorrow. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Today, instead of dropping the mail on the counter, do a rapid sort and immediately toss/recycle all ads, flyers, credit card offers and other promotional mail. IF you have any mail left after that, place any bills or official paperwork into a designated spot like a mail organizer or desktop tray.
2. Clear your kitchen counters and empty the sink every night.
I maybe should have put this at the top of the list, because to me it has the biggest daily impact of any of the habit changes I’m suggesting. Personally I do this right after dinner. My husband is the chef in our household, so I’m responsible for post-dinner clean-up. After I’m done packing up leftovers and loading the dishwasher, I wash, dry, and put away any dishes that are not dishwasher safe. Then I wipe down the stove and countertops. The entire process usually takes around 15 minutes. But the feeling of looking at my clean, tidy kitchen as I eventually head off to bed, and the impact of waking up to a clear space each morning is honestly game-changing. I feel lighter, calmer, and more in control as I start each day, and that is well worth the nightly clean-up commitment.
3. Run your dishwasher every night.
I know this one may be slightly controversial, but I recommend running your dishwasher nightly regardless of whether it’s completely full or not. There are a few reasons for this. The first, is that consistency is important when trying to maintain order. The second is that, from personal experience, if you wait to fill the dishwasher to run it and the next day is a heavy dish-use day, you may not have enough room for all of your dishes, forcing you to either leave some of the dishes in the sink to attract pests or to hand wash. But what about wasting water and electricity on a partially full load? There are studies that show that running a dishwasher even half full uses less water than hand-washing. Ultimately while I encourage conservation, I don’t believe your dishwasher usage is going to be the tipping point for our planet’s survival.
4. Make your bed.
For years I did not do this and the world kept turning, so I won’t pretend like this one act is the lynchpin for leading an organized life. That said, once I set this up as a daily habit, I realized how mentally soothing it was to me. I don’t do a perfect job. My sheets peek out from under my comforter. And some days when I’m truly running behind, my bed gets made at 5 p.m. after my workday is done. But, even if it’s only a few hours before I go to sleep, I take five minutes to do this because pulling back the covers and sliding into a tidy bed helps me have a calm mind as I go to bed, setting me up for a better night’s sleep. Being well-rested is an important part of leading an organized life.
5. Fold and put laundry away as soon as each load is done.
I know this is a hot button issue. Laundry is a never-ending cycle and most people hate doing it, making it a common task people avoid. In particular, people often struggle with putting laundry away. I get it, but I’m here to tell you that taking the time to finish the job pays you back exponentially in the physical and mental relief that comes with its completion. Here are a few ideas to help you overcome laundry difficulties:
Do one or two loads per night if you struggle with managing all your laundry in a single day.
Outsource it. If you can afford it, either hire a housekeeper to do your laundry for you, or send it out to a professional cleaner.
Share the love. Teach members of your household who are old enough to do their own laundry and put it away. Assign each person a particular night of the week.
Pair it with an activity you actually enjoy. When I fold and put away my laundry, I do it while catching up on my favorite trashy TV. If the Real Housewives aren’t your thing, listen to a podcast, book on tape, or your favorite music station.
6. Automate bill pay.
Whenever possible, automate payment for recurring bills/charges. This ensures your bills get paid on time and you avoid the difficulty of tracking what is due when and you don’t get bogged down with late fees. Of course, you still need to monitor your bank accounts and credit cards to stay on top of your budget, but you can do that on a regular day of the week or month rather than sporadically as your bills come in.
7. Go paperless.
Take a few hours this month to transfer all of your accounts to paperless communications. Yes you may be trading a crowded mailbox for a crowded email inbox, but digital clutter is typically less disruptive than physical paper clutter.
8. Pack lunches the night before.
Are you noticing a theme? Even if you are a morning person, I encourage you to build nightly prep for the next day into your schedule. The goal is for your mornings to set a positive tone for the rest of your day. Avoiding frantic activity and rushed decision-making is the way to achieve that. So make that turkey sandwich and throw it in the fridge ready for you to grab and go on your way out the door.
9. Implement transition zones.
Transition zones are especially helpful in busy households, but most homes benefit from them. A transition zone is a designated spot (or spots) for things that need to be moved from one room to another part of the house. Creating a specific transition zone helps in several ways:
Prevents items from piling up throughout the room
Gets items out of the way without you needing to leave the room
Serves as a visual cue that there is an action needed (i.e., this thing needs to move to somewhere else)
You may have a transition zone in every room, or you may have one for a spot in your house where things tend to gather. The primary transition zone in my house is the bottom of my stairs. Typically that’s where my sorted mail goes so that I can grab it the next time I’m heading upstairs and place it in my office. That’s also where shoes that need to go back in my closet sit until I next go upstairs.
I have a client with several young children and we implemented transition zones in most rooms in the form of large baskets by the doorway. That way they can do a quick clean up of the toys and books that inevitable gather in each room so the room is tidy again. And then when they have more time, they can take the basket around the house to return items to the rooms where they belong.
Before I wrap up I do want to acknowledge that my advice is general and implementing these habits may be easier for some of you than others. For any number of reasons, you may find some of these harder than others depending on the day. That said, I encourage anyone reading this to pick even one of these suggestions and commit to practicing for at least a month. You may not nail it every day, but when you do, notice how you feel. Notice the calm it brings, and use that positive experience to fuel you on the days where it doesn’t come as easily. And of course, as always, I’m here to help!
