3 Keys Thursday: 3 of My Favorite Habits

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

It bears repeating that I don't write this blog from an expert point of view. Consequently, one of the benefits of doing so is that it keeps me honest, consistently spurring me on to bigger and better things, organizationally speaking. 

As I've often said, am work in progress. As such, I find myself working out my own solutions as I write this post and as I continue to look at my house in my life through fresh eyes. Along the way I've tried a variety of solutions to the organizational problems that plague to me. Some have fallen by the wayside, but others have stuck, becoming habits I rely on. Here are three of my favorites.

• Dealing with the mail as it comes in. I used to just dump the mail on the counter when I came into the house. I think this habit began when my daughter was small and I had a miniature human to tend to the minute that I walked in with the mail. Over time, this habit created a major mess, but it remained a really hard habit to break. What finally made the difference (in addition to the beautiful clear space that appeared when I finally decluttered the counter) was finding a solution to the mail counter that worked with my styles. Once I succeeded in doing that, (the solution was switching to an open-top file that simplified the process, and kept things put away, but still visible) it became just as easy to take care of the mail immediately as it had been to put it off. While I certainly can't say that the counter is perfect on a daily basis, it rarely reaches the epic disaster proportions that used to be  a common state of affairs before.
• Making the bed. I credit organizer Marcia Ramsland with this one. When I read in one of her books how big a percentage of the room it takes up, and how the room automatically looks neater just because of this simple act, I was sold. Some days it gets made later than others, but it rarely goes unmade.
• My Big 3. Admittedly, this habit isn't very old, but I can already feel it making a huge difference in changing the way I look at things. Accomplishing my big three gives me permission to relax and stop worrying so much about what I didn't do. 

How about you? What simple habits make your life easier?