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My approach is to have separate “take-off” points near the entrance/exit of each room. Example: If I’m in my home office and find that some things need to go t
by treetalker 2y ago
My approach is to have separate “take-off” points near the entrance/exit of each room.
Example: If I’m in my home office and find that some things need to go to the living room and some to the kitchen, I simply queue them to take off instead of taking a trip every time I realize an item needs to go. Then when I take a coffee break, I’ll grab all the items; drop the living-room items off on the way to the kitchen, and drop the kitchen items off when I arrive. I get my coffee; grab anything queued up on the kitchen take-off point that can be dropped off on the way, and drop them off on my way back.
As it works out, everything is almost always where it ought to be; and when it’s not, I know where it will be instead.
The key is that I always check the take-off point every time I leave a room.
- bubblebeard 2y agoI might just steal this idea from you. Having a partner who ”organize through chaos” (which I maintain is not an actual system) there are constantly treasure troves of knick-knacks everywhere, usually hiding important items. No matter how often I try to organize it’s always messy, I think this might be the answer. Thank you!
- loopdoend 2y agoA place for everything and everything in its place...
- pipes 2y agoAh yes, same here, my wife stacks stuff in any available free space, anywhere in the house.
- Aeolun 2y agoIt’s fine for stuff that has a fixed spot in the kitchen or bathroom, but documents, mail, jewelry or any kind of tech just disappears everywhere.
- bubblebeard 2y agoQuite so. It’s always an adventure when sorting through these stacks. Never know what one might find.
- duderific 2y agoWe have "piles" everywhere. Woe to you if you move or rearrange a pile...
- phaelanx 2y agoLong time lurker, first time posting because I love this concept and this is is how I (ADHD type) get stuff done without getting distracted. I've always thought it was the same as the bubble sort algorithm we were taught in uni. Take something one step towards where it belongs, and pick up anything going in the same direction you are. Repeat that a few times and everything gets where it belongs. Not the most optimal algorithm (it's a bubble sort after all) but it helps.
- ramses0 2y agoTwo phases: Pick things up (until both hands, arms, elbows, armpits, etc are fully saturated). Put things away. DO NOT PICK UP ANYTHING AT ALL UNTIL BOTH HANDS ARE EMPTIED. 1) take out the trash 2) put clean stuff away (from your "sorting station") 3) pick things up 4) put things away 5) circulate (start from a bathroom or kitchen and spiral "outwards"), and begin the "pick things up" phase again. Take out the trash removes "constipation" (the ability to "evacuate" or "clear" unwanted or unneeded items) Put clean things away reaps the rewards of your prior investment in cleaning, and clears out your "sorting station" ... the necessary, temporary workplace for sorting or prepping clean items. Picking things up (until saturation) makes it a game of ordering, organizing the held items where you're effectively pre-planning your drop-off route in order to remove the items from your hands. Putting things away UNTIL EMPTY stops the ADD distraction of "doing something else useful" because you "MUST" complete the "pick things up phase" by "putting them all away". Spiraling outwards from a bathroom generally means that a bathroom has an unambiguous "cleaned" state (trash, toilet, sink, mirror, floor, drawers, etc). Bathrooms/kitchens generally connect to bedrooms or living spaces, and repeating the steps above (trash, clean, pick, put) in the bedroom or living area is effectively "guaranteed to terminate". Saturate your arms, put everything away, repeat. Best of luck!
- pacifika 2y agoIt’s interesting because it contradicts the advice to only move an item once (avoiding clutter)
- aaron695 2y ago> contradicts the advice to only move an item once This would have to be wrong. This would ban laundry hampers, dirty clothes would go straight into the machine. I think the rule would be if you pick up the item from the “take-off” point it goes away. You have to be able queue things before the clean. OP isn't cleaning, they are constructing the queue. You would be allow to move from queue to queue I guess, but you'd have to make sure there can't be a topographical loop.
- leokennis 2y agoThis is a good idea, as is the idea in the article. The basic requisite however is a desire to not lose stuff. My wife always loses track of her EarPods. My oldest kid always loses his pocket knife. I could have 20 holding pens in the house and they'd still lose their stuff, since the idea that you have to exert even a minor amount of effort <now> by putting stuff in its place to save yourself much more searching effort <later>, is either lost on them, or they just greatly value the present over the future. I do not even get annoyed about it anymore - just like I do not get annoyed that it turns dark at night. My stuff is always in its place, and before we leave the house they will spend 10 minutes finding theirs.
- Aeolun 2y agoI lose my shit all the time (everything that doesn’t have a fixed location anyway), which is why everything that regularly comes with me is now in it’s own specialized bags. There’s a work bag, a ‘going out with kids’ bag, etc. I still remember the last time I lost my keys, which is like 26 years ago, when I was 10. But I still identify as that kid that always lost their keys xD
- xattt 2y agoA few thoughts on keys: I am consciously trying to whittle down my keychain to reduce the chance of temporary losing access to things. I have a keypad door lock so I’be been able to get rid of my front door key. However, I found that decreasing the use of something can increase the chance of losing it, because you’re not “touching” it all the time and not aware of its location. I have an Airtag, but wish that it could be integrated into the car keyfob to whittle down the size even more.
- madamelic 2y agoThis reason is precisely why I got an implanted RFID chip. When I lived in apartments, I would _constantly_ lose my door fob. It's much more difficult to lose the chip if it is part of you ;) (I wouldn't recommend embedding an Airtag though, ha)
- Sander_Marechal 2y agoI do the same. I use the stairs as take-off points. I regularly go up and down anyway, so I take whatever is on the stairs and put it away, or put it on the next floor stairs if it needs to go to the attic. Now if I could only get my wife to do this too. She will put items on the stairs but always forget to take them up or down and walk right past them :-D
- m463 2y agomy take-off point for outside my house is on top of the car keys.
- pards 2y agoThese "take off" points remind me of a great parody Whoa, it's halfway there Whoa,leave it on the stairs! https://youtu.be/ZKW-USW5uTo https://youtu.be/ZKW-USW5uTo
- xtiansimon 2y agoHa! This is how I manage files between my desktop and home directory’s subfolders. Don’t have time to sort? Drop into the parent directory, and sort it later.
- rigrassm 2y agoThanks for sharing, I'm definitely going to be giving this a try!
- consf 2y ago[dead]
- normie3000 2y agoI do this. The take-off points are generally where I will trip over the items. It infuriates my wife.
- BurningFrog 2y agoOne take-off point I've used is putting things in/on top of my shoes. That way I can't leave the house without dealing with them
- digging 2y agoA related pro-tip I learned from catering, which I now use often for leftovers, potlucks, gifts, etc. If you have things in the fridge you need to take with you when you leave your current location, put your keys in the fridge with them!
- dmckeon 2y agoAlso related: if you place anything on top of your car - coffee, wallet, briefcase - putting your keys with it makes it hard to forget & drive off.
- iggldiggl 2y agoGood idea. I know that problem myself, too, though unfortunately this solution only works with a set of vehicle keys, doesn't it? So unfortunately not much use if you're commuting on public transport…
- notfed 2y agoOr blocking the door!
- lacrosse_tannin 2y agoI will almost always ignore the box/take-off. I pile stuff up by my office door that needs to go out to the garage. That spot always has tools piled up. A tote probably would help. Also, there's design trick to make things look better. If you put 3 or 4 things onto a dish or textile or something, they magically convert from clutter to intentional. I don't know if a plastic sterlite works for this though.