Clear the Clutter, Calm the Crazy
I realize I can be a bit of an ‘odd bird’ sometimes. Isn’t that true for us all, though?
But I have serious issues when it comes to clutter. I hate it! I seriously feel like I can’t even think when there’s too much clutter around, almost like it stunts my productivity or something. And I need all the productivity I can get! Hence, my mission to “Clear the Clutter & Calm the Crazy”.
What does this mean exactly? I’m not entirely sure, considering I just made that catchy title up 20 seconds ago, but I’d imagine it means I need to really focus on removing clutter from my life and I should, also, try to get to the bottom of what’s making it so easy for the clutter to accumulate. One of my biggest issues is paper clutter. I know everyone & their mother is into automatic bill paying, but I just can’t jump on that train. I like to pay the bills myself on a set schedule exactly when I want to. Maybe I have control issues, maybe I don’t – either way, please don’t judge me. I admit that I’ve only stopped actually writing checks about 3 years ago, so I do pay most of my bills online. However, I haven’t switched over fully to online statements/bills. I really have no excuse for this, so I’m making it my mission to switch to online correspondence for all the bills & accounts that allow it. That should help me save both my sanity & a few trees in the process.
In my organization arsenal, I’ve found a few things to be really helpful in managing all the craziness & clutter that comes along with day-to-day life.
1. Baskets – Everything has a place and everything in its place….Baskets are a Godsend! They help me disguise the clutter until I can really sit down to sort through all the paper and Lego pieces. Baskets are also really helpful in getting the kids to help out with the cleaning. It’s simple to just hand them one with the task of picking up all the things that belong to them. Then, it’s their job to take the baskets to their room and put everything away where it belongs.
2. Calendar/Planner/To Do List – I’ve mentioned my affinity for paper calendars before and nothing has changed on that front. I still need to write down my schedule and see it in paper form. Electronic calendars really don’t do it for me and I’ve never found one I can actually stick with. In the past, I would jot down my notes and lists on a million tiny pieces of paper that, as you can imagine, only added to the amount of paper clutter looming. This year, I’ve tried to break that pesky habit. I’ve been using this planner from Moleskin, and it’s working out pretty well. It has space for daily tasks & to-dos, as well as a space for note taking, which is very necessary for the way my brain works. There are a few things I would add to make it perfect, so I’m looking into customizing some kind of system to use for next year. I’ll keep you posted on how well that works out.
3. Colored Pens – I’m attracted to color – anyway I can get it. So that certainly applies to my planner and to-do list, too. It has to be bright, clear, and well laid out. My colored pens help me do that. They don’t necessarily help minimize clutter, but they make everything pretty so it helps to minimize my crazy.
4. Early Riser – I know it sounds crazy, but whenever I’m the first to wake up in our house THINGS GET DONE! I have an opportunity to set everything straight for the day – wardrobe, lunches, dinner prep, loading the laundry, etc. Not to mention, I use that time to actually fit my workouts in. I’ve been waking up 90 minutes before everyone else for the past few weeks and it’s really working out well for me. I thought I’d be really tired & miss that extra sleep, but it honestly doesn’t make a difference in my ability to function at all. Could have something to do with my natural sleep rhythm but that’s another post for another time. All I know is that it works for this household and it really helps to keep me one step ahead of all the crazy and all the clutter.
Do you have any tips to keep clutter under control in your house?