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Last updated on April 9th, 2022 at 08:17 pm
Have you ever created cleaning or organizing systems for your home and thought, “This is it! I finally have a system that’s going to change everything!
Then the kids are home on vacation and everything goes south, and you throw your hands in the air and say, “Screw it!”
Why does that always happen?
It’s because there’s something about the system that doesn’t work with your lifestyle and personality.
What should you do to fix it?
I want to tell you about 3 secrets I’ve uncovered about creating organizing systems that actually stick.
Watch the 6 minute Facebook Live replay or read the full post below.
1 | Keep it simple
If you have to think too hard about your system, chances are you aren’t going to stick with it.
Many women have told me that they’ve tried cleaning systems where you work on a different room every day and rotate through certain tasks.
It gets too confusing and takes up way more time and brainpower than originally bargained for.
Our brains are wired for survival. We’re also creatures of habit. If something is taking to much mental energy, chances are we’re going to quit.
By keeping your systems really simple, without fancy schedules that constantly change, is the first secret to systems that stick.
2 | Make it easy.
I know this sounds similar to the first secret but it’s not. With this secret, it’s about making it easy to carry out the actions required for the system.
For example, we keep a backstock of bathroom supplies in a cabinet. Before, we had one big bin that held everything, from toothpaste to deodorant to bars of soap.
It became so difficult to find anything that my husband wouldn’t look in it for things –he’d ask me to do it.
I recreated the system so that we have different boxes for each category of backstock, clearly labeled. It’s easy to get the boxes in and out to add stock or take it out, and my family can help themselves to supplies.
That’s a simple system that’s easy to use.
3 | Be persistent (but be okay with making changes)
Remember the scenario at the beginning with the kids being home for vacation and throwing off you off your game? You have to be able to jump right back into your system after life interrupts it.
Sometimes you might try to jump back in and realize it’s not working anymore. At that point, make some changes to get it working. Life changes, and we have to change with it.
But a system doesn’t work unless you actually use it. Just like buying a planner on January 1st and sticking it in a drawer or buying exercise equipment that you just hang clothes on. You’re not going to see results unless you take action.
These 3 secrets –keep it simple, make it easy, and be persistent –will help you create organizing systems that stick. It’s about creating the path of least resistance so you can succeed.
Get started on creating a system that sticks by downloading this free 10-Minute Tidy Checklist.
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