TC: CLEAN UP YOUR SPACE!

Many small business owners work out of their homes. The COVID-19 has increased that number and it may become the “new normal.”

Today’s challenge is what I consider a “feel good when you’re finished challenge.” Because your home is now your office, you are affected by the way your home looks and feels. It’s not just the top of your desk, but the entire home that plays an important part in your ability to function efficiently. Every room in your home leaves an impression on your mind since it is a part of your work environment. The goal for this challenge is to leave you with a sense of accomplishment that is 100 percent under your control, and it doesn’t take months or years to see the beneficial results.

You may call it purging, de-cluttering, organizing, updating or a variety of other descriptive words. The challenge is for you or your entire family to “clean up and throw out!’  Restore order or in some cases create it!

Here is an action plan you might want to implement as you determine how to attack the clutter! Or develop one that works for you. We all organize differently, however everyone benefits from an organized, de-cluttered space!

• Call all the participants together (spouse, kids, etc.) and explain that this is a  family project with the end result being that each participant will feel better and you, as the family provider, will be able to increase  your business efficiency.
• Each participant will be given a pen and pad of paper. Write the name of each room on a separate sheet.
• Allow up to one hour for each participant to visit each room and write suggestions for purging, or de-cluttering that room. Special attention should be paid by the owner of a room, i.e. a child’s bedroom. Look at closets, storage rooms and the garage, list what you feel is not needed. As a suggestion, items that have not been used, played with, etc. for over a year may be considered disposable. Next to each listed item make a notation as to what should happen to that item if it is given away.
• When the hour has passed, gather the participants and have each one read their list for each room.  Have each one make a notation on their paper if someone else had the same suggestion.
• Together take each room and discuss what has to be done.
• Now the fun part:
  • Select a reward such as a special dinner, or (depending upon finances, a new TV, etc.)
  • Assign individual responsibilities and action items for each participant.
  • Select a day, perhaps a Saturday, during which everyone participates in the de-cluttering process. Allow between 4 and 5 hours, set an alarm, there has to be a defined time span for this project.
• Celebrate with your reward and I promise that you will feel better about your home environment.