One-Touch Rule

When we bought this house in 2006, it was the perfect size for our newly expanding family.  Our house in Provo was just under 1000 square feet so it felt like a huge upgrade to move into something closer to 1700.  I marveled at the extra space and all the closet room I was going to have.

Three kids and a business later means we have way exceeded the capacity of this house.  Our closets are beyond full, causing me to constantly get creative with storage solutions.  I have more storage containers and shelf baskets than one home should probably have in an attempt to hide/store the mess.  

Our home isn't fancy by any means but I feel like it always looks so much nicer when it's clean and tidy.  So I try my hardest to keep the clutter to a minimum.  I've found myself lately just moving stuff from one cluttered spot to another to save time (setting stuff by the stairs to take downstairs, clearing off the counter but putting stuff in piles on the kitchen table counter to put away later). 

A couple of weeks ago I was reading somewhere about the one-touch rule and I'm working hard to implement it here in the house.  In theory you touch an item once.  If you pick something up off the counter you take it immediately to its final place, no setting it down somewhere else to be put away later.  Business stuff immediately goes downstairs and gets put away; clean laundry is put away immediately instead of sitting in the basket at the foot of the bed.  It often means I'm running up and down the stairs (what feels like) a million times a day but I think it is making a difference in the clutter.

Now if only I could get the other members of the house to participate!