For example, let's say you need to write a cheque to order those school photos. Do you know where the photo order form is? The chequebook? If you record your cheques in a register, is that handy?
Here's a sweet little bill paying centre with a spot for keeping receipts. Details here.
What about finding your cell phone--and making sure its charged?
A charging station made from a ribbon box. Details here.
Can you wrap a gift easily?
details here.
Do you have to go on a whole-house scavenger hunt sometimes to gather the things you need to get the job done? In her book, The House that Cleans Itself, Mindy Starns Clark calls these journeys you take from room to room your rabbit trails. Her advice is to create a "working station." Aby calls them "mini-zones."
A meal planning mini-zone from allparenting.com
Whatever they're called, they are essential to being able to stay organized. Everything needed for a particular task is collected into one container (or area) and stored where that task is performed. If you can't store the items where you do the task, then the container should be portable.
The ultimate office in a bag. All the awesome sauce here.
To create a mini zone, gather all the things you need to perform the task at hand. If it's fairly complicated (like a diaper bag in which you are going to keep everything you need for the baby while you are out and about --include a checklist to run through).
Then, choose the most appropriate container.
- Should it be open or closed?
- Clear or opaque?
- Portable or Stationary?
- Horizontal or vertical?
- Does it need to be visible to the family or can it be shut away behind a door, or in a drawer?
- Make note of any space constraints you may have where you want to put your container. Are there any dimensions you need to be aware of?
A mini-zone out and open to all should be as attractive as possible.
Isn't that gorgeous? If you need any further ideas for your pet supplies, here's a great post from I Heart Organizing.
Do you have any rabbit trails that would benefit from a working station or mini-zone?
ETA: You can catch all the posts in the series here.
Even before the simplify101 workshops I had mini-zones in my home. It's so logical to have all things needed for some task stored in the same place. But with that being said, I think I could have even more mini-zones.
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