Keeping surfaces tidy

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Started 9 months ago by recycler
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recycler
Member

(This topic probably has been discussed here before, but as this forum seems to be lacking a search feature, I couldn't find any of the relevant posts.)

Anyway, I'm wondering, how do you manage to keep all the various surfaces of your homes clean and tidy at all times? I'm talking about things like counter tops, tables, chairs(!), my couch(!), top of dressers, top of shelves, top of the washing machine, etc.

Since I established the "don't throw stuff on the floor/pick it up immediately" habit my floors are actually clean and tidy, but every other surface is still messy (possibly even more so now than before, since the stuff I used to throw on the floor I now put in seemingly random places above ground level).

How do you make yourself spend the extra 30 seconds to put something where it's supposed to be rather than just dropping it off at the nearest "landing strip"? Are there any tricks I can use to convince myself that the extra work is worth the effort (the future reward of having a tidy apartment apparently not being a good enough motivator)?

This problem is especially evident for items that I don't use daily. If I'm not going to be using the item for a long while, I usually put it away, but things I use 2-3 times a week tend to stay out of its place. Either, I rationalize that I will be using it again in a few days, so there's not point in putting it away just now, or I'm just too lazy to move it (even though I know I should). Any tips for dealing with this?

Posted 9 months ago #
liag
Member

I think if it doesn't bother you enough to put it away, then let it go. We put everything (well, nearly) away because we are somewhat neurotic about things lying about! Or maybe the "homes" for these items are too hard to get to, and reorganization of storage is needed?

Posted 9 months ago #
Ella
Member

For me, one way to keep things tidy is to keep my surfaces looking really beautiful when they are clear... polished wood, gleaming counters, smoothly made bed. Those things make me feel serene, and I don't want to mess them up by leaving stuff all over.

But really, the main thing is habit... not putting things down but putting them away.
A place for everything and everything in its place. I use my kitchen scissors a dozen times a day, and then they go right back to their home in the drawer where I can always find them.

Here's an older post from Zen Habits that I bookmarked long ago, and it has helped me time and again to make tidying a regular habit:

http://zenhabits.net/develop-clean-house-habits-one-at-time/

Posted 9 months ago #
susanintexas
Member

recycler: There is a targeted Google search feature -- it's not on the forum page, though, but rather on the home page of the blog. I guess you could say that Erin decided to keep THIS surface tidy!

I tidy the house for a few minutes a day three times a day (in the morning, in the afternoon before DH comes home and before I go to bed.) This mostly involves putting things away. It seems to keep it under control.

I made sure everything does have a place (PEEP, or a place for everything and everything in its place.) For me, a lot of the out-of-place stuff didn't have a proper place. This is actually an ongoing organizational process. If the same things ends up out of place consistently it's a sign that the place might be the wrong place -- too inconvenient. I try to think it through and find a better place.

My surfaces aren't completely empty. Another step is to figure out what is logical to keep out all the time. The electric kettle will stay on the kitchen counter because it is used at least once a day. I would be fighting a losing battle if I tried to discipline myself to hide it in a cupboard after my morning coffee was made. The stand mixer always gets put away, even though I might be using it tomorrow. There is always going to be a book or two on my nightstand and a magazine or two on the coffee table. Before it becomes a stack, it gets tidied.

All this has helped me reach the ultimate goal, which is putting things away as soon as I am done with them. You might want to try putting things away consistently for a day or a week to start developing the habit and see if it is worth the bother for you.

I know what you mean about chairs -- DH is a chair stacker (so is his mother.)

Posted 9 months ago #
JuliaJayne
Member

I taught myself to pick up by timing how long it took to put something away. I found that most things only take a few extra seconds to put in the right place. I too have worked towards having a place for everything, and making sure that that place was uncluttered.

Posted 9 months ago #
jlw
Member

Seconding what liag said about making sure the homes for things are in the right places. For a while I was always bugging my husband about the dirty clothes that he left on the floor outside the bathroom, instead of taking them to the hamper in the bedroom. Finally he said "But this is where I take them off!" and I decided to just stick a hamper in that spot too. It's not where I envisioned a hamper but it's where a hamper needs to be and it sure beats clothes on the floor.

Also, maybe "landing strips" are not such a bad idea? Have designated spots or containers for stuff that you don't want to put away yet, then collect all the stuff from those places at once? It would just shift the time spent from a few seconds here and there to a longer chunk, but that might fit better with your habits/thought processes.

Posted 9 months ago #
Sky
Member

Ella, that Zen link is great. Also the PEEP.

One thing that helps me is the 2 minute rule. If you can do something in 2 minutes, do it. Don't put it down, go put it away. It is amazing what can be accomplished in just 2 minutes :)

Posted 9 months ago #
recycler
Member

@liag It does bother me enough to want to change it, but I guess you could say I'm so used to the status quo that I'm not too concerned about it on a day-to-day basis. However, it does become a problem when things start to pile up. It adds to my stress level and it also makes me uncomfortable about having guests at my home on a short notice.

I guess it boils down to a combination of training the habits of putting things away immediately and tidying up on a daily basis and having a proper (and convenient) place for everything. I do have places for most my stuff, but as susanintexas pointed out, maybe some of those are too inconvenient.

@Ella How do you discipline yourself to putting the scissor away after every use? Scissors is a perfect example of something that I would just have lying around on the counter top, since I use it so often I can't be bothered to put it away after each use. If it only was the scissors it wouldn't be such a problem, but treat enough items with the same lazy attitude and the result is a cluttered counter top...

Posted 9 months ago #
recycler
Member

@Sky I appreciate the 2 minute rule, but how do you convince yourself to spend 2 minutes clearing the table instead of 2 seconds to put down whatever you have in your hands and 1 minute and 58 seconds relaxing on the sofa?

Relaxing on the sofa is, well, relaxing, but tidying for 2 minutes is boring.

Posted 9 months ago #
Rosa
Member

I have never found a way to keep surfaces tidy (and i don't live alone, so me learning to put stuff away as I use it hasn't really helped - the other person puts whatever is in his hand on the closest thing to a clear surface that's in arm's reach.)

So i've eliminated most of the surfaces, and I make an effort every few days to clear them. But really - we don't have end tables, or a coffee table, or knick knack shelves, or bathroom cabinets (though I'd like those). We haven't had kitchen countertops in about six months (though I hope to get that changed by Christmas). I keep the buffet covered with plants and the tallboy covered with family photos and that reduces how much big stuff gets left up there.

Posted 9 months ago #
liag
Member

Recycler--Hooks are easy and able to be installed at or near the point of use. There are beautiful hooks these days. For small items like scissors, there are canister-type containers. They are still on surfaces, but if they are pretty and you consider your things "away" when stashed inside them, that may work.It all bothers me, too, so I wish you success.

Posted 9 months ago #
JuliaJayne
Member

Recycler, can you really "relax on the sofa" when your place is a mess?

Posted 9 months ago #
Sky
Member

JuliaJayne, that was my thought too.

recycler,I implement the 2 minute rule because I like living clean and uncluttered. Sometimes it takes effort but it does become a habit. I take it by your name that you recycle....how long does that take? It's all about choices :)

Posted 9 months ago #
pkilmain
Member

I keep a pretty ceramic container on my kitchen counter for holding the kitchen tools I use several times a day. The scissors are one of those, along with my favorite spatulas, scrapers and stirring spoons. I have a smaller container that holds pens, pencils and markers (we are big on using lists and calendars to keep track of comings and goings). Having these two things helps keep the countertops clear.

I have a landing strip which is actually a chair - one of those that supposedly converts to a stepstool/ladder but in actually is too fiddly and unstable in that position. This holds a file box for hanging files and we keep all our receipts there, as well as papers which go to my office downstairs (DH's desk is in the next room, so his stuff goes directly there). The shelf underneath holds current magazines, as we too have no end tables or coffee table. I sort these every month or so and donate the older ones. My purse and sunglasses land here, as our coats/footware live downstairs by the front entry. I often need items from my purse during the day.

We conciously keep items off of bookcases, the woodbox (we heat with wood) and a shelf along the stairway. Like Rosa, I use photos and plants to keep those areas clear of "homeless" things. :) DH does use the top of the refrigerator to hold his thermal lunchbox. He uses it several times a week and it's too bulky to store in a cupboard.

Posted 9 months ago #
Rosa
Member

Oh! Somethign else that has helped - I told the kiddo (he's 6) that any change he finds at his eye level or below he gets to keep, and started a bunch of containers - a vase for pens/pencils/scissors, a jar for change (on a high shelf), a bucket for tools/construction bits, a mail sorter, a recycling paper bag near the mail sorter. My partner leaves whatever's in his hand on the nearest handy surface -receipts, change, screws, nails - but if I can scoop them up first, I get the change in my change jar and put away the rest. If I miss, little guy gets a magnetic things bonanza and maybe some money.

Posted 9 months ago #
chacha1
Member

@ recycler - the thing that really flipped my switch, in terms of "I want to keep this place tidy," was making the investment in good furniture.

When my apartment was full of curb-mart and ready-to-assemble crap, I couldn't get very exercised about managing clutter, because even when it was tidy it still didn't look good. Nothing went together, let alone matched; everything was always dusty; it was horrid!

Now, I really love the way my place looks when it's tidy, so it's very easy to find that motivation (to keep it tidy). Because it's very noticeable when something is out of place or when a surface has accumulated dust.

Posted 9 months ago #
recycler
Member

@liag Yeah. I do have hooks on all my doors and on the side of my wardrobe cabinet. The hooks on the inside of my bathroom door finally solved my long-time problem of always leaving wet towels on the floor! :) I'm also thinking about setting up a couple of extra hooks by the entrance, so I can offload stuff there as soon as I get home.

@JuliaJayne No, not really. However, I'm quite good at coming up with various activities to avoid cleaning and/or forget about the fact that my apartment is a mess. I'm a Master Procrastinator, unfortunately...

@pkilmain I do have several wicked "baskets" stashed around to "absorb" small items like keys, spare change, receipts, or whatever I find lying around that's small enough to stuff in one of them, which really has helped a lot.

I did actually do some tidying and cleaning last night, and I noticed two things:

1) If I'm able to put my toothbrush back in the bathroom cabinet after each use (twice daily), how come I still leave my razor and contact lenses out on the top of the washing machine (next to the sink)?

The brush thing has been a habit for my entire life, but for some reason I don't have the same habit for these other items. Maybe I should try consistently putting them away after each use also, and hope that it will become automatic after a while. I guess I need to establish the mental model that my razor and contacts "live" in the cabinet (with my toothbrush) and not on top of my washer (with a ton of other clutter).

2) Most of the stuff that is now out of its place (currently stored on my dining table and sofa table) don't really have a proper "home".

So, now I face a different (much bigger) problem: where do I put all the things I have no specific place for, and how do I deal with the various items that don't have a system in place to handle them?

For example, I noticed I had a lot of plastic bags floating around, and the simple reason is that I don't have any system in place for dealing with the plastic bag whenever I come home from the store. I do reuse the bags for garbage, but I have no proper place to store them from the time they are no longer used to carry groceries until the time I will reuse them for trash.

The plastic bags issue is just one example. There are many others, which made me realize that in order to deal with the "clean surfaces" issue, I first have to sort out a number of other issues with my storage places, routines and systems...

It's a good thing to realize, but it's also a bit scary as I now see the issue is much bigger than just tidying my tables every now and then. I simply own too many things that I don't have a proper place for (and that I can't throw away, because I actually need/use them on a semi-regular basis--I already did the purge phase, several times).

Living in a rather small apartment (roughly ~330 sq ft) I think I need to bee on the lookout for some clever storage solutions.

Oh, and thanks for the feedback, everyone. You have all been very helpful. :)

Posted 9 months ago #
ninakk
Member

I'm trying to set 10-15 min aside every evening before going to bed this month to learn a new habit of picking up on a daily basis rather than occasionally when it is already a mess. I want a tidy space more than I want to slack on a daily basis; it is about priorities and nothing else.

Posted 9 months ago #
genny
Member

I installed a coat rack with 6 hooks on the wall in the hallway. What a difference it make in my clutter problem!

I used to pile it up on the table, but, now it is so much easier to have a place to hang it. I hang the purse, shopping bags, knitting bag, scarfs, items of clothing, etc.
Of course, things have to be cleared off of it once in a while. It is one of the best solutions to my problem ever!

For other little stuff that cannot be stored on a rack, it is best to eliminate as much as possible so as not to have find a place for it, in my opinion. If you do find a space for it, that space needs to be easy to access. If you go and clean out a closet and pack everything back in all stacked up and neat, it may not be easy to actually remove and replace items from the stack. If you can't access it easily ,it doesn't work except for something like christmas decorations that you use only once a year.
My second unloading space is my large desk top. I do square it away every few days.

I love me some clean surfaces! It creates such a sense of peace and control. Yes, I said control. I admit it. It gives me a sense of being in control. I like that. If my house is totally organized and clean, it means that I am probably upset with something.
But, I do like my rack for hanging so many things.

Posted 9 months ago #
genny
Member

recycler, I don' t intend to be dictating here, but, about those plastic bags---

How about using reusable bags and eliminating the clutter and waste of those? It is rare to find one in my house anymore not even for garbage. We just use the small trash can in the kitchen, empty it and clean it.
I compost the wet and nasty stuff and we use no disposable items.
I also have a water hose to wash the receptacle out.
Is there no alternative to using the plastic bag in the garbage can for you? I know that it is different for everyone, depending on what type of facilities you have.
Not everyone can compost or have an outdoor hose or utility sink.

Most people get way too many plastic bags--more than they can ever use in their garbage cans. Thus, the great need to store them. Maybe take aside what you think you may use and recycle the rest. Maybe only accept a bag at the store if you feel that you really need it. I don't mean to be overly critical, but that is a rationale that is used by too many people for the acceptance of too many plastic bags.

This is the way that we need to think when we confront clutter, overabundance or waste. We have to confront the seemingly little things that we do, and either eliminate them or find a different way. In this case, it is not only a question of what to do with too many bags, but, also a question of creating too much garbage to put into too many bags. So, that leaves you with pondering ways to reduce the garbage in your life. And, that leads you to examining your consuming---

LIttle things that cause clutter seem to be always little things that come into our spaces through seemingly innocent ways. They are so insidious that they are not recognized by many of us. But, they have the ability to create huge messes in our homes and in our oceans and landfills. You gotta' look at the fine print in life!

Posted 9 months ago #

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