Do you have a “junk drawer” somewhere that you KNOW needs to be cleaned, but you just don’t have the energy to do it?
What if you could take just 3 minutes to get it where it needs to be?
Most people procrastinate cleaning out drawers (and closets, rooms, garages, etc.) because they know they’re going to find things that need attention or bandwidth that they don’t think they have.
But I want to show you that this can be SO easy.
I grew up with every drawer full of stuff–most of which we never used. We would dig through drawers to find things, and it took a lot of time and energy. I now rarely have any drawers in my house that aren’t organized, but it’s fun to do a little spruce-up every so often, so I’ll be doing that as I explain the process.
By the end of this podcast and post, I think you’re going to feel AMAZING! And you can work right along with me, if you’d like, pausing the podcast where appropriate.
Ready to dive in?
The first 4 steps are:
- Empty the drawer
- Clean the drawer
- Identify the drawer’s purpose (makeup, pencils/scissors/tape/basic kitchen office supplies, silverware/utensils, etc.)
- Put the right things back
I believe you can do this in 3 minutes or less if you don’t overthink this.
But THEN you have a bunch of stuff that doesn’t belong in the drawer, but you don’t want it sitting there, right?
You’re going to move to Step 5: Sort the drawer by trash, donation, and “somewhere else.”
Trash and donation are pretty easy. (Ask, “Do I actually use this?” and “Could this bless another person?”)
But it’s the “somewhere else” pile that usually requires a little more brain power. Sometimes you know where it goes–like this hair brush goes in my son’s bathroom–or the screwdriver goes out in the garage. But what if there are tasks associated?
This is where I want you to move to Step 6 and extract Next Actions from that pile.
- A friend of mine had foreign currency in his kitchen drawer. So I asked him what he wanted to do with it? Store it in a filing cabinet and create a calendar reminder to pack it next time he goes to that country? Research how to exchange currency from home if you don’t use it? Send it to a friend who lives in that country as a gift? You definitely won’t use it if it’s just sitting in that drawer, so we want to make a decision and move forward.
- I had my kids’ basketball buttons in my hair supplies drawer, and I didn’t actually wear them to their games, so it didn’t make sense to keep them. We put them in our kids’ memory boxes instead.
The FINAL step (number 7) is to identify routines that will keep the drawer that way.
- I won’t toss random things in here going forward
- When I buy any new makeup items, I will discard the old ones
- When I see something in my drawer that I haven’t used in over a year, I’ll donate, discard it, it or move it somewhere else.
We have a fun printable if you’d like these steps right in front of you–and there’s a sample Next Actions list you can try, if you’d like!
I wanted to feature some recent experiences from two of our STEPpers. This first message comes from Noella:
This next one is from Lynette. Check out these Before and After photos of her craft room!
Related Links!
[PODCAST 51]: The Three-Box Method for Organizing Your Space
Video: Clean a Drawer with this 3-Minute Technique!
[PODCAST 24]: The “Clean-A-Drawer” Challenge
LearnDoBecome YouTube Channel!
Our ARISE membership – an amazing gathering place for community members that are using their Command Centrals to refine relationships, health, finances, individual purpose, and more. We focus on a new topic each month, and this is an amazing opportunity to receive coaching and support from Team LearnDoBecome. You can sign up for a free, 60-day trial here.
I love your program but I can never follow through. I start a project then life gets in the way or I get sick. I Ned help staying on track?!
Janet, you’re not alone! We had a similar question come up in our STEP Mastery Facebook group the other day. I’ll share with you some of the advice that was shared there. 🙂
“Most of us ended here for that same reason – repeated failures to get organized. Many of us have started and restarted the program. But I’ll bet 99% of us HAVE made progress. We’re not perfect. We’re not finished. But we’re further ahead than we were before STEP. And that’s how you want to think about it. It took you years to get here – you won’t change overnight. But you CAN change – 5 minutes at a time. Each action you take brings you one step closer to control in your life. Keep asking questions. Now set the timer for 5 minutes and DO something.” -J
“The overwhelm always seems to creep in. The best way to get it started is to just start. Sometimes, it’s messy at the beginning, but the microbursts are great. if that doesn’t excite you, maybe find one thing to focus on. Like April suggests, take all of your papers and put them in one pile and try to process them, or maybe even get yourself a real electronic planner just to log what’s on your mind. Try to commit to one thing a day, no matter how small.” -B
“Just keep swimming. We ALL have felt like you, and it’s not an overnight cure-all, but it will make a difference with every minute you put into it. Don’t be afraid to start.” -J
To add to this great advice from your fellow STEPpers, it’s normal to veer off track when life gets in the way or when we get sick. The STEP Program and the Command Central offer a structure that can help us to get back on track. It takes time and practice, but it’s well worth it.
We have a couple of additional resources that might help you as you consider how to move forward from here.
What I Do (Productivity-Wise) When I’m Sick – https://learndobecome.com/episode202/
When LIFE Gets In the Way of Getting Organized – https://youtu.be/17Ck34MBiBY
Finally, we encourage you to jump back into the program! We recently updated it to make it shorter, more streamlined, and easier to follow. You can find a login link at the bottom of any email that we’ve sent to you. We also invite you to reach out to the STEP Mastery Facebook group with any questions that you might have. The members there are so supportive and helpful. We’re cheering for you, Janet!