My Morning Ritual

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I was preparing my cup of coffee the other morning, just as I do every day,  and I realized why this daily ritual makes me so happy.

First,  l love coffee.

Second, everything I need to get my cup of joe ready is all within an arms reach of my coffeepot. So satisfying.

This got me thinking about all the tasks we do on a daily or weekly basis, and how they can either be annoying and time-consuming, or satisfying and efficient.  Which side of things they come down on has everything to do with the way we set the whole thing up--this is the very heart of good design.

It sounds almost silly to say that you should store items where you use them, but the truth is often we don't.  The tools and items we need for daily life can be scattered about and we make getting throught he day so much harder as a result.

With a little planning, these day to day things can be almost effortless. Here are some ideas that you may already have put in place, but if you haven't, they can save you hours of aggravation each week:

  • A "landing strip" for your arrivals and departures--car keys, purse, jacket, work bag all stored together, as well as other daily incidentals--preferably right by the door you exit and enter the house.

  • A homework bin kept near the kitchen table containing sharpened pencils, erasers, markers, crayons, colored pencils, and glue sticks. (I did this last September just using the left overs from the previous school year. That bin came in so handy each afternoon, and easily went back in the cabinet when the work was done.)

  • A single place for all the tools you need to pay your bills each month--perhaps a drawer near your computer with stamps, calculator, pens, any bills that come in by mail, along with a list of your bills and when they are due.

  • For the pup--leash, waste bags, walking shoes, umbrella, biscuits all together at the ready for the daily walk.

A good test to see if a task area is set up efficiently is to see how little you need to move your feet to gather the things you need to complete it.

If you can stand in one place and get your hands on all the components, you win!