organizing tips | 365daysofmarriage

We started living light or living a very minimalistic way when we moved into this apartment. We still sleep on the floor and we still only have camping chairs for our furniture. We have gotten rid of more than we’ve purchased in the last year and we have made even more changes that have made our lives simpler.

I’m a big fan of The Modern Mrs. Darcy. She blogs about reading, life and everything in between. She recommended a great book and one I wouldn’t have thought to pick up on my own – Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized. My biggest take aways were:
– Store things where you’ll use them (extra towels on a shelf in the bathroom instead of the hall closet)
– Only have 1-2 types of socks and don’t match them
– Only have 1 type of reusable containers

How we’ve changed things:
– Not matching socks….ok, just Bret’s socks. I have a soft spot for fun socks – superhero socks, Star Wars socks, silly ducks, etc. I have to match mine. BUT they’re super easy to match. Bret’s are the same white sock. This has saved me maybe a few minutes for each load of laundry, but that adds up.

This was something I already had going on, but it’s a good minimalist tip. Bret has 4 work shirts and 2 work pants. I’ve labeled 4 hangers so I can keep track of what he’s worn already (I also set a calendar reminder).

We got rid of all of our random reusable containers and only have 2 types. Red Rubbermaid and some green ones I got from the dollar store. We also got rid of all of the dishes that weren’t in the black and white set.

A brand new thing we’re trying is washing, drying and putting away the dishes immediately after using them. I read a great article on Becoming Minimalist about how why he does this (mostly taking the stress out of having something hanging over your head). It makes a lot of sense and I want to take a look at other areas in my life where I can apply this (I’m looking at you four different to do lists!)