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Home for a While? 5 Tips to Keep Calm and Reduce the Clutter

Many of you know that I’m from Massachusetts, where like the rest of the country and much of the world, we are dealing with the unknown of Covid-19. Schools are shuttering their doors until further notice and for many of us that means being at home for an extended period of time with our kids. Here are some tips and thoughts to help you keep calm and on top of the clutter.

Create a Schedule for Tidying- For folks with young kids this might mean making sure that one activity is put away before another is taken out. For others, it could be setting predictable times during the day when everyone in the house pitches in to clean up (could be before nap time, before dinner etc.) Doing this will help ensure that you don’t spend the day constantly cleaning up after others. And remember, this doesn’t just apply to kids. Consider your home office, kitchen, and bedroom.

One of my favorite suggestions for tidying is the 5 minute challenge. To do this, set a timer for 5 minutes. During that time, everyone helps pick up. It can be the same space, or everyone can work in separate spaces. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish in 5 minutes!

Higher Than Normal Amounts of Goods- As we navigate the unknown moving forward, many of us are bringing higher than normal amounts of goods into our homes and lives. It’s important to remember that everything we bring in should have a home, and a system to ensure its use.

For example, if you are buying extra food to put in your freezer, try to group similar items together. That way when you are looking to retrieve an item, you see all your choices at once. For example, you might keep all proteins together, frozen foods, frozen fruits and vegetables, etc. Also remember to keep the oldest items near the front and to take stock periodically to make sure nothing slipped to the back unnoticed.

If you are bringing in extra paper goods like toilet paper and paper towels, make sure to have a plan for the extras. For some this might be keeping a few of what you need in each space and then having a central location for extras. For others, it might been distributing all the quantities across the home in place of use. If you choose the former, just remember to create a system for regular restocking to avoid embarrassing moments.

Nothing But Time- A common refrain I hear from my clients is that they feel there simply isn’t enough time in the day! With the busy pace of life, work and kid commitments, and other competing priorities, organizing often falls to the bottom of the to-do list. With most routine commitments cancelled or postponed and a large number of folks working at home, I hate to break it to you, but you now have nothing BUT time. Allow yourself to tackle a project that has been on your list.

Your Clutter wasn’t created in 24 hours, so it won’t disappear in 24 hours either- Most of us did not arrive where we are in a day. Therefore we need to be kind to ourselves and realize we can’t purge and organize our homes in a day either. Pick one project at a time. Pace yourself. Otherwise you will burn out or become overwhelmed and it will slow down your path to success.

Involve Your Kids. Many parents and caregivers hesitate to involve their kids in the purging decision making process. At the end of the day, you know your kids best, but the majority of the kids are great decision makers! When you let kids help decide what stays and what goes, you are empowering them. They might even surprise you. I’ve seen cases where kids are more judicious about purging than parents! Doing this part side by side, and putting aside items for donation can also open up larger conversations about giving back and service. It’s a great opportunity to model for your kids.

Take care of yourselves. I’d love if you’d share your successes (and failures!) below in the comments.