Last month I challenged myself to clear off my desk every night at the end of my work day. I'd found, like many people who work from home, that work can easily spill into the whole day. I was feeling overwhelmed. Clearing off my desk felt like a good way to tell my brain it was time to stop for the day.
Now I don't know about you but I've found that if I put things into folders and out of sight, they can easiy go out of mind! How would I clear off my desk without putting everything away? My other challenge is that my office is not hidden away but right off my kitchen, smack dab in the middle of my home for everyone to see. And, frankly, I don't have a lot of places to put stuff away even if I wanted to.
I considered these problems for long time and I finally came up with a solution that works for me. My solution was to find a box with a lid into which I piled everything that was left on my desk at the end of the day. Not only did it address the biggest stress for me (visual clutter) but by going through everything that was in the box at the beginning of the day, I was reminded of everything on my to do list (even things I decided I would wait to handle) and I found that I felt less anxiety about things slipping through the cracks. The box was also a good place to throw things during the day that I didn't have time to deal with knowing that they'd at least get a once over the next day (return addresses I'd torn from envelopes that I didn't have time to input right that minute, bills, letters I wanted to respond to, coupons, etc.). Also, even when I lost stuff on my desk (happens!) I felt confident that I'd find it the next morning when I was going through everything. I also felt comfortable allowing my desk to get as messy as it needed to be knowing that it'd all go into the box at the end of the day. Simple, effective and so far it's a system that's been working for me. The hardest part is making going through the box first thing in the morning a priority over emails, checking Twitter and the many other false but persistent alarms that usually start my day.
What about you? What was your home resolution and how'd your 30 day challenge go?
(Image: Abigail Stone)
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The box is a great idea! I find I'm the same way with the out of sight, out of mind thing. What I do for these types of things, too, is set a reminder for myself for the next morning (or just put everything away and make a to-do list digitally or on paper).
My 30-day resolution was 30 minutes of dedicated cleaning / decluttering every day. I think I did it for like 7 days, haha. Although, I have been better about it all month, just not timed to 30 minute sessions... probably shorter, but who knows. I used up my 30 minutes of cleaning energy on cooking dinner a lot of nights. Or working out.
I am going to adopt your stash box idea -- I, too, suffer from the "out of sight, out of mind" disorder, but I also hate having everything cluttered around me.
I too have implemented the box idea and it's been working great. Such a small thing to change but it really does allow me to unwind at the end of the day and not think about work constantly. Great piece. Any more tips?
Pendaflex makes plastic pockets 8 1/2 x 11, that I place my "projects" in.
I am a visual person also, and I place whatever paperwork has to do with my to do project for the next few days.
It's sooooo easy to just grab that plastic folder and know everything I need is inside.
I make jewelry and no matter how many times I clean off my desk, a new storm appears! Once I did shove everything into a box but it was months before I got around to organizing it. But now it is the most organized space in my apt.
When I was a kid, my mom always said I never put anything back where I got it from. I guess she's still right!!! Stuff just seems to accumulate out of thin air!
If you've got an accurate, up to date list of your projects and next action items, you don't ever have to face the out of sight, out of mind dilemma. I've found that the more effort I put into making sure I have all my ducks in a row in my to do list, the more free I feel to put things away.
My office is right off the kitchen, too. It gets de-cluttered once every 2 weeks (I am constantly brewing new potions and experimenting with things, plus I make all the formulas for my clients in there, so it gets quite messy, regularly), however I've found a couple of things to help:
1. File folders. I have one that says "to deal with immediately", one that says 'to file' and then the rest are all separate for ongoing projects- clients I've to respond to, formulas to make, applications etc etc. They all sit on my desk in a pile with the immediate one at the top. It looks neat-ish. If I put them away then I forget :).
2. Clearing all horizontal spaces at the end of the day. My desk gets tidied, papers put in the appropriate files. Big workspace gets all the bottles put back on the shelves. It looks more presentable that way.