One Simple Rule

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Day 4 of 31 Days of Order, Restored

 

 

When it comes to having a neat and orderly space, one that’s simple to clean and maintain, there is just one simple rule to follow:

EVERYTHING

The beginning of that saying is “A place for everything and…”.

That really is the key right there; to have a place for everything.

Right now, it’s October, my favorite month of the year. I love the fall weather, the way things look and feel in the fall, and Halloween is my all time favorite holiday. Needless to say, I have a great deal of Halloween decorations. It’s a big deal at our house.

Recently I went shopping for more and my husband jokingly told me I already had enough.

Guess what?

He was right.

I have more Halloween and fall decorations than I have places to put them. And that includes outside. They’re even beginning to outgrow the storage container that I use for them.

If I put out all of my Halloween decorations, my house would look messy because they all don’t have a space where they belong.

And it’s not just Halloween.

I am the first to admit that we have too much stuff. And too much of our stuff has no home.

When there is unused furniture sitting in the basement or garage, you have too much stuff.

If the top of your desk or the area around it is filled with stuff that has no home, you need to do something.

I speak from experience. I recently moved my home office into the living room and purchased a beautiful desk for the area. But where does the printer go? And my hole punch? My reference library?

No home.

When you have ADHD, finding a home for what you use and love and purging your home of the things that are just stuff is an ongoing project. There is likely never going to be a time when you aren’t editing and weeding your stuff.

When we were first married and had just two toddlers, I actually had a ordered home. Everything in it had it’s place. I could tell you where anything was located. In fact, it gave me great pride to be able to direct my mom to the exact closet, shelf, and location on the shelf when she was looking for something.

Then life happened. Kids, as you know, come with lots of stuff. And like all of our stuff, it needs a home. A very specific spot all it’s own.

If you’re overflowing with stuff and desperate to bring some order into your world, choose a spot. A tiny one. Or choose a group of stuff that you use and love.

Find a home, a place that makes sense. Aunt Edna’s beautiful crystal stemware, for instance, belongs in an unused spot in the kitchen cupboard or in the dining room. If the only home you can find for it is your coat closet, maybe it’s time to take another look.

Do a little each day, throughout the day, as you go through your day.

Obvious trash is easy, but train your eye to really see what’s there.

Make a decision; keep it or get rid of it.

Do it.

And then find a forever home for what’s left.

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle is the writer of Lacyestelle.com and the Podcast host for An ADD Woman.

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2 Responses

  1. Yes it really is! Sometimes my husband and I get carried away! When we were married for a few years, we decided that we had too much stuff. We ended up having a yard sale and selling a bunch of stuff, including most of our furniture. Oops.