Clutter Free | Do More in Less Time
When you are clutter-free it is easier to do more in less time and I will show you how. I will even throw in 21 wicked awesome tips to help you!
Now that I am a recovering perfectionist I am good at getting more done in less time. I have never in my life scheduled when I will clean what in my home. I am a busy active person who loves to work, create and garden!
Enjoying time with my friends and reading is something I would not try to live without. Above all I need time to play with my dogs! I am good at juggling.
What can get done in less time
My days afford me little chunks of time in between juggling acts. It is during these times my home gets cleaned. Without any pre planning, maybe while on a telephone or zoom call I will without forethought empty and clean a cupboard., gather a load of laundry, wash a slider door.
Where ever I happen to be there is always something that can be cleaner, tidier or discarded. My living environment needs to be clean and uncluttered or I can’t think.
Clutter
Clutter is extremely distracting to me. I do the same with outside work. I am responsible for all of it. It would not suit me to take an entire day(s) to clean my home. Writing this makes me realize it is out of sheer habit, and not much thought, my home and yard are always relatively clean and tidy.
It is kind of like brushing my teeth. I don’t really think of this either. It just feels like at certain times there is a tooth brush in my mouth.
Little bursts get the jobs done!
I think of it as micro bursts of cleaning energy. I haveexperienc ed these bursts when getting up in the middle of the night to you know what. Why? Because if I see something that needs to get done I just do it.
I have found it takes much less time to actually do something than to think about doing something. I would go cuckoo if I had to spend too much thought on any of this.
Less time & less thinking
My community offers the use of a dump to discard trash and recyclables. I generate very little trash for a couple reasons.
- I hate having to spend time getting rid of trash.
- I have been a serial recycler since before it was popular.
- I make compost with garbage so I don’t have to deal with stinky garbage hanging around. My vegetable garden loves this! It is what I call a two-for!
Dump day takes less time!
About once a month I load my vehicle for a dump run and one of the first things I do is open fridge and freezer and get rid of anything that needs to go. I empty the couple wastebaskets around my home.
Because I am a serial recycler my trips to landfill are minimal.
Recycling is a clutter-free habit
Because my recycling is sorted on an ongoing basis I simply pick up the 3 recycling bags on my way out the door.
One bag each for paper, glass, and cans/plastic. This reminds me too that because I keep up with things on a day to day basis the whole process takes me only a few minutes.
Dedicated spaces for tasks
Any and everything regarding my 2 beloved dogs is in 2 places. The meds and things the dogs need to never get into are kept behind a secure closed door. Everything else is in one spot in my studio and is easily accessed when it is grooming time.
I have 2 beautiful very hairy pups and would go bonkers if I had to search for scissors, brushes etc every time I groom Simon and Max.
When I collect mail I walk in front door and over to the recycle bins. I toss junk in paper recycle bag and open any mail I deem important. I recycle the trash this generates.
Pretty easy to not drown in a sea pf papers these days as we move toward a paperless society. I put the few keepers on the stairs to bring up to my desk the next time I go up stairs.
Bathrooms
I keep identical cleaning supplies in each bathroom. What could be simpler and easier!
I have 3 sliding glass doors and gorgeous views. Lucky me! I have the same squeegee, cloth and vinegar and water solution discreetly tucked away by each. To me when the windows are dirty the whole house feels dirty.
About repetitive tasks like grocery shopping
I shop for food at Trader Joes. I have for years even when this was inconvenient and I had to drive 25 miles to the closest store. Why?
Trader Joes is a small store, the staff is awesome and they have everything I need. I eat simply, my focus is only that my nutritional needs are met. I generally buy the same foods. Some people are foodies, I am not.
Pack smart at grocery store!
I am so ridiculously organized that when I buy 6 packs of rice cakes I take them from the store shelf and put in one bag. Because I am addicted to frozen mango chucks I put a dozen bags of these in an insulated bag.
I do this because when I get home unpacking bags take no time because everything is already organized! Insulated bag contents go right into freezer. Rice cakes to the same pantry shelf, etc.
And where do the empty tote bags go?
Of course the empty bags go right by the front door to be put back in my car the next time I go out. This reminds me when I am in the kitchen and use the last of something I pull out my phone and add the item to the running list of things I need to buy.
This saves me from having to look or think too much about what exactly I need when I go food shopping.
Laundry time?
I peek in each room before I load the washing machine, grabbing things along the route to washer dryer. When my clothes come out of the washer they go right on hangers into closet with space for air to flow to dry. Clothes are dry in no time.
No folding wrinkled clothes later. I dress simply and have plenty of space in my closet because I am not a collector of clothes. Sheets, towels etc go in dryer and get folded and put away when dry or right back where they came from. Done.
Wardrobe
On the subject of clothes. I don’t like to think much about this either so my wardrobe pretty much consists of many of the same black tops and several pair of jeans.
When I see a black top I love I buy 6! Same with jeans. I do love cool boots and footwear! Because I don’t buy many clothes there is usually enough money stashed for a pair of irresistible boots!
It only takes 2 weeks for a habit to form!
Remember I don’t like to have to think about cleaning! I clean by habit. It is my habit if I see something that needs attention to tend to it. I am wired to reach to the same place to get the same thing to get the same job done the same way I did last time.
Make your home your special place
Another reason my home is always in order is because I detest clutter. I refuse to have to move a bunch of stuff to keep a surface clean.
My home is my nest. My home is my happy place. With two art studios in my home and 2 mischievous pups I find it pretty easy to live in a clean and organized home and work space.
Marj Bates is a life long ridiculously organized declutterer and artist. Less is more are words Marj lives by in everything she does except collecting dogs. “Dogs are like potato chips! Can’t have just one.” says Marj. Marj wonders if growing up with a fanatically clean Jewish mom means her decluttering and organizational skills are in her blood.
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