Put A Lid on It!
By Laurieann Thorpe
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One of the reasons you are buried under clutter is that you have failed to define parameters for the
places you keep your stuff. The old adage, "a place for everything..." really does work but only if
you've put a boundary around your places.
This one rule of organizing is so important. If you don’t do this, you’ll constantly find
yourself in an organizing cycle. Take your kids’ toys as an example. If you don’t have a
designated spot with defined boundaries - this means top bottom and four sides - you’ll find quickly
that you are drowning in toys. You’ll spend a Saturday going through them only to find two months
later that you need to do it again.
Do yourself a favor and put a lid on it. Going back to the toy example... define a space for the toys to
live. Define smaller spaces for secondary homes. For example, use a bookcase in the playroom, and small
baskets for other rooms where toys always end up. Watch for patterns of play and make toy-homes in the
rooms where toys always land. We have a cupboard in the family room, small baskets in the formal living
room and kids rooms and a cupboard shelf in the kitchen for the toys.
When you have a defined space, organizing is so much easier! Watch how this works. Since our son knows the
toy parameters, if we’re at the store, tempted to buy a new toy, he has to choose whether he’d
really like the new toy because it will mean getting rid of one of his... and if he really wants the new one
(and the budget allows, of course), he has to decide which toy to get rid of.
The same principle applies to our stuff too. Sometimes our biggest problem is that we haven’t defined
parameters for our stuff. One natural parameter is our home (four sides, a top and a bottom). Still though,
is your house so stuffed it’s spilling into the garage and storage sheds? If so, you’re not
sticking to your parameter. Don’t buy anything you don’t have a place for!
This is a simple concept that will free you if you can apply it. It will work for your stuff, paper, cyberspace,
and even your time. We already saw how it will work with stuff but what about the others?
Did you know research shows that 80 percent of the paper you file is never looked at again? (Organizing Plain
and Simple by Donna Smallin) A file cabinet is a great parameter for paper - that’s why it was invented
but if you’re like most, it’s probably not a parameter you are taking advantage of. Instead you have
piles of paper stacked up all over your house right? Organizing experts all say you should only touch a paper
once. If you are that disciplined, congratulations. Most people (including me) find that too high a standard
to reach. If you find yourself in that situation a simple solution is to define another parameter - one for the
piles. Allow yourself one pile of “to file” papers but make sure that pile has it’s own home with easy
access but a definable top so the pile can not exceed a certain height.
Cyberspace is trickier because it’s harder to define. But it can work. Your computer can quickly become
littered with all kinds of cyber-garbage. Computers are supposed to simplify life. If you can’t find what
you need on yours, then it’s time to set some parameters. You could limit yourself to a certain number of
files or file size. It doesn’t make sense to save something you can never find if you need it. Stay on top
of your cyberspace with limits - even if you can’t see the top, bottom and four sides, you can still create
limits for yourself.
Defining parameters for your time will ensure you are doing what is important to you. If you don’t have time
parameters set up, you will find yourself inundated with requests from others. Soon, you’ll be over-committed,
running around like a chicken with your head cut off because you failed to define how you would protect your time.
You decide what your priorities are and then determine how much time you will spend working your priorities. When
interruptions come, you will be able to determine if they take precedence or if what you are doing is more important.
Think about it. How often do you buy more frozen food than will fit in your freezer? My guess is it’s not
often because you have trained yourself to know what that parameter is and you stick to it. You can do the same with
so many other aspects of your life. Be creative and be the boss of your space, stuff, paper, and time.
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