April Focus - LAUNDRY ROOM!!

It's no April Fool's joke... this month we're working on the Laundry Room!! Whether you have a laundry room, laundry hall, or laundry closet, this is the time for you to get down and dirty and really figure out what you have going on in there!! If you're just joining us, feel free to check out the whole 12 Months to a Systematic Home series. Then, jump in wherever you're at! This is about progress, not perfection, so don't stress about it, just get in there and do something about it! Need help starting? Here are some simple steps to get you going...

Take pictures of your room. Right now. Don't tidy it up first. Don't hide the piles. Take pictures of your room in all its cluttered glory. This is supposed to be a realistic look at how you're functioning right now. It's a slice of today, a tool to use, not a picture to be scrapbooked and memorialized. 

Take pictures of what works. Take pictures of what doesn't work. Take pictures of what you like. Take pictures of what you don't like. Take pictures of the whole room. Take closeup pictures of specific areas. Just take pictures. They will give you perspective, and that, my friends, you will need as you dive into this project.

Grab a cup of tea, a notepad and pen, and those pictures (which are probably on your computer - don't print them out - that will just become more clutter!). Better yet, here's a printable you can use to help you analyze what is going on in your room... 

Download your copy HERE.

Now look at your pictures. REALLY look at them. This is the time for you to point out everything you see wrong. We're going to spend the rest of the month looking at what is right and what can be great, but for now, feel free to dump all your frustrations about this room onto paper. Analyze it. What's wrong with this picture?

Now that you have all your negative emotions out, it's time to start thinking logically and strategically. Emotions can be good, but sometimes they clutter up our ability to think. So... take a good look at the room and ask yourself, what things do I bring into this room? What things do I take out of this room? 

It isn't the things that LIVE in the room that cause problems. We ORGANIZE those. The problem is the income and outflow items in a room. These are the things we must SYSTEMATIZE. That is what will make this so much more effective than the hundred other times you re-organized your space. 

Here is a sheet that can help you this month... 

Download your copy HERE.

Utilizing the same sheet as step 3, ask yourself what you would like this room to feel like. What is your vision for this space? What would make you want to spend more time here?

The last step is to create the space you want, and the systems that will help keep it organized and useful. We will go over more of what it takes to create your space next week!