Start Off on a Clean Slate as Soon as Today
While restrictions are loosening up, the pandemic still isn’t over as COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of an overwhelming majority in the world.
What does that mean for many of us? Schooling and working from home have become a reality and a choice some people will consider in the near future. Where things get complicated is whatever mess or clutter we had in the classroom, the locker or the office, it has been brought into our home.
Although the office and classroom environment allowed a number of us to escape our homes to perform the various tasks, doing them from home brought about new challenges such as discipline and structure. Old distractions like the ‘water cooler conversations’ and the hallway chats may be out the way now, new ones are surfacing in this new reality.
Over a year later after the public health recommendations of mask wearing, social distancing, and avoiding public outings as much as possible have impacted our lives dramatically on many fronts including financial health, more contagious variants are forcing us to abide by existing protocols longer.
Whatever the season; here are some tips that you can easily and efficiently use to make the best of the current circumstances and make your home a place that supports and inspires you.
Contain the Mess
Work remotely without introducing clutter and chaos into your home life.
If you’re bothered by the clutter of work and school related items, experience the joy of clear surfaces and more peace of mind as you put them neatly (ex. folders, pencil case, stationery items) in a box tucked away and out of sight at the end of the day.
Separate Work Life from Home Life
If you are currently homebound for work or school, chances are you might be experiencing difficulties in staying focused or being productive.
Recognize yourself in this pattern? Working from different spaces of your home and in your pajamas, leading unstructured days? Letting the needs of the moment dictate the tasks to be completed?
Separate your work responsibilities from your at-home to-do list and your productivity will improve. Choosing an appointed area where work tasks happen, and putting clothes on, and planning your day from morning through evening routines including breaks create a sound foundation for productivity.
For example, I use a Word Sheet or Google Calendar for clear and easy reference. Otherwise, many platforms offer scheduling and calendar options to help you better organize your days and a feeling of peace.
Reduce Outings
Because we’re not out of the woods yet, public health measures like wearing a mask in crowded spaces and limiting time spent in stores are still recommended. The impacts of the pandemic on our finances will continue for years to come. Therefore, how you prioritize spending your money and use available resources efficiently will be key to your financial stability.
Here’s a fun challenge to minimize your visits to the grocery store and consequently saving money: the empty pantry challenge. The idea is to use all (or almost) of the items you’ve purchased to put meals together until you’ve practically used them all before refilling. A great way not to waste food… and money. Here’s a link to different apps that’ll help you create tasty meals with many different ingredients so often hidden in the back of the pantry and the fridge.
Let us summarize:
Contain the work/school mess
Separate work life from home life
Reduce outings
No matter the circumstances, with great organizing habits and strategies, we can easily and naturally feel more at home in our own home. Which means that, now you have a sense of direction on how to quickly overcome your current challenges. But, if you need expert advice, you can book an assessment visit with your friendly neighborhood professional organizer, Chanel Dukes of Interior Inspirations etc... to help facilitate the process.
You enjoyed this article? Press the heart button at the bottom of the page. Leave a question or a comment so we can interact as a community. Let me know how these tips have worked for you or what other organizing challenges you may have? And follow me on Facebook for more helpful tips and tricks. https://www.facebook.com/InteriorInspirationsetc.
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