Put a “dining Basket” in Every Room

If you’re the type to come home from work and drop your keys anywhere, kick off your shoes anywhere, and leave your dirty clothes wherever they fall, you might also be the type of person who dreads the day when you’ll inevitably have to clean it all up. . . Not everyone has a predisposition to order, but there is a way to be a little distracted without being completely overwhelmed on cleaning day. You just need a “bowler basket” in every room.

What is a “table basket”?

A basket or container in every room of your home can act as a row of giant trash bins. You can use regular plastic bags or get creative with decorative wicker bags, but they need to be big . This is because you are going to train yourself to throw everything that you would normally just throw on the floor, sofa, coffee table or whatever, right into the trash can.

You only need one container per room, but it will most likely be filled with some amazing and different things. Slippers, clothes, junk mail, hair accessories, books, and water bottles are all likely to show up (if you’re anything like me).

The rule here is that the basket can be as dirty as you want. Whatever you would normally drop on a nearby surface goes straight into the bin instead, keeping the space clean and making room for uncleanliness.

When and how do you clean it?

About once a month, drop each basket on the floor. Sort everything into five categories —trash, dishes, laundry, things that have room, and things that don’t—but also create a sixth category for everything you don’t really need or don’t use anymore. If something has been in that basket for a month and you haven’t thought about it or come for it once, you have successfully sent it to purgatory , which has left it out of sight and out of memory. Consider whether you really need to hold on to it, or if your life would be less cluttered without it. Either throw it in the trash or give it away. Then sort the other five categories, like this.