Decluttering And Organizing - Week 2

It’s Week 2! This week’s hot topic to tame is: The Drop Zone.

In our decluttering and organizing for 2019, we are taking a look at different areas of our home and starting with the most obvious and most easily seen areas. We will be going through ‘public’ spaces first then we will be heading behind closed doors and drawers and under beds and other spaces you don’t show off to anyone.

So, why are we doing it this way?

Because we want you to win. To be successful. To create habits that will last that will matter on how you manage your day-to-day life. By starting with what you see every day, that will keep you motivated and determined to keep going and make progress.

Week 1 was all about developing the habit of doing dishes every single night as well as clearing off the counters daily. In case you missed it, you can read it here: Decluttering And Organizing Challenge Week 1 - Kitchen Sink and Countertops

So how’d you do? Keep going! It will take determination every day to complete this but it is totally well worth it every single morning. And every evening when you go to make dinner.

Ready for Week 2? Let’s go!

Decluttering and Organizing Weekly Challenge Week 2 – The Drop Zone

I don’t know about you, but after a long day, we look forward to coming home. We want to step into our refuge. Our safe place. Our warm, welcoming, inviting haven where we can leave the outside world at the door. And when we walk in, we want to plop everything down all at once. Ha!

Our home has a formal front entrance which is only used by people who don’t know us.

 Here’s a picture of our foyer still decorated for Christmas:

Everyone else uses the side entrance in the carport which enters directly into the kitchen.

Here’s a picture of our ‘entryway’ in the kitchen, again still decorated for Christmas:

As you can see, it’s not typical and we’re ok with that. There’s no coat rack. There’s no little table. It enters directly into the kitchen/sitting room. BAM! And we all know that no matter how big or small your kitchen is or how many people you have over, that’s where everyone ends up anyway so you might as well start there. But I digress...

But what I do like about it is that it’s very simple. When Mr. Wonderful comes home, he puts his briefcase on the strategically placed bench, takes off his work boots, and promptly plugs in his iPad. The plug is cleverly hidden behind a galvanized metal umbrella stand. The umbrella stand stays there year-round because we do get rain. Which is better than snow! But again I digress…

I also put my purse on the bench as well. I clip my sunglasses and my keys to my purse since I have rings built-in for both of them. I always, always, always, put my keys on that ring in my purse so I do not lose my keys. After I clip the keys on the ring, I tuck them into my purse so they don’t jingle around nor will my fob come off and get lost (speaking from experience - but I did find it). Since I have made it a habit to do this, I am not frantically running around looking for things and being late. Grab and go.

So what’s the scoop with coats you ask? We hang our coats in the small coat closet in the foyer. So I am sure you’re still thinking, “Where does everyone else hang their coats when they come to visit?“ Good question. When we have a large crowd, we gather all of the coats and put them on the spare room bed. Not my ideal but I’ve been reassured that this practice is acceptable. Do you do that too?

We do have a small waterproof boot holder that the umbrella stand sits on where we put our shoes that we are wearing that day.  Though Mr. Wonderful does take off his work boots, we are not a “Take-Off-Your-Shoes“ household, much to my mother‘s dismay. Growing up, we always had to take our shoes off immediately when we entered the house. My mom washed the floor on her hands and knees and did not want three kids traipsing through the house and dirtying up her clean floors. But I digress… Since we can physically only wear one pair of shoes at a time, all others are in our closets. And because our space is not large there to begin with, we do not want the clutter of shoes everywhere and do not want someone to trip and fall over them.  

So even though our entry drop zone is not typical, perhaps you have a more typical mudroom like this:

or this:

Hooks to hang backpacks, bags, coats. Cubbies. Shoe storage. Pretty decorative baskets to hold hats, gloves, the dog leash, sunglasses.  

Whether you have a real mudroom or an atypical entry, remember to declutter, (steps 1, 2, 3) then organize (step 4), then ‘homify’ the space (step 5) in that order.

1.     Remove everything

2.     Decide what is to stay in the space

3.     Discard, donate, sell, or store off-season coats and footwear elsewhere

4.     Return items using bins, baskets, totes, etc.

5. Homify - make it your own

Here are some helpful hints to keep it decluttered and organized:

·       Designate a hook or cubby for each person

·       Coats - Keep only the coat you are wearing right now (all others are to be put away) and hang them up

·       Shoes - Keep only the shoes you are wearing right now (see above note) and pair them up

·       Corral belongings in decorative baskets or totes (feel free to put a cool label on each)

·       Keep keys in the same place each time (purse, hook, bowl/dish)

·       And the same for sunglasses as well

·       Have a small bench or stool for a spot to put on and take off shoes

·       Add a small seasonal touch (pillow, candle, artwork)

·       And finally, if an item doesn’t belong there, put it where it does goes

Next week, we will discuss the mail so I’ll save comments related to that topic for then.

Good luck! Let me know how it goes on your project and if you have any comments or questions. I’d love for you to chime in .