One of my favorite things to organize in my house is my desk and the space surrounding it. I love keeping order here in my office. Filing my papers, making new folders for new projects, and putting things exactly where I want them brings me a special kind of joy. But it is also the one place in my home that is frequently messy. I know, I know – I’m a professional organizer and one would think I would be able to keep my office organized, especially because I like it best when it is tidy. The truth is, just like you, I’m busy and involved in numerous activities. Instead of beating myself up when it becomes a mess, I intentionally set aside time to reset this space.
The Power of the Reset
Give yourself grace and permission to reset the space when it becomes messy. Resetting means that you actively return the room, area, or small space to an organized state.
My clients sometimes take a photo of an area after we have organized a room or space. Having that photograph as reference helps when they are ready to reset the space.
In my experience most homes have “hot spots”. These are the areas that tend to get messy the fastest. Just like my office is a “hot spot” in my home. This is because these are the places that are most lived in.
Keeping order requires regular space resets. This helps prevent clutter from building up to the point where it is overwhelming.
Recognizing the Signs of Clutter
Have you ever seen a horse wearing blinders on either side of his face? I’ve seen blinders on horses drawing carriages in Charleston and on horses on the racetrack in Saratoga Springs, New York. The horses wear blinders to keep them focused on what’s directly in front of them.
Sometimes we wear blinders. We become so accustomed to seeing piles of clothes on a chair in a bedroom, laundry piled in a laundry basket, and stacks of papers on a desk or kitchen counter that we don’t pay attention to them.
Help yourself by recognizing that piles do not diminish, instead they grow. It’s easy to add something else to a pile.
Make notes about your hot spots and notice when they begin to attract clutter.
The 5-Minute Rule: Daily Mini-Resets
You can avoid hot spots all together if you embrace the idea of mini resets. Keeping order isn’t difficult or time consuming when you consistently put things away.
It takes less than 5 minutes to hang up or put away a couple of clothing items. This prevents them from turning into a pile on your bedroom chair.
If your bathroom vanity tends to collect clutter, take 5 minutes every morning to reset that space.
Incorporating a few daily mini resets into your daily routine will help you maintain the organization in your home.
Handling Life’s Piles: They Don’t Have to Be Permanent
I know that piles happen. Sometimes we create them on purpose. Just yesterday I created several piles of books. Yes! I did this on purpose. Jonda Beattie and I will have a booth at a local holiday market: The Elegant Elf. November 1st is the load-in day, and I have many things to put together for our booth. These piles of books and decorations will stay in my office for a little while and then they will disappear.
Maybe piles happen in your home because you put something down with the intention of coming back and attending to it later.
“Later” is one of those words that is deceiving. When we tell ourselves “Later” often what we really mean is that we don’t want to do the task.
If you don’t want to put something away now, try being more intentional by assigning a specific time frame for when you will do it. Maybe tell yourself “After lunch, I will …”.
Another strategy is to build routine maintenance into your schedule.
My strategy for dealing with the clutter that accumulates in my office is to have a monthly reset of the space. Once a month, I tackle every pile, do the filing, and create a beautiful space. This strategy works for me.
Adjust Your Organizational Strategies as Needed
Your maintenance routines must work for you. If keeping order in your home is your goal, acknowledge that sometimes you will need to adjust your organizational strategies, so they work for you.
We know that life changes. Sometimes these changes are outside of our control. When that happens the best thing to do is step back and think about which routines to keep and which ones to adjust.
Conclusion
Keeping order in your home requires conscious effort. I know that sounds harsh and like a lot of work, but it doesn’t need to be.
When you take the blinders off and pay attention to the little things that tend to accumulate in your home, you will consistently keep clutter at bay.
The only homes that are permanently and perfectly organized are ones that are not lived in. Life is messy at times. It’s what you do when you notice the mess that matters.
Reach out to me to schedule a free 30-minute phone consultation if you want to create better organizing strategies for your home.
Diane N. Quintana is the owner of DNQ Solutions, LLC. She is an ADHD Organizing Specialist, a Hoarding Specialist, and a Chronic Disorganization Specialist. Diane is also an ICD Master Trainer, Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization, Certified Professional Organizer and co-owner of Release Repurpose Reorganize LLC based in Atlanta, Georgia. She specializes in residential and home-office organizing.
I love a 5-minute reset! I do them all the time. I agree that it’s the only way to maintain organization in your home.
Thank you, Janet.
I am all about the resets. I have purposeful piles — in the bedroom for clothing heading to the laundry, in the living room next to where I sit (and go through the mail) — by my desk reset is what gives me serenity. I reset the living room before going to bed; the same with the kitchen. The laundry pile depends on whether the items are going into the wash or the dry cleaners. The bathroom counter gets a mini reset daily and a major reset at the start of the week.
But my desk? The need for a reset depends on my schedule. On Sunday nights and Tuesday afternoons, I’m doing research and writing, and the desk quickly implodes. Clearing it up upon my return to the desk after those little explosions (implosions?) allows me to reframe and refresh. I’ve had a particularly wackadoodle day, so there are books, a Kohl’s coupon, a treatment plan from the dentist, and several sticky notes I used while trying to solve a “sticky” computer problem today. But later this evening, before TV time, I’ll be resetting my desk so that tomorrow’s work will be done in a tidy environment. And that makes all the difference.
I hope you and Jonda have a super time at The Elegant Elf and sell lots of books!
Thank you, Julie. I am loving that my organizer friends are also fans of a reset!
I love the “reset!” Each day when I wake up, I feel that way about the day. It’s a new opportunity to go forth with positivity and determination. It’s a chance to embrace this precious life we have with openness and purpose.
When it comes to clutter and those piles of things that land in corners and surfaces, they also deserve a reset. I know what you mean about how some areas are clutter magnets. Those are often the most trafficked areas, but not necessarily. I’ve seen rooms piled high with things that don’t have a home.
I’m pretty good about putting things away where they go. However, currently, I have some piles of things left over from our guest bedroom renovation, that are in process. To me it’s clutter. But I also know that I’ll attend to them soon. They are headed out for donation or sale and need my time and attention to make that happen. When I pass the pile, I look quickly, and then look away, so it won’t bother me.
Thank you, Linda. It’s so important to understand that the piles are temporary.
First, how fun that you and Jonda will be at The Elegant Elf. That sounds so fun, and I would come if I were closer!
I love this definition: resetting means that you actively return the room, area, or small space to an organized state. So simple to understand, and it is such an important aspect of an organized life.
How frequently we reset depends on the person. My husband will reset less frequently. I think he enjoys the payoff of a terrific before and after LOL. I tend to do those daily resets, sort of in an ongoing fashion. Of course, I don’t have small children running around anymore, so the resets tend to be small in comparison to previous days. Having a regular routine that you stick to is what matters most, be it daily, weekly, or monthly!
I love small resets in general but (as I indicated in this blog) my desk and its surround tends to get quite messy and I ignore it until I can’t anymore. Then I take a couple of hours to get it back to the way I really want it.