Below I’d like to discuss 2 skills to beat procrastination clutter. In the previous post “The Top Reason Clutter Becomes Overwhelming“, I introduced the concept of procrastination clutter. This is when we avoid making a final decision and acting on it when things come into the home.
I have many clients that have trouble with piles of items in front of dressers or on the floor of closets. It’s very common, and most of our homes could be found to have one or more delayed actions or decisions in various places of our homes. This is normal! I promise!
The difference is when those delayed decisions/actions end up taking over your home or require so much more time than they would have been the day they came in. Consider folding the laundry. If done right out of the dryer, this task is only a few minutes long. If you don’t have the space for that clean laundry, it’s easy to say that it’s too long of a process and dump the clothes in a chair. After a few weeks of pulling out clothes to wear and adding to the chair and now it’s a jumbled mess and much longer to put away.
Not putting laundry away when dried, not putting all the food away when brought into the home, leaving dirty clothes on the floor, or clothes that fell off the hanger on the floor of the closet are all delaying an action. We know exactly what to do, so there’s no decision.
Making room in the closet for new clothes or shoes, decluttering our kids’ toys prior to Christmas, or cleaning old food out of the fridge are all tasks that require some level of decision. When these decisions are delayed, the actions of putting away clothes or food, or toys all get harder. Delaying these types of tasks is what makes delaying easier tasks more likely. They get muddled together and become harder decisions because now when we put our laundry away, we must first get rid of something for every item we put away.
We’ve discussed some of the reasons you may find yourself unable to organize in a previous post, so let’s cover a few tactics to avoid procrastinating.
Doing a little frequently:
This will be hard for master procrastinators and perfectionists, but it’s how tidy people keep their houses in order. Did you know that you can clean your kitchen counters while you microwave soup? Check out this video if you don’t believe me!
Taking dishes to the dishwasher or trash to the trashcan every time you transition between rooms is a great habit to get into. I do mean habit. At first, it will take conscious effort, but by adding this habit eventually you won’t need to think about it, you’ll automatically start picking up trash when you see it.
I’d hate for anyone with ADHD to think they can’t improve their distractibility but the habit will likely be harder to form, so instead you could set reminders on smart devices to go around and tidy up. The ideal method would be to work it into small pockets of time that you’re waiting or moving anyway, such as cooking or laundry.
Finish it completely:
I don’t mean that you have to wash all the dishes, but if you’re going to clean only one dish. Make sure it ends in its home in the cabinet. Drying dishes really doesn’t take that long. If I can’t convince you to not leave a dish drainer full of dishes by your sink, at least use this method when you’re making decisions on the items in your house.
If you empty your hands onto the table and decide to unpack the groceries. Don’t just move them to the kitchen counter and leave them. Open the cabinet or pantry and put them all the way to the shelf they belong on. Getting them close but not all the way there is how even the best organizing systems fall apart.
If you’re starting with trying to tidy up as you move between rooms, you may not want to add this one in yet, but remember if you don’t do it now, you’ll have to do it later. Eventually, that cluttered mess will make you move it home anyway so if it can be done in less than 5 minutes (your brain will think 15), just do it now.
It’s important to challenge how long we think a task will take which is why I have shorts on YouTube showing quick tidy-ups in my main living spaces. Check out the playlist here!
