Struggling to get started when the house feels a mess? Then the 5 things tidy method may be just the ticket for helping you take back control. This method, created by KC Davies, author of How to Keep House While Drowning, is a simple framework to get a messy room back to functioning.
5 Things Tidy Method: The Categories
There are 5 categories to work through; trash, dishes, laundry, things that have a place, and things that don’t have a place. We are going to be working through each category in that order to bring the room back to being ready to use.
Step 1: do the bare minimum in each category
Let’s work through each category and do the bare minimum we can. Trash: grab a bin bag and fill it with anything that is rubbish in the room. Leave the back by the door. Dishes: collect up any mugs, glasses, plates and bowls and put them by the door. Laundry: pick up any laundry and pop it in the laundry basket (or next to it if it’s overflowing). Things that have a place: these items can be put back where they belong. If they belong in another room to the one you are working in then these can be collected in a pile. Things that don’t have a place: these items have a little more grace – you have not allocated these items a home within your home, so there are constantly shuffled around. These can be collected in a basket or box and dealt with later.
Step 2: go back round
Are you ready for round 2? Trash: take the bag of rubbish out to the bin and recycle what you can. Dishes: put the dishes by the sink and either load the dishwasher or wash them in the sink. Laundry: if the laundry basket has enough for a load, then it’s time to put a wash on. Things that have a place – it’s time to put things back, particularly items that belong in a different room.
Step 3: action things that don’t have a place
The basket of items that don’t have a place now need to be actioned. You have a choice to make here; they either need to be allocated a space within your home or decluttered.
Step 4: repeat in other rooms
Now it’s time to do the exact same process in another room. Work through each category in order and your home will be back to functioning in no time at all.
Rachel, Declutter Your Life X
For more information check out my youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/RachelNoakes
For more information, check out this post: https://declutteryourlife.co.uk/decluttering/november-little-acts-of-decluttering/
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