Welcome to Day 7 of the 7 Day Organising Challenge.
If you’re just joining us… you’re my kind of person. You heard the champagne corks popping yesterday and came running! Please feel free to join us in a glass, although it may taste better if you keep scrolling and complete Days 1-6 of our Challenge. Plus, you’ll have MORE room for champagne somewhere in your house. Winning!
If you’ve been with me since the start, you’re my hero. So far you’ve completed the following to transform an area of your home:
Day 1 – Chosen one area to declutter & organise
Day 2 – Created a vision for the space
Day 3 – Decluttered
Day 4 – Organised
Day 5 – Contained & Styled
Day 6 – Labelled
And now,
Step 7.
Maintain. I can almost hear the audible groans from here. Yes, it’s true. Organising is not a once in a life time event. Sorry folks. But the good news is, you now have the structure in place that should make maintaining the space much easier.
Before we move on too quickly, I want to remind you of the pile of stuff you said you were going to sell back on Day 3. Now is the day to make a start on this or admit you’re kidding yourself, as well as actually carrying out the delivery of items you bagged up to be donated.
Top Tip: Depending on what you have to donate and where you live, you may be able to call a local charity and arrange for a free collection. Check out the Resources page on my website for lots of sustainable ways to move on your unwanted stuff.
Now, when it comes to maintaining your space more generally, you need to allow time to maintain your home and keep it organised. Sounds basic but BASICALLY NO ONE DOES IT. You don’t necessarily need huge blocks of time but you will if you neglect if for too long.
- For the smaller, day to day tasks, a little done frequently is best. Just like it takes time to maintain a garden, or do the housework, so too for staying organised
- Consider scheduling the bigger tasks. How often do they need to be done to stay manageable & how long will it take? Then make an appointment with yourself in the calendar to get it done. If you use an electronic calendar, make it a recurring appointment
- Enlist the people you live with to help you. At the very least, show them what the purpose of the area is, and tell them what does and doesn’t go there
Some organising principles that you might find helpful for maintaining your home include:
- Don’t put it down, put it away
- Never leave a room empty handed. Always take something with you and put it away
- Establish a permanent “out” box where you can place items you no longer want. Drop it off to your local charity store when it gets full
- Remember the One In, One Out rule. If you come home with a new shopping haul, what can you let go of to make space?
- Say “no thanks” to freebies
- Put a No Junk Mail sign on your letterbox
- Stop shopping for stuff you don’t need
- Go paperless wherever possible
- Create destinations for everything that is staying
So that’s it! Congratulations on getting sorted. Are you off to tackle a new area or will you take a break for now?
Whatever you decide, enjoy your new found space and time.
