Organize & Declutter: A Step Challenge
Has anyone seen my swim shorts? Where did you put my...fill in the blank? Where's my book? Where's my homework?
Everyone, at least the adults in the house, hears these questions and more at least once or twice a day. Everyone asks questions like these at least once or twice a day. Right?
Here's a steps challenge for you:
Be mindful of how many times a day someone calls out to ask you one or many of the above questions.
Count how many times you give up shouting where you think the item is and you interrupt what you're doing to go help find it.
Now, count how many steps you took:
To go to the person in distress.
To find the object.
To give it to that person.
To return to your place.
Oh! And this challenge applies to you looking for your own things!
Simple ways to count your steps: You'll need a small notepad and pen
If you use a "fitbit" or your smart phone to count your steps in general, just write down what the number was when you first got up to go help and then when you returned to your previous activity.
Subtracting the original number from the new number gives you the number of steps that activity took.
If you don't have these apps, then actually count, keeping track of the steps you took from room to room.
At the end of the day, total up the amount of the extra steps you took to find something that wasn't in it's organized and proper place.
Make it fun...give each person in your family a page in the notebook and see how many extra steps you took for that person!
My bet? You probably put on at least 300-500 steps per search!
There is no need to play the zigzagging "game" of walking back and forth! It's a waste of time and energy.
It's the old adage of "You have to spend money to save money."
If you take the time to organize your home room by room, label where things go, you can answer those shouted questions posted at the beginning with specific places to look. (You save energy by not being annoyed).
Make a list of where important things in for each room and put it on the inside of a cabinet or closet door in that room for easy reference.
Make a master list for the whole house and keep it in a central place, but not visible.
Any organizing or decluttering project adds tons of steps to your daily routine ONCE! With no one needing to bother you, you can choose to use those extra steps in a lovelier way...say a walk outside?
CONTACT ME and we will get those organizing and decluttering projects underway to give you more time and more energy. I'm only a step away!
