3 Keys Thursday: 3 (Key) Simple Solutions

Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

Yesterday, I wrote about simple solutions, specifically two I'd recently tried. That got me thinking about other simple solutions and approaches. Here are three that sprang to mind.

Put it where you use it (location, location, location!) To many people, this seems obvious but when we think about the three organizational styles (drop and run, cram and jam and I know I put it somewhere), if we do what comes naturally without building these styles into our homes for things, we create an extra step. When we select logical, accessible homes, we can move beyond dropping and running, cramming and jamming and putting things into the first place we see and set up one-step solutions that work with our styles. Speaking of styles....

Choose tools that fit your styles, not the other way around. It takes a little digging and some creative thinking but it's possible to ditch a tool that's not working and replace it with one that fits our styles. At my house, containers with lids are few and far between because they don't work with my I need to see it/drop and run styles. Drawer organizers (premade and cobbled together) are a staple inside my drawers so I can see what I have. One lovely benefit of this? A sense of calm created by a tidy arrangement of my things.

Take small steps. I love all the steps in my STYLE process, but the most freeing one is take small steps, which gives me permission to tackle things a little at a time. Sometimes I get frustrated because that means it takes longer to whip a spot into space but finding big chunks of time to organize is simply not a possibility in my life, at least on a regular basis. Making progress, even a little at a time, motivates me to keep going.

What simple rules and solutions do you employ to keep yourself organized?