I never thought of the separate and conquer approach. When I first read and re-read The Cure book I was left with the impression that I had to have everything in one spot. This video is a revelation to me that my landing strip can be more than one area.

In my present apartment I enter directly into the kitchen and clearance between the door and the wall is so small that I would knock anything over any time I opened and closed the door.
(Light Bulb! - Maybe I could get the door rehung on the other side!)

Maybe, just maybe, I will finally get a landing strip "system" together.

Thank You!!!

If you have children, consider putting hooks at their level so they can hang up their coat or bag by themselves. They'll like having a spot just for them and you'll like not tripping over their stuff.

Carrie, Ohdeedoh

oooooooooh, I already have a landing strip. So no homework for today :-) I can tackle the kitchen instead, as I am doing the kitchen cure as well.

I agree, MeWindow. I thought it would all be together in one place. That's what I understood from the book too. This is great. I don't feel so pressured to have it in one spot since my entryway is so small. You open the front door and its wall. Turn to the right, bedroom door. Turn to the left, kitchen. My junk ends up on my nightstand in my room. This is really good.

I have the same door problem with my bathroom door. I walk into it almost nightly. I'm getting it rehung today actually.

I love these videos. They are awesome!

Also love the divide and conquer approach. My front door opens directly into my living room and I don't know about a closet-looking area in the room. But I think just a small tray for keys and sunglasses will work with what I have.

Also, my dogs really enjoyed your sound effects, Maxwell. Thanks!

I have:

- a bowl for keys at the front door
- hooks for hats at the front door
- an inbox for mail on my desk; it gets sorted into "keep" and "recycle" as it comes in
- hooks in the nook near the bathroom for coats

The coat hooks were pre-existing in my apartment and solve the problem of not having a coat closet. Since there are only 2, only current coats hang there.

It looks like I already have a divide-and-conquer system in place!

I found an old typewriter table in my yard when I moved in. Rusty, but still functional. Sanded and spray painted it. With a beautiful silver tray on it, it holds keys, purse, etc., while I use the underneath for stowing shoes as I come in the door. Great for small spaces, and useful when I need it for other temporary functions (with my laptop, for instance!). Wish I could post a picture. My coat closet is also in another part of the apartment. I converted it from a linen closet. Happy landings!

OK I'm off to make me a landing strip. Right after I go pick some roadside flowers, this is getting really busy for me, lesson learned, do not let a day slide for the sake of 20 mins. I too love the video and have to say I also love todays socks. Keep them coming Maxwell, you are actually making the cure lots of fun:)

Ugh, I have so much trouble with this. I didn't do it during the last Cure.

I finally consolidated everything to the front entry, because we never use the back door anymore because of the gate we have to keep shut (we have ponds in our yard). Also, our back porch has so many windows it is really ill-suited as a mudroom (nowhere to put storage or hooks), so I have turned it into a craft room instead.

That leaves me with a smallish closet in the front for coats. I have one of those shoe bench things in the nook by the stairs, and I finally bought a hook for keys. I do still need a system for mail and other things, and we've lived here for almost a year, but still don't have rugs. Anywhere. But it's the areas by the doors that bother me most.

I know that fish!

Living in Japan means I have a built-in landing strip—a genkan (entry area) with a getabako (shoe shelf), right next to the closet. I keep my purse on the top getabako shelf, next to a basket which holds stuff I don't need in my purse this day, but might another day. Everything else I need (wallet, keys, phone, etc.) always lives in my purse. Shoes go on the other shelves. Coats and umbrellas go in the closet.

Walk down the sort hall and the first thing you reach is my husband's desk, where the mail gets sorted and filed. Not that we get much mail beyond bills, anyway.

Done!

Also, I used to dread Cure posts showing up in my inbox after the first week or so, since I'd fall behind right away. But this season I find myself looking forward to them, and checking my e-mail frequently to see if the next one's shown up yet! :)

This one is already finished for me.

My front hallway is my "mudroom" with a table for collecting keys and wallet and a closet for my bag. Then, a 3 drawer rubbermaid in the kitchen for mail sorting (forced upon me by a kitten that loves to play with and tear up mail).

Our landing strip is well-established, but with 3 kids and the changing seasons, our coat hooks/shoe shelves/cubbies are cluttered. I'm going to take today to clear out the summer stuff, pare down the shoe & bag collection, and clean all the surfaces.

I often repeat to my son, as encouragement to clean up his toys, what they say in his preschool: "Everything has a place and everything in it's place." Once I set up 'a place' for stuff - it seems easier to keep our home organized and tidy. And we always know where to find it.

Thanks, Maxwell - for keeping it simple and for keeping me on track toward a goal!

i set up my landing strip during last fall's cure, but i need to clean it out.

we have kid-height hooks, and my kids now want a specific hook designated for each of them. i'm planning to put their first initials on them with a paint pen . . . unless someone else has a better idea!

I think I'd consider the Ikea Malm wall-hangable night thingy (comes in two sizes I believe) as a landing strip in a very small entryway. You might even be able to squeeze in a small shoe rack underneath it as well as a pretty hook system of some type beneath the Malm.

@doubledutch: As you probably have seen, wooden and other letters are "everywhere" right now, but seldom still in the entryways. I think it would look very nice if you found some vintage small letters for each and everyone, and then would hang them above the hooks.

My landing strip is overflowing... Cute fish!

So we do have a functioning landing-strip, more or less. There is a coat hanger, the keys are in a bowl near the door, there is space dedicated to shoes and handbags and the mail gets sorted daily. But we also have too many things landing there, some bulky stuff like the sports gear and some of these things even seem permanently landed (stranded?). How do I get the family to land but not to settle their things in the entryway?

I'm loving the extra characters that have popped up in some of the videos. Cute!

I often weap over the alley entrance to my studio because it's where the trash cans and recycling bins are all lined up. (Not a pretty sight.) The one good thing about it is the recycling bin is right next to my mailbox. All of my junk mail never even makes it into the house.

I took on the "landing strip" concept years ago, after seeing Maxwell on Mission Organization. Mine is broken up a bit, with a message center with hooks for keys, slots for sorting mail, etc. by the door; then my hall closet for coats, my knapsack, and shoes, then my nightstand for wallet and cellphone. While it's okay to have it separated, it does take more discipline initially to build the habit of using it.

I already have a well used landing strip. The wall by the front door is exposed brick with old nails sticking out here and there and I use a couple that are well-place for keys and a coat (during coat weather), although closet is also right there and I can hang outerwear in there. Shoes go in shoe rack in closet. Bench near door is where I sit to put on and take off shoes and where I leave things that need to go out the door. I've greatly reduced my mail through services such as the wonderful Catalog Choice, www.catalogchoice.org, so I hardly get any mail (and most of my financial accounts are online). I sort through what little mail I get on a table in the kitchen. Sometimes I do leave it for later. I also shred all address labels for privacy, so sometimes I have a pile of shredding to do, since I use scissor-style shredders, and that pile of paper on the table does pile up a bit, a problem. Bag goes in bedroom, electronics in chargers.

I also have this system in place but I’m not completely happy with it. Our entryway is only as wide as the door so I don’t have enough space for a shoe shelf behind an open door. So I moved a low bookshelf into our coat closet and use that as our shoe shelf.
Every time I open the closet I smell the shoes and feel like all my coats are just absorbing that smell. We’re a family of four (in a NYC apartment) so we always have shoes falling off the shelf forming a pile on the floor.
Does anyone else store shoes in the coat closet? Should I try Fabreeze?

Like others I have a landing strip - (expandable!) table by the front door with a bowl for keys, a coat closet, and a mirror for last minute checks before leaving the house - but it's gotten very cluttered. I have outgoing items borrowed from friends, 2 lamps from the second hand store, our earthquake emergency kit, boxes of canned tomatoes, and a collection of bags all stuffed under the table. Today I will find new permanent homes for these things.

I also need to find a better resting place for current magazines. Mine tend to pile up on a corner of the kitchen cart until company comes and then they get moved to another room and it can be months before I revisit them. I've never been a big fan of magazine racks though. Any other ideas?

To neutralize shoe odor in the closet, I'd suggest FreshWave, it's all natural and is amazing.

Oh, I did this with the last cure--and it makes *such* a difference! My landing strip is also split up: shoes, keys and mail by the door; coats and bags in the closet at the end of the hall. But all that matters is that everything is in it's place as soon as you walk in the door. It cut the clutter in my house by 75%!
Best landing strip ever for narrow hallways like mine:the Ställ from Ikea. It's soo narrow! (http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/90178174)

I saw this on design sponge and ended up getting one as our little landing strip-
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/galvanized-metal-key-cabinet/?cm_src=OLDLINK&pkey=gthmnewssp

I guess they stopped selling it, but it's nice to hang keys and stash the mail up top. I tend to dump everything in there, and sort it later.

I have the landing strip sorted and it's been working great.
I read the chapter on landing strip and it talks about colors but it doesn't talk about layout. We're lucky to have a large hallway (23ftx7ft) which opens on all the rooms in the apartment but the flow isn't good, I'm wondering where to start. I couldn't find anything in previous posts. Any suggestions?

Thank you. This helps.

Great advice once again! I need to find my landing strip-Thank you!

Could anyone post the link for the third example?
I can't find the article.

Thanks in advance!

Awesome video and something I desperately needed to do anyway.

I turned an unused odd corner into my landing strip with 2 glass shelves and an old slate shingle mounted to the wall as a chalkboard. I love it!

love the videos maxwell! thanks.

i live in a studio and also divide the strip. i have an old 'telephone' nook right by the front door. the shelf holds my cell phone, a lovely ceramic cup (repurposed due to a lost handle) for loose change and any mail that needs to go out. i put cup hooks above for keys, sunglasses, and one for a piece of rotating art work. shoes get taken off at the front door then carried the 10 steps to my walk-in closet where they are put away properly along with any coats/bags/umbrellas et al. i used to have hooks on the back of my door but prefer to just take the extra steps to clear the clutter. lastly i sit at my desk and recycle and/or file any mail. any magazines get put on my coffee table for later reading. all this takes about a minute and keeps the place organized!

Since our most used entrance is our side door, which opens on the landing of the basement staircase, we too have to divide our landing strip. The landing is 3x3 so right behind the door go our coats on a set of hooks; right beside the door three steps up on the wall is a mirror with hooks for keys and gardening scissors for herb collection. Behind the door go two pairs of my shoes (they fit and the door still opens all the way); on the three steps up to the kitchen go my husband's shoes. (Our fridge is also in this area, where the icebox was originally--the drain to the basement sink is still there). Our mail gets processed on the kitchen island--recycling is put in the bin within an elfa set by the fridge (it is around 5 feet high and 10 inches wide and was one of the greatest investments we ever made). The mail being kept then gets sent on its merry way--to the office if it needs to be answered; to the coffee table for reading material, etc.

This house is the first place we set up such a workable system and it really does make coming and going so much easier.

The videos are really taking shape, Maxwell; fun, casual, instructive!

I have a divided landing strip: an antique mantel shelf and mirror on the wall in my narrow entry hall (with just a bowl of spare/car keys and a spot I put things I need to remember next day), with coat hooks next to it for my purse (with keys) and coat; then the foyer, with a small table and chair for sitting to lace or pull on shoes. "Current" shoes go under the table, along with my work bag; yoga bag also lives there. Periodically I purge and put extra shoes and bags back into the closets.

I don't usually have much mail, and my building thoughtfully provides a bin for junk mail right next to the mailboxes. But I'm not very good at sitting down at the desk to look at and file everything I do get. Another conundrum is when I am coming home from work and have stopped at the grocery store on the way: Do I take the groceries into the kitchen first, then come back to drop bags/coat/shoes, or do I put down the groceries in the foyer to do the drop, then pick them up and take them into the kitchen? I've done it both ways and both seem awkward. I really wish my kitchen were closer to the door.

There's a kitchen cure as well? I gotta check that out:)
I have a divide and conquer landing strip as well. In the door, shoes off, coat in closet, mail on office divider, bag on office divider hook, keys on refrigerator hook, jewelry in jewelry box. Phew! just did all that and now I have to split up my weekly eucalyptus bunch to catch up from yesterday.
I live in a studio so all of that was done within steps of each other :) Time for my 10 minutes of quiet.

I have been trying for YEARS to get my-not-at-all-organized-and-constantly-losing-their-keys-friends to use the hang your keys on the doorknob method. I don't even have a fancy clip. I use an old shoelace! Thank you for showing this in the video.

My front door opens into a small dining room or large foyer, depending of how you look at it. I decided to look at is as a large foyer, and put a chandelier in over a glass topped table in the center of the room. I have a large bouquet of flowers in a Waterford vase sitting on a round silver plate. It's the best landing strip I've ever had. I put the mail, boxes (and I have A LOT of boxes: web shopping!), my purse, and any outgoing projects I have going on, mail, bank, etc. It keeps me organized. I know what is coming in and what is going out. When everything has been processed, I put my keys in my purse and put it on the coat closet shelf. My last home had NO land strip, so I went from rags to riches.

After reading a landing strip post a few weeks ago on AT, I was inspired to change mine. I originally had one of those hang up "do-hickeys" that have a key hook, a compartment for mail and an area for tickets, pictures, etc. I proceeded to remove that, put up small mirrors and a small table with a vase full of flowers, a little bowl for keys and on the bottom shelf, I have a tray for mail. I am in absolutely love with it. Not far from the landing strip are four coat hooks for everyone in the family. I initially thought that it would look messy, but far from it. It looks put together and somehow very effortless.

Ordered a white shelf with shaker pegs I plan to use as the base of landing strip. We have a small apartment entry.
I do need to figure out something for the mail. I am not really a basket person and we need a holding place for gobs of mail.
It goes to the mantel now to a blue and white bowl but that looks messy and it easily overflows. Perhaps a covered box of some kind.. an in box. I only do mail once a week so it needs to hold a good bit.

Love your "couch" - very Moroccan :-D

Where's your wine rack from? I've been searching for something similar for a long time.

"Stuff for Sara-Kate" you said--and left it on your butcher block. Your spouse/roomate/child/whatever needs his or her own "clutter bin." You can put the mail in there--but also anything else of theirs left about which needs to be picked up and put away. I have one specifically for my daughter--and it helps us both!

The reference to coats getting out of control certainly made me blush, as ours are all over the place at the moment...mainly piled on chairs and boxes in a small hall off the entrance way. They are not highly visible so I guess they are out of sight out of mind, so I haven't bothered to fix this, but really the empty space would be much nicer. I have got the main entrance pretty much under control though..with a shoe rack, ceramic heads that we put hats on, and a low table where the latest newspaper gets dropped.
I have to confess though that I am now feeling out of sync, because I kept reading about others doing the kitchen cure, I searched for that and now am doing that. Plus I then stumbled upon the Spring cure, and as it is actually spring here, I realised the 'energy' of the Spring cure, felt more like I am feeling now, so I have started doing that too...trouble is I am now feeling somewhat overwhelmed with too many tasks! But I don't want to stop doing this fall cure because it is more in real time, and nice to feel part of doing something that is happening now instead of over with. I suppose I'll just do what I can and try to stay calm...haha.

Right as I walk into my apartment is my piano. I turned it into a landing strip with a clipboard for outgoing mail, a mason jar for the day's change collection, a nice wooden bowl for my doggie's collar and leash, and an hors d'oeuvres tray with four little sections - perfect for my keys, cell phone, badge and sunglasses. The area is just big enough for things I need daily, but not so big that I can stash any clutter.

Thanks to my Day 7 Homework, I livened up the strip with some Mums. Only eight days in and I can already feel the difference. Thanks for the daily inspiration to get something done Maxwell!

These videos just get cuter and cuter!

I didn't need to establish this since mine is pretty functional as it is - an old sewing table by my door with a bowl for my keys and an "in box" on my desk (also by the door) for my useful mail...but it was neat to see a few!

I do have a landing strip, couldn't live without it.

I urge you to reconsider your mail sorting procedure a little. What I saw was you throwing everything you don't want right into the trash - unopened. That means that the trash gremlins who go through people's garbage for items they can use can harvest all your personal info from that stuff. If you find yourself a victim of identity theft down the line, this is possibly where the crooks got the info. Even though it's more time consuming, I open, remove all addresses & all the stuff inside that has your name, address & whatever on it & hold that stuff to shred (or, best bet, yet, shred immediately).

I own a teeny condo (approx 450-sq ft) where the front door enters into the living room and created a landing strip in my mind while living elsewhere, renting out my place. Returning to my place in September, I painted a narrow 5-drawer dresser bright white and placed it right by the door -- added a mirror to the wall above, a bowl on top for keys/phone/sunglasses, and organized the top drawer for mail. I lined the bottom drawer with a towel for shoes - it can only hold 3 pairs, but it works for me. I added hooks on the wall to the right of the door for a few coats and purses and when friends come over their shoes just got below the hooks.

It's cute, works really well, and was completely inspired by last year's Cure (and the various AT Landing Strip posts, for sure).

Doesn't having hooks for coats and a rack for shoes by the door encourage you to be lazy. Why not just put everything away in the wardrobe properly when you change into your house clothes?

@HongKonger
Not everyone changes into "house clothes" (they wear the same thing all day) and not everyone wears shoes into the house. That's why. :)

I love my landing strip!

My hubby is a darling, but he is a cute little clutter-bug! A self-processing system just doesn't work for us!

About a year ago, thanks to a previous cure, I put a pretty basket with a nice liner by the bowl for keys to place all the 'stuff' he carries around. It works well for our home because I don't have to look at it, and he knows where to find things like the newspaper or the cool rock he found :)

Weekly, I go through this basket and get rid of the things that aren't needed anymore.

Works for me!

For the first time, I had to say I'm good with my system. Fact is, I'm not, but we bought the house a year ago, and have been making renovation upstairs. No time to tackle the entry, living room, dining room and kitchen yet.
I have my landing strip all planned in my head, with the big closet in the entry (replacing an ugly indoor window and a useless tiny built-in table), closets for shoes, a key rack. I'm used to throwing junk mail right away, and take the important mail upstairs to our home office.
We should be finished with the upstairs renovations in about 6 months to a year, so I'll hop on the next cure !

I have a new couch, credenza, curtains all over the house and am getting a dog (unplanned) .... all because of the 20/20 Cure. I'm convinced even the dog is a result of this process! Here's my vlog from today :) Thank you for all of your suggestions. I love my organizing and my systems and this has taken me to a new level. http://bit.ly/aO8EaD

Interestingly, Flylady.net calls the "landing strip" a "launch pad", but it's the same concept!

I already have a functional landing strip in our apartment but since Monkey and Fish are in your videos my kids are involved in this fall cure too, and yesterday they requested a hook system at their height for their bag-packs, which is great! because we need to get our kids involved in our entryways too, thank you Maxwell!

Anyone have suggestions for a home that needs dual landing strips? My husband parks on the street in front of our house, so his things collect near the front (especially on my piano)! I park behind the house in the garage, so my things collect on the kitchen table which is near the back door.

Our "landing strip" is a sort of bistro rack in the kitchen between the doorway and the hall where we keep our shoe mat and coat hooks. It has hooks for the keys, a mail basket and a hidden spot for all that little stuff you need but don't quite know what to do with (extra keys, pens, that screw you just found that goes to something really important but you can't remember what) It even has hooks for my purse and a bag.

After this post I wondered why it wasn't really getting used for anything but keys and purse and everything was still ending up on the kitchen table. The surprising revelation was - the toaster was on the side of the counter right by the coat hooks, blocking the flow and taking up a good portion of the counter space. I moved the toaster and wow what a difference already!

This inspired me to re-examine the entire flow of my kitchen and make some big changes. Just making me look at things differently helped so much!

my new apartment is smaller than the last one, so I must be tidier. It is just a few days old, so I have a Home for everything. That sounds like your launch pad. When I get mail, I look at all of it. Then I tear in half what I know I don't want and right into the trash. The reason I tear it in half, then I know I did NOT accidentally throw away important mail. Here in Florida, I don't need a coat, so that is taken care of, but I do have a very large closet if I need to get a jacket. Shoes come off immediately (lifetime habit) and put in closet. Then pup and I spend time together until she thinks that's enough. She is a doll. Maxwell I really enjoy your videos, and plan to save them. Instant encouragement, and you are so nice. I very much am thankful for others' contributions. sincerely, mary

@Abby Anne

Make a landing strip for each of you, one in each location.

There's no reason there has to be just one, just like there's no reason it all has to be in one spot (Maxwell's is in several spots). It should fit your lifestyle.

Good post, I have a landing strip problem, cause of lack of space, so this could work for me.

Question: what is that artwork above the sofa, I like that a lot! Where can I buy that?

I've started to open all the mail and recycle the envelopes too, if I have time. There's no reason to have empty envelopes stacked in with your real mail.

Also, getting off mailing lists helps a lot too!

@Abbey Lane, my husband and I also have separate entrances. We have broken up the landing strips. For example, he has a landing area for his hats and coats. I have one for mine. We have a shared area for mail. :)

It is soo peaceful (great landing!) when we have designated spots for our stuff ... I purchased a plank of wood from Home depot, had them cut it to size of my foyer width, stained it, then added hooks to use as our coat rack (in the cold season) and pool / beach towels (for the warm seasons).

Adorable! These videos are really taking shape!!! :D

@erldecorates -

our magazines go in a drawer in the kitchen, near the recycling bin. keeps them out of puppy's reach, and we like that our coffee table is less cluttered. they are easy to grab when we want them, and we place the previous month's issue in the recycling bin (or give to a friend/library) when the new one comes in. maybe that would work for you!

Fabulous suggestions - but a question especially to Carrie, Ohdeedoh - I have 3 kids under 6 years - 1st boy Joshua aged 6, 2nd boy Itai aged 4.5 and girl Noa aged 2.5 - how on earth might i keep their shoes off th floor and contained in the entrance . help ! ps i alse half the sandpit that comes home in the shoes.... :-)

The "Entrance" as SlowHome calls it is so important. Unfortunately, ours is way too small. He recommends at least 6' x 6' which would be a dream. I've got to think of a way to make a 3' x 3' room work for us.

Another question, completely of context. Who are those blocks made by? I'm making almost the exact same ones (except for the routed radius of the edges is different)... I've never seen some that are this similar.

Thanks for the inspiring posts! Just one thought on today's...if you're putting your Crate and Barrel catalog directly in the recycle bin, why not contact the company and have your name removed from their mailing list? Or you can sign up for a service like Catalog Choice to help reduce your mailbox clutter.

I established a very useful landing strip-launching pad years ago. As today's alternate cure I completed yesterday's room surface-cleaning cure in :35. Although my kitchen already was clean, it's brighter now. Even the shabby, low quality cabinets and counter look better, results well worth the time and effort. If not for this cure, the work I've done in participating would remain undone. The way this cure breaks the work into plausible small tasks is a big help. The morale support is another big help. I'm really enjoying this cure!

Oops, it was Monday's cure I completed today, not yesterday's.

My living room and bedroom are in the basement of a shared house. Since moving in, I've created my own landing strip, and encouraged my roommates to make room for one, too! And so we do - they have a bench and coat hooks at the front door, and I have a secretary, coat hook and some space for shoes right at the bottom of the stairs.
I blogged about it here, though mostly about refinishing the secretary so I'd have a spot to put my purse when I get home every day. But there is a picture of the finished product, and I think it turned out quite well.

I just have to say that it took me a LONG time not to giggle at the term landing strip.
SATC ruined it for me before I ever heard it from Maxwell.

Meanwhile, I struggle with my own 'landing strip' because of my door placement and such. Also good to know it doesn't all have to be in one spot. Maybe I can figure it out now.

What I learned is that Step 1 is to just notice what accumulates --especially since I live with other people, who I love --and then accommodate those items. I didn't think nail clippers, the tape measure, or pens should keep ending up on the counter closest to the backdoor, but that's what kept happening no matter how much I nagged. So I gave in and made a spot for all those things with a shoe organizer nailed up behind the door. Everyone's happy! I blogged about it here.

I already have my landing strip in place. it's a small round table a few feet inside my front door with a pumpkin-shaped tray/plate for my keys. I also have a wastebasket in the corner for junk mail. it fills up quickly. It seems that I am the only one who will keep it clean. Oh well! It works great!

I do have to say that our (two) landing strips are pretty incredible. Upstairs, my roommates share a large shelf for everything from keys to backpacks as well as a front closet complete with plenty of hangers, hooks, and another shelf. It has rugs for when things get muddy. Last, it has enough room and little bins for sorting mail.

Our downstairs landing strip has a small bench (which used to be an Ikea coffee table, but I made a cushion for it) for putting on shoes and has a shelf underneath for stashing gloves, keys, and any other scraps we bring in. It has wall hooks for our coats with several extras for guests and for dog leashes. There is also a little shelf above everything with a "Welcome" sign.

In each spot, there is enough space for all of the things that accumulate without looking completely ridiculous.

I've also decided the landing strip should also be considered a launch pad: it's not just about getting into the house and being at home without a lot of stress, but if leaving becomes stressful because of the landing strip setup, then it's not going to work. Getting out of the house (hence the term "launch pad") efficiently should be just as important.

I have more like three landing strips: the nook counter for keys, the front door shelf for mail, and the purse and bags in the nook prior to going upstairs. Shoes can use a better parking spot, so I'm clearing a spot in the back hallway for the usual collection. I shred mail with my name or address on them before placing in the trash. Today I raked leaves for 20 minutes-half were ready and carted away in a dump truck. It still felt good to work on my outside space in the 60 degree fall day.

ah ha! I need to have the file cabinet in the entryway, not in the home office where I never go. That's why I never file anything until it's time to do taxes and I need to find stuff. So, since it is already a dark brown I didn't like when I bought it, it matches the dark fake wood shelves for our shoes in the entry, and now I don't have to paint the file cabinet. Thanks for saving me some work and helping me to realize what should have been sooo obvious but unfortunately wasn't.

And I'm not even doing this cure! I just came in here b/c I liked the fish!

I also have a "three phased/place" landing strip:
1) Door entry area: 3x 4: Mirrored-hook-shelf unit to hold key,hats, coats etc above a small bench which shoes are shoved underand I can sit on to put shoes on. I also have a basket of "accessories": extra gloves, hats, scarves to use dependant on my expected look for the day
I also have an extra hook for my bicycle helmet and a full sized umbrella (style of the day)....

2) Small shelving unit at the top of the stairs from the Door Entry: Holds a shrine to multiple godesses/gods on top and a couple of plants, my purses, other accessories for running or running errands, and my recylcables

3) I have a desk and a dining room talbe wich alternately house my mail, regardless of recylcable or fillable...

And the cellphone/bluetooth earpiece recharges in the kitchen ... maybe I should get one of those cell phone chargers...

I wish I had a landing strip, I really do. But since we are in the middle of a heavy remodeling, our entryway currently has about 15 boxes of kitchen tiles, cement, electric supplies, oh, and tons of boxes. I use one box for shoes, we put the one coat we use each on top of that box, and I have only taken one handbag out of storage. I've found a key holder to put keys and I put junk mail in the recycle bin, but that's about it.

While I take no pleasure in this situation, but this is the best I can do until we have more time to handle the landing strip. I do not have the courage to set up a temporary solution, we have enough work already.

This will be the only task I can't do in this cure. I'll make up by cleaning my son's room today.

Where is the bag from? I've been looking for one for years, and this one seems perfect.

When you have a functioning landing strip, it's hard to imagine how one would do without. Great video to help people live an easier, more organized life! And it was great to see you recycling your unwanted mail, but I think it fell short of a real solution. A better long-term solution would be to reduce junk mail in the first place.
1) If you are a customer (or once was of the company) take a couple minutes to call and ask to be removed from their mailing list.
2) To reduce credit card and insurance offers, you can call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com to be removed from lists (sold by the credit bureaus) for either 5 years or permanently.
3) For other junk mail, contact : www.dmachoice.org to be removed for 5 years.

Since I took a few minutes to do all these steps years ago, getting mail is much more of a joy than a hassle. I seldom get any junk mail. Talk about a beautiful landing strip! :)

Zebrafish, thanks for that info. We used to have a love/hate relationship with junk mail because there was occasionally something useful in it. Now that our grocery and restaurant habits have changed, there's never anything we want. I can't wait to have no mail to sort!

It just dawned on me that the reason I already have a similar routine is because Mr. Rogers taught me!!!!!