The following is a guest post from regular contributor, Kristin at The Gold Project.
It never fails. I pick up my house daily, but when I come home from work, it seems like it always looks like a tornado hit it. And, the last minute playtime before bed to the crazy morning rush to get ready and out the door on time do not help the situation at all.
After a long day at work, coming home and picking up the house is the last thing I want to do, but I know it has to be done. So, I was determined to come up with a way that made it less painful and more manageable for me.
After some thought, I came up with the “Pick Up 5” way of organizing daily. I walk into a particular room, look around, and choose five things to immediately pick up and put away. If I pick those things up and put them away, then I can do something more fun for a little bit. Then, I will come back a little later and repeat the process.
I have found that looking at a major organizing project as a whole makes it look unmanageable. Sometimes, I feel like a failure before I even begin. But, if I take it a little bit at a time, it doesn’t leave me nearly as stressed.
Usually, what happens is picking up those first five things motivates me to get it all done. Getting those things put away quickly jump starts my motivation and pushes me past the feeling of dread.
Then, I will add on to the process. If I am picking up a set of five things and putting them away and one of them goes in a different room, then I will put away five things in that room as well. The next thing I know, my house is picked up and I am less stressed.
I even use this process with my kids. If they are playing and the entire room is a mess, I will have them stop what they are doing and put away five things. Then, I will give them a break for a bit and the whole process starts over again. They usually want to get the process over with, so they cooperate.
What works for one person may not work for everyone, but this has really been helping my house stay picked up daily. I know I shared the “Pick up 10” game that my family and I do from time to time, but since that post, my method has changed a little. We still do that little game, but sometimes, ten is a little overwhelming, especially for little kids.
So, how do you get motivated to do daily decluttering?
My name is Kristin and I am a middle school career education teacher by day and a mommy/wife/blogger by night. I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have two loving children. We recently made a life-changing move to Arkansas, so our new house is always under construction. I get excitement out of finding new creative, functional, and cute ways to organize things! I also enjoy writing and documenting life as it happens. So, I put these loves together and created The Gold Project. With the help of my husband, I am attempting to turn our house into a home. So, check out this special place of mine and take this journey with me!
Seana Turner says
Nice idea! Especially for procrastinators, lowering the hurdle to get started can be very effective. It also encourages kids to participate because they don’t feel like they will be spending hours putting things away.
Katie B. says
That’s a great idea! We have a rule in our house that you never go up or down the stairs without something in your hands. There’s always stuff that needs to be returned or put away, so this rule means we look for it and take care of it.
Laura Wittmann says
Yes for me it’s always never leave a room empty handed. There is always something to put away!!
Lauren @ Oh Hey! I Like That! says
What a fantastic idea! I wonder if I could get my boyfriend to pick up 5 things 😉
Lauren 🙂
ohheyilikethat.blogspot.com
Laura Wittmann says
It’s totally do-able which is what makes it so great!
Becky L says
Good thoughts on 5 things pick up. I have heard the 5 minute pick up and it works. No fun to clean up after work. I usually wait til dinner is done. A bit of cleanup every day helps quite a bit. Keep up with putting mail in proper areas….bill and tear up/recycle junk mail.