How to Clean Up Items That Get Left Out
Hey there and welcome back!
I feel like every time a new month hits I always say, “I can’t believe it’s (month) already!” But it’s SO TRUE! I really can’t believe it’s September!
Since it is September and it seems like the kids are back in school, that means that routines and things around the house change. It’s time to get back to new routines and for parents to get back on the grind of even more tasks to do, errands to run, and carpools to different sports and activities.
I’d like to talk this month about different productivity tips that will help you get back into good routines and perhaps even save you time as your weeks get more hectic!
This tip, along with other ones, will take practice to get it down but in the end it will be worth it.
Here’s the tip:
If you’re leaving a room, take something with you!
If you are in one room, and then get up to say, go to the kitchen, if there is an item in the room you are in that belongs in the kitchen or in another room that you are going to be passing, take that item with you and put it away in your passing.
If your kids bring a toy downstairs that belongs upstairs, bring something upstairs every time you go upstairs.
How can you keep all of these items that don’t belong in that room somewhat organized?
Keep bins around the house and label them “doesn’t belong” or “to put away”. You don’t have to have a bin in every room. I would put a bin in the rooms that seem to collect the most unwanted items. This may be the living room or the kitchen. If you have stairs, put a bin/basket on the staircase instead of stacking things loosely on the stairs themselves. If you are going upstairs, just take the whole basket with you.
The bins and baskets will help keep things looking neater instead of random items laying all over the place. The trick is teaching you and your family to get into the routine of doing these things in the first place.
Also, having one bin for the random items is a lot easier to clean up quickly than running around trying to gather everything and put it where it has to go. You know, when you find that someone is coming over your house unexpectedly and then you have to tidy up quickly before they get there!