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Well, this is one of my weakest areas. I have my work environment very organized and neat, but my home is not. Part of my problem is that I know what to do and how to do it, I just don’t seem to find the energy after working 11-16 hour days to come home and do it. And in the marching season, many of my weekends are taken up traveling out of town to football games and/or marching competitions.
During the rest of the school year, I am generally pretty good about it, but still not perfect.
Why is a clean home important?
Again, the same as a clean desk provides peace of mind, so does a clean home. The goal is to lower stress, and clutter raises stress. Open spaces add tranquility to our lives. Though I don’t completely follow them all, I will list some guidelines for success in this area. Even if you take only one step, it is still a move in the right direction!
10 Guidelines for a decluttered home
- Get rid of stuff; when in doubt, throw it out
- Tackle one task at a time
- Assign each item a home
- Use labels
- Establish a system for dealing with paper clutter
- When it doubt, throw it out
- If you haven’t used it in a year, why do you still have it?
- Be relentless about keeping your home clean
- Invite people over — sometimes all we need is a little bit of pressure to get around to working!
- Remember that your house will be as messy as you allow it to be — mess leads to stress
There are tons of articles out there from people who really know how to keep their homes clean. Here are a dozen:
- A Guide To Creating A Minimalist Home – Zen Habits
- 21 Tips On Keeping A Simple Home With Kids – Zen Habits
- Zen Mind: How To Declutter – Zen Habits
- Develop Clean House Habits One At A Time – Zen Habits
- Keeping A Stress Free Clean House – Zen Habits
- Handle Chores, House Cleaning and Errands With Simple Systems – Zen Habits
- How To Never Lose A Thing Again – Zen Habits
- Declutter 15 Minutes A Day – FlyLady
- 7 Tips For Learning The Declutter Habit – Internet Duct Tape
- 6 Ways To Clean Up Your Home Life – Canadian Living
- Outta Here! Professional Purgers’ Organizing Tips – CNN.com
- Tips for Organizing Your Home from Peter Walsh of TLC’s Clean Sweep – About.com
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Before you give your books away, download this bookplate and stick it in the front of each and every one of them.
The bookplate encourages people to make a small donation to the School of St Jude – a free school for bright kids in Tanzania. All the pennies add up.
http://schoolstjude.blogspot.com/2007/07/rent-book-fundraiser.html
Check it out!
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