We’ve all been there. Someone hands us something and we mindlessly set it on the nearest surface. Or we come across a slip of paper that we need to act on, so we put it on the counter so we won’t forget. Maybe we stumble across an item that belongs in another room, but we don’t feel like schlepping up the steps and putting it away, so we set it down “just for now,” planning to put it away later. The result? Misplaced items, forgotten tasks, and a disorganized space.
Most of us know that putting things away is a good idea. Yet in the moment, many of us simply don’t do it. Why? There are a few reasons:
- It is inconvenient. For example, if we are supervising a young child, we can’t just get up and leave in order to put something away.
- We don’t know where to put it. If we’ve never taken the time to assign a “home” to a particular item, we can’t very well put it back in that home.
- We are afraid of “losing” something. This is a common concern with paperwork. We fear that putting it in a file will mean we forget about it, or will be unable to find it when we need it.
- We are lazy. It is simply easier to put something down than to walk up the steps or go out the garage.
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Unfortunately, we often fail to count the cost of temporarily stashing items! The costs include:
- TIME. We often forget where we put things down, and end up spending far more time searching for them than it would have taken us to put them away in the first place.
- MOTIVATION. We never get around to actually returning items to their rightful “home,” creating an atmosphere of disorder which further demotivates us from putting things away.
- PRODUCTIVITY. We forget important responsibilities because our visual reminder (e.g. a slip of paper) gets buried under other stuff.
If you struggle with the discipline of putting things away, ask yourself these questions whenever you handle an object:
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“Where does this go?” If you can’t answer this, begin by assigning it a spot.
“Am I able to put this away right now?” If the answer is no (e.g. because you can’t leave the room, don’t have time, etc.) put it in a “put away” bin. Allocate time each day – and a bit longer time each weekend – to empty the bin. OR, move the item “one step closer” to its final destination. For instance, an item that belongs in the upstairs closet can be placed on the stairway and grabbed next time you go upstairs.
“Is there a good reason to not put this away?” If the answer is yes, ask yourself if leaving this item out is the BEST way to fulfill that need. For example, if you don’t want to put the bill away because you need to pay it, consider creating a “to pay” file which you schedule to work on weekly, rather than just leaving it out on the counter.
“Am I being lazy?” If the answer is yes, remind yourself (out loud, if necessary), that you are causing yourself future pain, that you deserve better, and that you want to change this habit. Ask a family member to encourage you if he/she hears you having this internal struggle.
As with so many aspects of life, the temptation of momentary pleasure frequently screams louder than the long term payoff of self-discipline. However, by making an intentional decision to resist the temptation to “just put it down,” you will give yourself a gift of serenity that will pay dividends for the long haul.
Submitted by Seana Turner, founder and president of The Seana Method
