Do you live in a place in your head where you feel like everything is always in its place?
Or Do you live in a place where you are constantly picking thing out of place and very hobo like carting them to their homes?
No judgement here, I’m in both those places:/
I spend so much time organizing,
collecting things that are out of place and putting hem away that I can’t even walk into a room, especially NOT my entryway with out having clothing draped over each arm and each shoulder, and items tucked under each armpit.
Recently I decided I’d follow some very good advice I got from Dawn from
https://www.theminimalmom.com/
who suggests that each time you go to organize something,
instead minimize
so as not to have to keep repeating the process. If you organize it you will have to do so many times more, and in my house, pretty much every time someone looks at it. But if you minimize it, the problem goes away.
I decided to apply her ideology to my drop zones.
But it wasn’t enough to just to minimize a drop zone.
This area requires some fine tuned analyzation.
I started analyzing WHERE items where getting dropped and WHAT items where getting dropped.
I noticed that things like shoes, mail, keys and other pocket items like my husbands smokes and lighter, spare change and receipts, and especially jackets, and kids stuff. Cause let’s face it, if a kid touches it, it’s gettin’ dropped.
Next I made sure that each of the frequently dropped items “home” has a specialty home, and not just any home but one that could be easily DROPPED there without any strenuous, complex or time consuming process to put it there.
Many of us have an organized spot for everything but if it’s not easy to put it there, we are likely to end up dropping it elsewhere to save time.
We’re not lazy; we’re just a population always on the go and time is ALWAYS of the essence.
So when you get to
setting up YOUR drop zone
I highly recommend you don’t waste your time like I did, and make sure all your “homes” are open, easy to access places.
My kids are so on the going, opening these drawers in my entryway locker system to put their shoes in, is too complex, and they end up typically on the floor still.
I intend to replace with a bench and boot ttys underneath instead for this exact reason.
Mail stations are an even bigger monster than shoes. Mail accumulated with the quickness, so whatever organized station you have for it, unless you have a system for just as regularly sorting and minimizing it, that’s as regular as it comes in, forget. This monster will still surface.
I’ve read how people sort mail regularly, actually make it a “to do” setting a date and tackling their incoming mail. I can’t have ANYTHING else on my already SWAMPED to do list, especially not something as useless to ME as mail, so I sort it as it comes in with these three questions in mind:
1) can I get or do this online instead?
2) is this easily replaceable?
3) does it need my immediate attention?
All but the third goes in the trash? And I immediately sort the third category into my file folders AKA my papers permanent home in my house and address what needs addressing, like pay a bill online or put and invite onto the calendar and RSVP.
I have one mail box and that’s for out going mail and it’s placed right by the door in hopes of being reminded to take it with us as we run out. We still forget almost every single time. We’re hopeless . But I still try 😊
If I DON’T have time to do all that, then I don’t get the mail. Go ahead. Ask my husband and kids why I have snapped at them for bringing me mail 😬
ONE……LAST…..THING!!
Once you have your drop zones or even if you already have a carefully calculated and planned drop zone in action, make cleaning it out a regular to do on your cleaning list!! No matter perfect your drop zone, if it’s working your gonna have some things accumulating that need to be cleared out.
• check for doubles
•clear out put of season items
•returns guests left behind
•make homes for new things
ANYWAYS….
So check your drop zones and if you have anything you think I could really use in mine that you yourself have found successful to maintain an orderly entryway PLEASE drop it in the comments for me.
If you do I will send you an updated pic with your suggestion applied to my drop zones.
Her House 