Three Tips to Eliminate Clutter from Your Life

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Organization breeds efficiency, but what happens when life becomes cluttered?

Have you ever walked into your home or office and thought to yourself, “How did I let this get so cluttered?” As you observed the piles the papers, the mess of dirty clothes and shoes, unorganized receipts, or unpaid bills, you probably felt stressed and overwhelmed. If so, you aren’t alone. Studies show that a cluttered home and workspace lead to increased stressed and lower levels of happiness.

We know that it’s true. However, if you are anything like me, you notice that as your daily life progresses, the clutter seems to build up naturally–almost as if it is a waste product of progress. But that’s not so. Clutter results from bad habits creating inefficiencies in your daily activities. So, how should you work toward transforming from cluttered to organized? You break those bad habits and replace them with good ones.

Some Caffeinated Lessons from the Coffee Industry

I work in the coffee industry. For most of the week, I perform tasks that require repeated, habitual motions. Because of this, if one step in the process goes wrong, the whole operation slows down. If I am in charge of making lattes and espresso, I have to be able to pull shots and steam milk quickly in order to get guests their drinks in a timely manner. Naturally, when you are dealing with hot frothy milk, high pressure water, and finely ground coffee, messes tend to develop quickly.

In order to keep everything clean and organized, we have three phrases that we like to use throughout the day.  The first is “clean as you go,” the second is “reset your bar,” and the third is “close to open.” While I usually use these phrases while I’m at the coffee shop, they can also help you avoid clutter and prepare yourself for future success.

Here’s how.

Clean As You Go

“Clean as you go” is an opportunity for little changes. These are things that are easily overlooked, but take only a short amount of time to do.

Coffee grounds get everywhere, especially when you have to prep several shots of espresso very quickly. When you add in sticky syrups and a whole bunch of milk, you have the perfect recipe for a hot mess. Each time someone orders a drink the mess gets bigger, but people are waiting.

At this point it seems counterintuitive to stop making drinks for people in order to clean up, but that is exactly what “clean as you go” is all about. A guest probably won’t notice if I take a few seconds between each drink to wipe up some spilled milk or dust off some coffee grounds. However, when I do this I put myself in a better position to keep working efficiently. Each person waiting won’t notice those few extra seconds, but I (and the person who might be helping me at the time) definitely will. It keeps my workspace efficient and prevents even more clean up later.

Have you taken care of the little things?

You can also apply “clean as you go” to your mental clutter. Several studies show that taking a short break in the middle of a task will help you re-energize and refocus. Because of this, you will actually be more efficient if you take a short break when you feel fatigued rather than trying to power through it.

Reset Your Bar

“Reset your bar” is a transition point between responsibilities in order to prepare yourself for future ones. It is an opportunity to accomplish a few medium sized tasks now rather when they are absolutely necessary.

After I make sure each of my guests at work are happily caffeinated, I take a moment to “reset my bar.” This is when I do all of my bigger tasks that I could not take care of in just a few seconds. During this time, I’ll restock my cups and lids, grab a few more gallons of milk from the cooler, refill my grinders, and give the area a more thorough cleaning.

The purpose of this is to prepare my workspace for the next time I need to use it. By making sure everything is in the right place, I’m setting myself up for continued success throughout the day.

Do you see the big picture?

In your daily responsibilities you have built-in break points. Take advantage of these opportunities. The moments between tasks would be a good time to take a big picture view of your space to see if there is anything out of place. What items do you no longer need and what will you need for your next task? If you “reset your bar” well, it will help you fully transition out of what you were working on last and prepare for what is next.

Similarly, you can use a “clean as you go” mentality when dealing with your daily responsibilities. Every time you finish a paper, put it where it needs to go. When you finish drinking from a glass, put it in the dishwasher. This doesn’t have to just be about physical clutter either. For instance, instead of letting your email inbox pile up, delete messages that are unimportant, archive messages that you’ve already responded to, and move important messages to an “respond later” folder.

One way you can build breaks into your day is with the pomodoro technique. This technique involves breaking your working time into 25 minutes segments with 5 minute breaks in between. After every 4 segments (2 hours), you take a longer break (15-20 minutes) before getting started again. Each built in break gives you an opportunity to “de-clutter” your mind before starting your work again.

Close to Open

“Close to open” is completing any final tasks necessary for successful operation the next day.

Finally, at the end of the night I lock the doors, but my work does not stop there. I cannot just leave everything as it is and expect the person who will come in at an ungodly hour the next morning to fix it. Instead, I spend the last several minutes of my day gathering and washing all of the dishes, soaking and cleaning all of my equipment, fully stocking all of my cups, lids, mugs, and other ancillary items, and putting everything back where it belongs.

The purpose of this is to make sure everything is ready for the store to open in the morning. That’s what “close to open” is all about. When I close the shop, I make sure everything is in its place, clean, and ready for use. Most of the time, I’m not cleaning and stocking for me. Instead, I’m making sure that I leave my area in a condition that is ready for someone else to use in the morning without having to clean up after me.

Are you ready for tomorrow?

Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of the day. If you’ve already applied “clean as you go” and “reset your bar” there shouldn’t be much more for you do. By applying a “close to open” mentality, you will not only finish your day by eliminating clutter, but also put yourself in a position for success the next day.

By this point, your focus should not be on what you’ve already done, but on what you will do tomorrow. Take a look around and make sure everything from the day is put away. You should be proud of your space before you leave it. How would you want to walk into it in the morning? Does the way you are leaving it meet those expectations? Make sure your space is ready for immediate use tomorrow.

Taking Action

Once you have eliminated physical clutter from your home or workspace, you can begin removing mental clutter as well. Having a clear area to live, think, and create allows your mind to be more free. Because of this, your stress levels will be lower and your productivity will be higher.

How can you implement the principles of “clean as you go,” “reset your bar,” and “close to open” in your life? Let me know by commenting below. Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get helpful stories and tips for learning and productivity delivered straight your inbox.