Wondering what to do with the unexpected gift of time AFTER you’ve done all the really important stuff?

You can dance, you can jive…  as long as you remain six feet apart. (I actually spotted some neighbors doing this on their lawn on my Sunday evening walk. True story. I think there may have even been a tambourine…) But you can also do something productive that will benefit you even after the days of confinement are over.

In Tennessee as in most of the country, we’re sheltering in place to try to slow the spread of COVID-19. And I hope it works really soon, but not so that my time at home will end. Unlike many, I LOVE having an excuse to stay at home.

Am I wrong to see a real upside to “sheltering in place?”

I feel somewhat guilty for relishing mandatory stay-at-home orders, because I know it’s a real hardship on a great many people. And even worse is the reason for it in the first place! 

However, millions of us making ourselves miserable dwelling on things we can’t change is to no advantage for those who are sick or out of work or for those of us who aren’t. 

Don’t get me wrong. I believe the very most important things to do during this time have nothing to do with productivity. The first priority should be to help those who need it. Even so, most of us likely still have more at-home time than we normally do and maybe ever will again.

So by all means, take some time to rest and recharge. Don’t underestimate the fact the stress is taking a toll on us all. Pray more and spend quality time with family or loved ones with whom you are sheltering. Finally, take walks, get fresh air, and just enjoy some unplugged downtime. 

But beyond those basics, I confess, I’m excited about the possibilities that exist for what to do with the remaining time I didn’t expect to have. 

We have an unprecedented opportunity to get ahead of some of those minor annoyances that just never seem to rise to the top of the priority list. You know what I’m talking about, right? Those nagging issues that buzz around in the background of our lives creating low-level ongoing stress.

Where to start?

Messy corners, bulging closet shelves or bureau drawers, or miscellaneous items that never quite found a home, and sit out in plain sight until we don’t even consciously see them anymore… all of these are examples of opportunities for productive ways to redeem the quarantine.

So I plan (Lord willing) to do some micro-organizing projects during our confinement. Not to get a spot in House Beautiful, but to buy myself more time after this is all over. Hopefully I’ll spend less time looking for things, less time struggling to put things away, and more time relaxing without the distraction of messes in my home.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in the US, jigsaw puzzles have become a craze. I think many of us find innate satisfaction in bringing order out of chaos. The same holds true for restoring order in our homes.

The process of sorting the pieces, putting them together in a logical fashion and stepping back at the end to admire your work are steps that could apply to both endeavors. The difference is we have lasting benefit from organizing our jumbled messes.

So if you have some puzzle-like areas of your home, it’s advisable to start small. Jumping into a thousand-piece puzzle after not working any puzzles for a while can be completely overwhelming! After you’ve exercised that part of your brain and learned to more efficiently sort and solve, however, it’s easier to move on to the larger tasks.

Perhaps start with a drawer or shelf in the smallest room of the house.

I plan to do this for only fifteen minutes each day in order to tweak some areas that have gotten a little messy.

1. When you find your place to start small, bring three appropriately sized bags or boxes for items to be removed. That’s one for TRASH, one for items to RE-HOME, one for items to DONATE. Label them if you’re easily confused like me.
2. Put down a plastic placemat or a drop cloth (depending on the space needed) to protect surfaces and create boundaries for your project.
3. Pull everything out of the drawer or off the shelf and place on your cloth or mat. 
4. Sort items into like groupings. 
5. Place obvious garbage in your TRASH container. This includes anything that you don’t need, use, or love, that cannot be useful to someone else. 
6. RE-HOME anything that is in a place where you wouldn’t logically go looking for it. 
7. DONATE anything that you no longer plan to keep that someone else might find useful. 
8. Put back what’s left. Be sure to donate any duplicate items—or if it’s an item convenient to have in more than one location of your house, re-home it.

To keep items from becoming a jumbled mess going forward, separation by means of containers is useful. No need to get all Pinterest-ey unless it makes you happy.* Seriously, this matters!  If you’re happy being a cheapskate and repurposing boxes/containers you already have, AND it helps with organization, by all means, use it. 

If, conversely, you would smile every time you open your medicine cabinet because you have everything contained in matching, blingy containers from Target, and you can afford it, go with that feeling. It will make the organization last longer!

To stay within the fifteen minute time, stop working at 10-12 minutes, and discard trash, re-home items that need relocation. Additionally take your donations to the car or an out-of-the-way spot in the house, if the normal drop points are closed during the pandemic. Then put away all supplies. The last thing you want in your zeal to organize is to create NEW messes!

*Speaking of making you happy, if organizing, even on the micro-level, is something you dread or put off, make it fun. Create a fifteen minute-playlist. Light a candle or diffuse some great-smelling essential oils. Then reward yourself at the end with a cup of tea or a dance party with your dog—whatever gets your positive juices flowing. Make yourself an appointment for the next day either on your phone or “habit stack” by adding a post-it note in a place where you consistently do the same activity each day to remind yourself to do another session.

Think about how many hours fifteen minutes a day amounts to by the end of this month!  If you can devote even more time without getting in over your head, (e.g., you’re not having to cook three times a day for an angry mob, or newly devote hours a day to educating your children, or care for a sick loved-one) you could buy yourself lots of time back once life returns to normal with a more organized home! 

However, even 15 minutes a day between now and the first of May equates to something like a whole work day! That may be enough to get the organizational momentum going in a positive direction in your home. Ultimately it just makes life easier. How awesome is that??