Making it a Habit to Maintain Organization

Today’s guest blog post is by Regina Leeds.

Many of my clients resist getting organized because they imagine that maintenance is going to add time and chores to their already over burdened schedule. In fact maintenance is simply a shift in your actions. What do I mean? Let’s say it’s your habit to walk in the door and fling your keys wherever they land. There’s no rhyme or reason to the toss and you wind up spending hours each year searching for those darn keys.

A better option is to assign a designated spot for the keys and make it a habit to put them there. It will become a ritual as normal as brushing your teeth.

Maintenance is very often about being conscious, present and ritualizing actions we’ve left to chance. Maintenance is a positive re-direction of the energy you’ve been using to sabotage yourself. There are many organizational tricks you can perform and transform into habit and most will only take up a few minutes of your day.

Under a Minute Maintenance

• Put things back where they belong when you are done with them. Ask the entire family to do the same.
• Toss junk mail in the recycling bin as soon as you go through the mail.
• Hang up jackets, bags and purses as soon as you come in, and put shoes where they belong.
• Put your keys, badge and wallet in the same place each time you come home.

Weekly Maintenance

• Clean out the fridge and pantry to get rid of expired items and to create your grocery list
• Set aside time weekly to process bills that come in or set up automatic bill pay with your bank
• Update your family calendar for the upcoming events, deadlines and projects

Monthly / Seasonal Maintenance

• Donate, Sell or Toss clothes the kids have outgrown throughout the season.
• Do an intense clutter-clearing session throughout the house, remove any items that aren’t being used or don’t have a home.

How do you maintain an organized home?

Be sure to subscribe to our blog to get more tips from Regina Leeds and our other guest bloggers.

Regina Leeds is a New York Times best selling author. For more great organizational tips, get a copy of Regina Leeds’ One Year to an Organized Life and other best selling titles

Download Regina Leeds’ popular and free guide: How To Organize Your Wardrobe

* photo credit balanced.crafts.