Peace of Mind Organizing

Unclutterer's "Keystone Demise"

22 June 2011

I love the blog Unclutterer. Erin Doland, who writes most of the posts, is so smart and such a great writer. I love her perspective on striving to live a clutter-free life.

Yesterday, Unclutterer published a post called The Keystone Dilemma that I found fascinating. Basically, it says that there’s usually one element to your organizing system/routine that’s the keystone to holding everything together. If it goes awry, it can lead to chaos. Erin says in her home that it’s receipts on the dresser. If pockets are emptied and receipts left on the dresser instead of being properly processed, within a week disorder will reign.

That got me thinking about the keystones in my home. Within our main living space, it’s the kitchen counter. When we make an effort to keep that clear, the whole house tends to stay clear. But once it’s cluttered…clutter starts creeping in everywhere.

In my home office, it’s definitely the floor. When I get busy, I’ll move stuff off my desk onto the floor. If one pile is started, more sprout up like mushrooms.

In the post, Erin offers three tips to identify when a keystone is out of place and fix the situation. Such smart stuff! I urge you to go read it.

Tagged with: clutter, disorder, erin doland, order, routines, unclutterer

Comments