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Last updated on April 9th, 2022 at 12:10 am
I’ll be honest here: I checked out Pinterest for some ideas about drop zones, and the drop zones I see online are way different than the ones I see in real life. Most of the drop zones I see in houses just naturally become one, and it takes effort and afterthought to make it look like the drop zones I just saw online.
If you’re like my family, you probably have some spot in your house that everybody tends to put their stuff. It’s probably a random counter near an entryway or in a main space of the house, like the kitchen.
It probably gets covered by mail piles, school papers, stickers, random toys, free stuff your husband got from work, pieces to projets you or your family are currently working on, bags, shoes … you know, typical things.
I know it’s an eyesore and it would be really nice if it did look like a Pinterest drop zone.
But even if it did look like that, you’d have to take some effort to keep it looking like that. So why not start practicing now?
Our drop zone is in this hallway. I gave the counter purpose by making it into our library, which was a good move because it’s not just a random space where clutter can collect.
I make tidying up the drop zone part of my evening routine. Before I go to bed, I make sure our drop zone is clear. The nice thing is, I can have this baby cleared off in about 5 minutes. Less, if everyone’s pitching in.
Tidying up your drop zone can help you start off your day better since everything’s where it should be when you look for it the next morning. Plus, it gives you space to breathe and lets you rest easier.
At least that’s what it does for me.
Since I’m all about making it easy, here’s how you to tidy and declutter your drop zone in under 15 minutes each day.
1 | Toss the trash.
Start by tossing the things that you don’t need, like junk mail or broken items that probably won’t get fixed.
2 | Put it back where it belongs.
If it’s supposed to go somewhere else, put it back where it belongs.
Don’t know where it belongs? Ask, “If I needed this, where would I look for it?”
3 | Decide if you actually need it.
Do you really need that free bag your husband brought home from work? Unless you can find a purpose for it, donate or recycle it. Don’t feel obligated to keep things just because it was free.
If it’s not adding to your life, it doesn’t deserve your time or energy.
4 | Have everyone pitch in.
Have everybody help put away their belongings every day. I think this is especially important for kids because it’s teaching them how to be tidy –a skill they’ll appreciate as adults.
5 | Add baskets, bowls, and hooks.
If it’s clear certain items are always going to end up in the drop one, roll with it. Trying to train your family to not dump their belongings there after they’ve been doing it for years is going to be tough. Embrace it by making it easier for them to keep it tidy.
Give everybody a basket for their shoes, a hook for their bag, and a bowl for their keys, or however you like it to look. Check out Pinterest for ideas on how you can organize our drop zone better.
This is the fun part of organizing. Once you declutter, you can get creative with how you want to organize it! Just be open to trying different things if one way doesn’t seem to be working. Everybody’s different, so you have to find what works for you.
Do you think you can do it? Tonight before everyone heads to bed, clear off the drop zone. Challenge yourself to do it in less than 15 minutes. It’ about being proactive now so you can be lazy later 🙂
And if you liked how simple that was, definitely grab the free organizing checklist to help you start decluttering other parts of your home.
Psstt …if you want to know how I got a marble counter, it’s in this post here.
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