Natalie: I swear Leo Babauta KNOWS me! (26-28 of 72)

I swear that I have NOT been reading ahead but the man who wrote the Simple Living Manifesto (Leo Babauta) is a freakin' psychic genius when it comes to knowing where messy people need to start when it comes to embarking on putting systems in place that will make their lives simpler. If you read my post from yesterday, you are aware that the systems I am in need of are: 1) mail & paperwork, 2) laundry, 3) cleaning my desk. I am expanding the third one to include the dining room table which has become a catchall for all things that enter the house.

Here are the descriptions of tasks 26, 27, and 28:

Create a simple mail & paperwork system. If you don’t have a system, this stuff will pile up. But a simple system will keep everything in order. Here’s how.

Create a simple system for house work. Another example of a simple system is clean-as-you-go with a burst. Read more.

Clear your desk. If you have a cluttered desk, it can be distracting and disorganized and stressful. A clear desk, however, is only a couple of simple habits away. Read more.

Right now it's more about having the time to work on these tasks and I do have the time over the next couple of days to dive into working on the paperwork and mail by tossing, shredding, and filing what I have as well as cleaning off my desk. Leo Babauta provides suggestions on how to go about creating efficient systems for each of these.

I am starting to feel more at ease about how I manage my time. The laundry well is still a bit scattered all over but I did utilize his 30 minute rule today where I managed to get my son's clothes put away before I left for work while my husband took him to daycare. I actually couldn't believe that in about 15-20 minutes I was able to put A's clothes away, wash some dishes, load the dishwasher (and remember to turn it on), make the bed, hang up some of my clothes, pick up & put dirty clothes in the hamper, feed the cat, make myself a coffee to go, get my lunch and snacks ready (even though they had an employee luncheon at work that I wasn't aware of), and fill my water bottle. All this AND I got to work earlier than I had hoped.