Episode 38 - Tip Tuesday - Ready to keep your home ORGANIZED by IMPLEMENTING SYSTEMS like a pro? Where to start and how to keep going with routines and systems in your home. - Intentional Edit

Are you overwhelmed with the idea of creating systems or wondering if systems work to keep your home organized and reduce stress?!?! Do you feel like you come up with ideas for organization and household tasks, but you can’t keep them going?

This episode is FOR YOU!

A listener question is answered on this Tip Tuesday episode, find out how to have routines and systems that work for your home and life. You will also learn how to solve the problem for why you are starting but can’t keep going.

Listen to this episode of the Intentional Edit Podcast now!

Full Episode Transcription:

Are you overwhelmed with the idea of creating systems or wondering if systems actually work to keep your home organized and reduce stress? Do you feel like you come up with ideas for organization and household tasks, but you can’t keep them going? If that sounds like you, then this episode is for you. A listener question is answered today on this tip Tuesday episode of the intentional edit podcast. And you’ll find out how to have routines and systems that work for your home and life. You’ll also learn how to solve the problem for why you’re starting something, but you can’t seem to keep it going. Join me for another episode right now. Hey friends, quick tips that make a big impact in your daily life. Favorite ways to implement systems around the house. I’ve been sharing easy strategies and my go-to organizing products for tip Tuesday on the intentional edit Instagram feed for a few years.

(00:50):

Now I’m excited to bring it to the podcast with sure episodes answering your questions every Tuesday. If you want me to answer your questions, go to the podcast page on intentional, edit.com and say, admit your questions there. Let’s get started on this tip Tuesday episode of the intentional edit podcast. Hey friends. Welcome to another episode of the intentional edit podcast today on this tip Tuesday episode, we are on episode 38 and I am answering a listener question. This question came to me from intentional edit website. If you have a question for me, submit it by going to intentional edit.com and clicking on the little button that pops up that says record. Now you can record a message for me, just like you would leave a voicemail for a friend. I will answer it on a future tip Tuesday episode, leave me questions that you have of about home organizing, creating household management systems, any type of system routine, whatever is not working in your house. I want to hear about it. And we will come up with systems that can solve your problems or ways that you can get organized. I will share those answers on a future podcast episode, head over to intentional edit.com. Click on the little button that says record. Now you can leave me a message. It is super easy to do this, and I would love to answer your questions on a future tip Tuesday episode. Let’s listen and find out what question I will be answering today.

(02:18):

Hi, I’d like to get some more information about systems in your house and your daily life. Um, I’m struggling with that and I just don’t know how to do it. I make decisions I’m going to do this. And then I really don’t, but I don’t have a big picture. So if you could talk a little bit about that, it would be great. And I also think you’re wonderful and, um, I live in Chicago, but I have a house in Phoenix, not too, probably too far from you. And, and, um, I’d love to get together with you someday. Thank you. Bye-bye

(02:48):

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave that message for me. And I really enjoy answering your questions and giving you some actionable steps that you could implement in your home this week to get organized. And particularly with this question, create systems and come up with routines that make life easier. I love the authenticity with this question where it’s so real explaining that you start things you think, you know what to do. You make a decision to start, but it’s a struggle to keep it going. So many people are in that similar situation. There’s a couple reasons for that. But a lot of times we take on too much or we try to change things that are huge in our life. Instead of breaking it down into small manageable things that we can and change. If you think about these tasks that you’re trying to do, you’re trying to change habits.

(03:45):

If we compare this to a weight loss journey, if you’re trying to get to a healthy weight and all of a sudden you drastically change your diet, you add in a workout and a walk every day and you change time that you are waking up in the morning, change your entire routine around when you will work out because you weren’t doing it before and are changing. Every single thing that you eat, that is a sure way to fail. We can’t go into organizing and creating these systems for our homes, thinking about it different than if you wanted to create a healthy life style change and were desiring weight loss, you would have to come up with a plan that was different than go all in and make changes for everything you do around diet and exercise. The same thing applies for in your home. When you are making changes.

(04:37):

If you have issues that you’re trying to solve and you, you try to make all those changes at one time without a game plan, it’s a guaranteed way to not have success. How do we have success with this? You wanna sit, you want systems in your daily life, and you want to be able to stick with the systems that you come up with. There’s a couple things that will make you have success with this or not one thing that you have to do. It’s a non-negotiable here. You have to identify the problem. What is the big problem that is bothering you enough that you feel like you need to make some kind of a change. Once you identify the problem, then we come up with a solution around that. And usually in our homes, the solution shows up in terms of a routine or a system when we’re creating routines and systems, we’re trying to create a new, healthy habit because the idea with these systems is that they’re long lasting and they become effortless because we replace old habits that aren’t serving us or habits that are, are causing problems for us with these new systems.

(05:45):

Or you could even say with these new, healthy habits, once you’ve identified the problem, come up with solutions. The way that you do that to come up with the solutions is a little bit of brainstorming. Write down some things, some easy things, some easy changes you could make that you could implement to make life easier to solve the problem. That big problem that you identified, what are, what ways can you solve that? Once you do that, depending on how big the problem is, we’re going to break it down into small manageable steps, a lot of struggles that happen in the morning hours. If you can’t get to appointments on time, you can’t get out the door on time. You have too much to do so you feel overwhelmed in the morning and it’s starting off your day so that it sets the tone. And it’s not a good tone for the rest of the day.

(06:31):

What can we do to change that? A lot of those things are going to happen in the night. They’re happen in the evening routine. You can pick out your clothes the night before you can pack lunches the night before, fill up your water bottle place, all of your things, purses, backpack, keys, anything you need to take with, you have those things set and prep for the night before five minutes of preparation in the evening to set you up for success. The next day will allow you to get out the door on time and set a positive tone for the day. That will carry you through think big picture when you’re coming up with your solutions, because not all of the solutions you come up for will end up taking place at the same exact time when you’re feeling that overwhelm and the exact like minute for minute time in the day where that problem is occurring, a little preparation goes a long way.

(07:26):

Another thing that you have to do is when you’re wanting to implement these new systems and you’ve identified the problem, you’ve come up with the solutions. And now you are putting these solutions into a routine, or maybe it’s into a few routine, like struggling with something in the morning. You might create an evening routine and a morning routine around that, but you’re only going to implement these changes one at a time, if we do too much and we try to make too many changes at one time, we won’t be successful with anything. It’s creating these little habits. Now that will allow us to have success. Now that you’ve taken your solutions and created a system around that, you’re going to implement the system for 14 days. You have to do it for two weeks in a row before it starts to stick. Now, you’ve probably heard the, that is out there about it takes 30 days or the statement or phrase that’s out there about it.

(08:24):

Taking 30 days to make a habit 30 days to create a habit. That’s true. A habit is not born overnight. You have to be repetitive and do this over and over and over implement this new system that you’ve created with the solutions for your problem. For two weeks minimum. At the two week point, you can see what is working about it. And if there’s anything that’s not working, or it’s not working like what you thought. And at two weeks, 14 days of doing this in a row, then you can make little adjustments here and there minor adjustments or move something to a different time, put it into a different future routine that you haven’t created yet. If it’s truly not working, then continue on once. You’ve done that for another two weeks and you, this is working now, this is what I wanted. This is solving my problem.

(09:19):

And it’s been solving your problem for two weeks. You continue on with it because this is your new habit. This is your new normal, it’s part of your routine. It’s the same thing as washing your face and brushing your teeth, putting your pajamas on before you go to bed. It’s something you think about is just something you do every night, this new system that you’ve created, we wanna treat that the same way we want the same results from that. We want it to become an effortless habit. When it’s easy, you will keep doing it and it will keep going until you intentionally make a change with it. You need to have two weeks of this system for 14 days of doing this every single day and having success with it before you think about moving on to the next routine. And when you move on to the next routine, you keep doing this first routine, but you will go back and you will create that next routine and any down the line, the same way that you created the first routine, let’s do a little recap here.

(10:20):

And when you’re struggling with systems, you’re getting them started, but you’re not having success with them. You have to think, why are we creating these systems? Save time systems are the solution that you need. Good systems and routines. And we think about this just like creating and new, healthy habit. We’re replacing. What’s not working with a new, healthy habit. That is a system or routine. First thing you’re going to do is identify the problem. Where is the overwhelm coming from? What is that big struggle? The next thing you will do is come up with solutions, do a brainstorming session where you are coming up with solutions that we can put into a routine to solve the problem. So you’ve identified the problem. You’ve come up with the solutions and then you take those solutions and figure out what is the best way to have those in a routine.

(11:10):

Once you break that down, then it’s time to start the routine. So the next day start doing what you figured out was best for your new routine or your new system. And you have to do that for at least 14 days. At 14 days, you can make adjustments to it, make little tweaks here and there. If something’s not working or it’s too difficult for you, keep going. You need to have 14 days in a row of doing this routine successfully and having it work for you to simplify whatever that problem was. The original problem. Before you add in a new routine at this time, when you are finished with your two weeks, then you can start the new routine. When you’re finished with those two weeks of successful routine implementation. That’s when you identify another problem, what is the next problem that’s causing you? Overwhelm causing you to be stressed out, causing you to struggle.

(12:03):

And with that problem, you identify the solutions. You come up with the solutions by doing a brainstorming session and then create a system around that set of solutions to solve that problem. And you implement that for two weeks. Same thing. You will do this over and over and over until your entire house is simplified and systemized and working so that it’s a smooth effortless day for the problems that we’re causing you overwhelm at one time. Thank you again for submitting that question to be featured on the tip Tuesday episode of the intentional edit podcast, I really enjoy answering your questions and getting down to the specifics of what you’re struggling with and how we can come up with solutions that you can change. Make changes in your home to have success with organization and systems that make life easier. If you have a question for me, a comment, a concern, something you want to know more about go to intentional, edit.com, click on that button that pops up that says record now. And leave me a question that I will answer on a future tip Tuesday episode. I’ll meet you back here on Friday for another episode of the intentional edit podcast.

(13:14):

That wraps up another quick episode of a tip Tuesday. If you want to be featured on intentional edits, Tip Tuesday, go to Intentionaledit.com, click on the podcast page in the menu bar, and then scroll all the way down to the bottom. You’ll find a button that says record, tap on that and record your question or share what is currently overwhelming to, to you. What is going on that you need help with? I want to know I needed to know your struggle so I can share actionable solutions to help you create simplicity in your home. If you are having this issue. I know other people are having it too, and we want to help as many people as possible. Head over to the podcast page of intentional, edit.com and record your question for me there.

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Lauren is the founder of Intentional Edit, a home organization and lifestyle company focused on consciously editing to create efficient and organized spaces. Lauren believes that a functional home that looks and feels good has a positive influence on all aspects of life. Creating systems that allow for the home to function more efficiently, therefore, eliminating most of the clutter and chaos is her priority. While trends come and go organization is always in style!

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