How To Get Organized and Never Misplace Your Stuff Again

Did you know that Amazon’s Alexa Can Help You Find Lost Items Around Your House?

There was a recent article in Lifehacker titled “Alexa Can Help You Find Lost Items Around Your House”

According to the article, if you’re prone to losing track of your wallet, glasses or keys, Alexa, Amazon’s voice ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­assistant, can help you find those items. All you have to do is tell Alexa ahead of time to remember where you’re planning to put that item.

The theory is that the next time you’re running around the house looking for your wallet, just ask: “Alexa, where did I put my wallet?” Alexa will then give you the location you previously provided.

On the one hand, this sounds kind of cool, it is a simple home solution. However, I think the problem is that if I’m not organized enough to remember where I’m putting my keys, glasses, or purse each day, I’m never gonna remember to tell Alexa ahead of time what I did with all that stuff.

Instead, I have a much better way to help you stop losing your stuff. Here are six simple solutions that will help you keep track of your stuff and keep yourself from being overwhelmed by clutter.

1. Create a Landing Space

The number one reason we misplace our keys, wallets, or sunglasses is the tendency to just drop them down wherever they land when we first come home.

Some days they’re dropped off at the dining room table. On other days, they’re left on the coffee table, or the kitchen counter, or on a dresser.

Without a specific landing space, they end up all over the house leaving us to search around before we can leave home.

If you want to stop losing your stuff, create a central landing space. With a landing space, there is a specific place in your home where you place your keys, purse, sunglasses, and other items. You always know where they are.

Even if you do not have a formal entryway you can still create a very workable landing space.

Opt for a small cabinet that you can use for storage. This is a great option as it’s small enough to fit in a small space, yet provides plenty of storage. Pick up a decorative tray to go on top for holding keys, and sunglasses. Then place all purses and backpacks in the cabinet below.

By creating this specific landing space you’ll stop losing your stuff and avoid becoming overwhelmed with clutter!

2. Put Things Away

No matter how much I’ve worked to eliminate or certainly decrease the amount of paper that comes into my home, it’s still a huge source of clutter if I don’t put it away immediately. The same is true for clothing left on the back of chairs or dishes left in the living room. Really, it’s about anything that’s not put away, right away, that creates clutter.

We all have the habit of leaving things out from time to time. However, it’s also a habit that keeps our homes a cluttered mess, making it impossible to find things when we need them.

Learning to put things away will help keep you from being overwhelmed by clutter and to stop losing your stuff! It’s about changing the habit of laying things down wherever it’s convenient and replacing that with the habit of putting things away when you’re done using them.

Trust, me I know there are plenty of times this is so much easier said than done. When I come home from a long day at work I go straight to my room to change. The easiest thing to do is just leave my work clothing lying on my bed. However, it honestly takes seconds to take the extra step of putting them on hangers or in the hamper.

It’s about forcing yourself to do these little habits. When you leave a room take something that doesn’t belong there and put it away. Place the mail or other papers that need attention in an “inbox” basket and recycle the rest.

Developing the habit of putting things away as you go about your day will put an end to the overwhelm. When you do you’ll always know where those keys, sunglasses, or purse are located!

3. Follow a Routine

A routine is a series of actions you place on autopilot. Routines help build the habits we discussed above.

To help life run smoothly and stop losing your stuff, you need a couple of basic rhythms and routines to follow each day.

There are two basic routines that will keep your home tidy and prevent you from consistently misplacing all your stuff. These routines will also help keep the clutter from becoming overwhelming. The first is having a daily cleaning routine and the second is having a weekly planning routine.

My daily cleaning routine allows me to stay on top of the housework without spending hours upon hours cleaning. All VIPs on the It’s My Favorite Day Newsletter receive a printable copy of the cleaning routine, just click the image above to sign-up.

When you’re starting, it’s important to keep your routines simple. List out a few of your daily must-do’s. The cleaning routine I use has me only focusing on one room each day of the week. I then have a separate day for errands and desk work.

Every Sunday I spend around 30 minutes planning out my week, including the meals I’ll make. This helps ensure that I’m focusing on the things that matter most throughout my week. It also helps me stay on top of all my must-do’s without getting overwhelmed.

If you’ve never set up a routine before here are some good articles on how to create a routine and how to stay consistent with your routines.

By following a few very simple routines you’ll put an end to the search for lost keys and keep the clutter at bay!

4. Have a Place For Everything

It’s really hard to develop habits or establish routines for putting things away when you don’t have a place for everything to go. Plus if you don’t have a workable system set up, no one is going to use it, including you!

To stop losing your stuff set up a simple organization system. Invest in a few baskets for corralling the clutter. Hooks are an excellent solution for keeping coats, towels, and backpacks off the floor. A simple paper tray will keep the mail organized until you have time to go through it all.

If you have little ones’, invest in clear storage containers for their toys and items, or consider taping a few pictures to the front.

In the beginning, you’ll have to give several reminders to all your family members, but if you stay consistent, soon it will become a habit that everyone will appreciate!

5. Schedule Regular Times for Decluttering

Clutter tends to be the primary reason we often lose our stuff or can’t find something when we need it. And here’s the thing with clutter, it is never-ending. There is always an ongoing struggle with clutter. If you don’t keep a handle on it, it will multiply at a rapid speed.

Even if you’ve completely decluttered your home, you still have to keep watch to prevent it from creeping back in.

The best way to do this is to schedule regular times for decluttering. It doesn’t have to be a lot. 5, 10, or even 15 minutes will add up!

I like to incorporate regular decluttering as part of my regular cleaning routine. For example, when cleaning the bathrooms, I take an extra moment to toss unneeded items from the medicine cabinet or go through a shelf and declutter it quickly.

By incorporating decluttering into your routine you’ll prevent it from becoming overwhelming. The best part is you’ll always know exactly where those keys are when you need them!

No matter what your struggle with clutter is, there are a ton of tips and tricks to help you, conqueror, your clutter here. 

6. Limit the Incoming

No matter how good you are at having regular times of decluttering, following routines, developing good habits, putting things away, and ensuring everything has a home of its own; if you don’t limit the incoming you’re always going to feel like your home is being overrun by clutter.

To do this, Stop Buying Things You Don’t Need. When you’re out shopping start getting into the habit of really examining your purchases.

Is it an item that you truly love? Is it an item that you need or is useful? Do you have another item that could do the same job? These types of questions will help you avoid unnecessary purchases.

Another way to limit the amount of stuff coming into your home is to practice the one in one out rule. Essentially, for every new item, you bring in, you remove one item you already own in that category. For instance, if I purchase a new throw pillow, I need to get rid of a throw pillow or throw blanket that I already own.

By keeping a handle on what is coming into your home you’ll stop losing your stuff and stop being overwhelmed by clutter.

Any one of these six simple solutions will help you stop losing your stuff! When you add two, three, or four of them you’re guaranteed to not only keep track of your stuff, but you’ll keep yourself from being overwhelmed by clutter!