If you want a quick win at home today, @wonderlandallys has an idea. She is a professional organizer, and she is asking you, pretty please, to throw away three things as soon as you get home. She says the whole job takes less than ten minutes, and when she says today, she means right now.
She is bringing back an old series of quick tips, and the three picks are things nearly all of us have lying around. Here is what she says to toss and why it matters.
@wonderlandallys
Number One: Empty Envelopes and Shipping Containers
Her first request is to throw away the empty envelopes and shipping containers that arrive with online orders. She sees these building up in almost every kind of room and on almost every project. Think of padded mailers, plastic bags, boxes and cardboard sleeves. Her suggestion is a little scavenger hunt. Walk through your home and gather up all the empty packages and plastic bags that are wasting away on the floor.
This one is easy because these items have already done their job. Packages tend to hang around because we plan to reuse them, but most of us have far more than we could ever use. Keep a few clean boxes if you ship things often, and recycle the rest.
Number Two: Old Mail
Next is the old mail. The organizer admits she has fallen victim to a good mail pile herself, so there is no judgment here. She asks you to take her message as a push to go through the pile. Throw away what you do not need and take care of what is important.
A mail pile is more than a pile of paper. It is a stack of small decisions we have been putting off. Somewhere in there may be a bill that is due, a form that needs a signature or an invitation that has already passed. She says she helps most of her clients put a mail processing system in place, and she invites people to let her know if they would like to hear more about it.
Number Three: The Trash Hiding in Your Bag
Her third pick is the receipts, scraps and other paper that build up in your purse, your backpack or your work bag. Most people carry a bag of some kind outside the house, and she points out that it makes a great landing spot for all the random things we pick up throughout the day. She suggests taking a moment to go through it and reset the whole thing. You will thank yourself tomorrow, she says.
A Note on Landfills
She adds one clarification. She uses the phrase throw away as a blanket statement, so she wants you to recycle and donate where appropriate. But some things are simply garbage, and they belong in the garbage can. Then comes her best line of the whole message: if you are concerned about things ending up in a landfill, stop bringing garbage home.
Why These Three Items Pile Up So Fast
All three of these piles grow for the same reason: they arrive in our homes every single day. A package shows up, a stack of mail lands in the box, and a receipt goes into the bag at the checkout counter. None of them feels important enough to deal with right then, so they get set down for later. Later turns into next week, and next week turns into a drawer, a counter or a chair that can no longer be used. The cure is to give each one a daily home, such as a recycling bin by the door for packaging and a small tray for mail, so the pile never gets the chance to form.
How to Do Your Ten-Minute Reset
Here is a simple way to make her plan work in your house.
Set a timer for ten minutes. Knowing there is a finish line makes it easier to start.
Grab two bags. One is for trash and one is for recycling. Cardboard boxes can be flattened and put out with the recycling, and plastic mailers can often go in the trash unless your area accepts them for recycling.
Do the mail by the trash can. Stand over the trash and recycling bin, and sort every piece as you go. Junk mail goes in immediately. Bills go in a spot you check daily. Anything that needs action gets its own folder.
Shred what needs it. Any paper with your account numbers, your Social Security number or other personal details should be shredded or torn up before it goes out.
Empty your bag completely. Dump it on the table, throw away the trash, and put back only what belongs. Receipts you need for returns or taxes can go in one envelope, so they do not keep drifting around the bottom of your purse.
Make it a habit. Pick one day a week to repeat these three steps. Many people do it on a weekend morning, while the coffee is brewing.
Small Steps, Big Relief
Clutter does not usually come from big, important items. It comes from the small things we let pile up because they are not worth a decision. Packaging, paper and receipts fall squarely into that group. Clearing them takes very little time, and the payoff is a house that looks and feels calmer right away. Go ahead and try it today, and see how much lighter your home feels by dinner.
